Learn with Comfizz

I have at times struggled with my peristomal skin like I mentioned in a post last week when I wrote about self care for your ostomy I just wanted to talk about the different issues I have come across when it comes to the skin around your stoma, I haven’t experienced all of these but there are some accounts across social media where people who live with conditions talk about it in depth and openly. I guess that is the beauty of social media you can search tags and find almost anything!   When I say peristomal skin I personally mean the skin underneath the base plate; I’m not sure if that’s how the experts word it but it’s around the stoma...

What is stoma pancaking? We know it’s not going to be as pleasant as pancakes of the edible kind when we discuss pancaking in terms of stoma problems! Stoma pancaking can occur when there is little to no air inside of the stoma bag. This can lead to a vacuum forming, which then means output from the stoma stays stuck on  the stoma, or around the top of the stoma bag and on the bag filters. The output then cannot flow down into the stoma bag, unfortunately leading to the stoma bag coming away from the stoma in some cases, if not spotted early. This can then lead to sore skin, which can contribute to more leakages. Stoma pancaking can...

Not everyone thinks about how to self care when it comes to your ostomy and until my depression hit really badly neither did I! Yet when you think about it, it is actually quite important to think about caring for your ostomy and yourself as even though it is part and parcel the two have slightly different requirements. As we all know our ostomy can be either a very steady and reliable little red blob OR it can literally be doing try outs for Dennis the Menace. We do have to roll with the punches sometimes and that is when our ostomy self care comes into play! Most of us have a fairly standard routine that we don’t often deviate from...

Trigger warning: In this post, I discuss mental illness in some detail so before you read on, please do so with caution/self-care steps in place or avoid if you are mentally struggling. Remember, my inbox is always open on my Instagram and via e-mail: hashtagstomabags@gmail.com. I also include mental health support links in my previous post & there is a Samaritans link at the end of this post. Please remember that the views in this post are my own only. I am not a professional and am in no way giving concrete advice. If you are worried, it is always best to consult a medical professional/someone you trust. Understandably, having a chronic illness & having surgery of any type can have a huge...

So today I want to talk about the Coronavirus which is obviously causing mass hysteria and worry. As people with compromised immune systems we obviously do have a right to worry but is most of the information shared on social media just hype and bad case scenarios rather than being fully informative? I have spent a few days reading different articles and after some posts on Facebook I have seen that just seemed like pure scaremongering I felt that this post needed to be done. I want to highlight that although I work within the healthcare sector I am not a nurse or a doctor so I will cite sources as required. I would also like to state that any...

Last year I chose to speak only about one special woman and it was our very own Lorraine but this year I have decided to change it up a bit and talk about some women within the ostomy world who aren’t just ladies I have the privilege of calling my friends but they are the epitome of strength and resilience. They each have their own vulnerabilities of which they share with the whole world via their social media channels. So without further ado here they are: Amy – @ibdwarriorprincess  Amy is my fellow blogger here on Comfizz and is the first person to check in when my mental health isn’t that great. She has Crohns and an ileostomy; her blogs were some...

Today March 8th is International Women’s Day and this is going to be a little bit different to what we usually talk about on our Friday post’s but today I wanted to celebrate our Big Boss Lady Lorraine and why her like every other woman in our life needs to know that they are important and that we recognise that.  Lorraine as you may know has had lots of experience around Inflammatory Bowel Disease what with her Dad having Ulcerative Colitis and her youngest son having Crohns disease. She and her husband Big Boss Man Nozar started this company after Ernie had his ostomy formed and there wasn’t really any support wear available that wasn’t just as I put it...

Have you ever been caught short with your usual product and had to use something different for instance a bag you no longer use but still have some in your stoma storage? This recently has happened to me regarding my ostomy bag and it stems from a little mix up with my delivery company. So we all know human error happens and that is basically what has created a knock on effect along with my hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome being a pain in my non existent ass. The way my hEDS affects my ostomy is basically the bowel (or in my case just the small bowel) uses peristalsis to move the poop through your body to be removed by going for a poo in...

Have you ever experienced phantom rectum pain? If you haven’t or not sure what it is exactly this is how I describe it: the feeling of needing to poo or pass wind from your bum but it either has been sewn up or made defunct by a temporary stoma. A lot of ostomates have experienced this and it isn’t a particularly pleasant experience and when you think about it, it is hardly surprising as you often hear about people suffering phantom limb issues from an amputated limb.  It is very common in women around their periods and can cause more discomfort than usual and can cause twitching or cramps in the rectal area. That is certainly not to say other...

In this post, I discuss mental illness in some detail so before you read on, please do so with caution/self-care steps in place or avoid if you are mentally struggling. Remember, my inbox is always open on my Instagram and via e-mail: hashtagstomabags@gmail.com. I will also include mental health support links if you scroll down to the end of this post. Please remember that the views in this post are my own only. I am not a professional and am in no way giving concrete advice. If you are worried, it is always best to consult a medical professional/someone you trust. What is a disability? Disability means different things to different people, therefore is a term best explored with sensitivity. Disability as a...