If you’re getting an ostomy, you probably know you’re going to have to care for it.
One part of this, is getting the right type of equipment so your seal is tight. And unfortunately, there isn’t one specific way to do this.
We’ll go over here how you can properly fit your equipment on your stoma, and also what type of pouch system is best for you.
As you know, the stoma is the opening in an abdomen which is connected either to the urinary or digestive tract to expel waste from your intestines, or your bladder. This can be a temporary or permanent action, so you need to take care of it regardless, and make sure you get the best fit on your pouching system too.
The First Few Weeks
In the first few weeks, your stoma will not be the same shape as it will ultimately be.
It also will look swollen, where the swelling is larger, but it will subside as you go along.
It’s important to measure the stoma on the regular and adjust the barrier as well. Eventually, it will finally level out and you won’t have to measure it all the time.
However, this does still change, so remember that if it doesn’t fit one time, that doesn’t mean it may not fit down the road.
Usually, within the first 8 weeks after the surgery, the stoma does the most shape.
This is usually because of weight loss or gain, hernias or prolapse, aging, or other significant physical appearance changes. If you see the stoma changing, make sure you measure it so you use the right barrier and wafer for your skin.
How to Measure
You will probably do this with the ostomy nurse or your doctor a few times, and you will learn this initially, and what problems might arise.,
However, naturally you will have to do this on your own, so it’s good to have a series of steps.
First, you need to get your supplies, including the barriers, scissors, a marker or pen, some gauze, the adhesive or a mirror in order to assist with this.
Next, you want to prepare the stoma by taking off and emptying the bag, then washing the area, removing hair and any adhesives that are on before. however, so make sure the stoma is fully dry before you continue.
Next, you want to measure the stoma, and see how far it protrudes out of the hole without a ton of skin. You typically will have a gap between 1-3 mm between the stoma and the guide.
Next, you take that measurement and then put that on the skin barrier and adjust it before you apply it. Sometimes, it takes a minute to adhere to the area, and make sure you use the scissors for the wafer since you don’t want to damage cutting it.
Finally, it’s time for a test run. Put it right over the stoma, and then test the way that this fits. You might need to adjust before you take the backing off of it and put the ostomy appliance back on.
Remember, you also can choose different types of barriers too, since some people might prefer the convex, the pre-cut, or even the cut-to-fit types. You can talk to your doctor about the options that you have, and of course what’s best for you.
This can be a challenge to do initially, especially if you’ve got a loop ostomy or other types, but hopefully, now that you know a little bit about it, you can from here, get the best results possible from your ostomy too.
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