I have had my bag for 2 weeks now and have yet to take a shower. I have only taken baths considering I had to have a wound vac on and going through all the trouble of showering with that on was to much. But now that I don't have the wound vac on I have some questions.

Do you guys shower with your bag on or off?

If I shower with it on do I need to cover it up or just let the water run on it?

Is there a certain soap I should use?

Will the water make the bag fall off?

These are just some questions I have.

Mike

Hi Mike,

I wear a two piece and shower with my bag on unless I'm doing a wafer change in which case I like to take a long hot shower to make the most of the freedom. I have never had any problems with the hot water undermining my wafer but I do use Convatec's moldable convex wafers which are durahesive as opposed to stomahesive and are designed to withstand a longer wear time.

I must add that I do change my bag every day after my shower because I really hate that soggy feling and the thought of wearing the same bag for more than one day. To me it would be the same as wearing the same panties for several days. However, I do realise that I am very fortunate that I don't have to pay for my supplies so have no restrictions on how many supplies I go through. Before I switched to a 2 piece system though I used to just towel dry the bag and get dressed, though I know of some people who like to give it a blast with a hairdrier on cool setting to dry it off.

On the days I change my wafer I shower without my appliance. I use a tea tree shower gel though some people use soap that doesn't have a moisturiser in it. I then make sure I clean and rinse around Wee Willie (my end ileo) really well. I have a detachable shower hose which I aim at the skin surrounding Wee Willie (not the stoma itself) and I believe this stimulates the blood supply and keeps my skin nice and healthy. I rarely have any skin issues but when I do I take extra time with my shower to give the skin a chance to breath and to get it really clean.

Just go for it!

Shell

Dear Mike,

On "change days," which are about once a week for me, I shower with nothing on. Gets the stoma and the surrounding skin really clean, so the new wafer will stick well.

On non-change days, I shower with everything on, but I change the bag after the shower because it just takes too darn long to blow-dry the bag to the point where it's not damp. The wafer itself takes no time at all to blow-dry, but the bag doesn't dry well, in my opinion. And I'm like Shell: I just like to have a new bag every day.

If you shower with your bag on, you do not need to cover it up. The water should not diminish the effectiveness of the adhesive on your wafer. The water should not make the bag fall off. (I use Convatec products, and their wafer is awesome.)

My ET nurse recommended that, on the days when I take everything off and change the wafer, I use a non-lotion type of soap, such as Dial or Ivory. And Dial is good because it's also anti-bacterial. The reason for avoiding the lotion type of soaps is that they can leave a slippery film on your skin and compromise the wafer's ability to stick really well to your skin.

One further note: I use an ostomy belt, as do many of the members of the site. The belt, which is stretchy and goes around your backside, hooks on to either side of your bag, holds the bag snug against the wafer and reduces the amount of pull on the wafer. I think they're great, and I have several. On days when I'm not changing the wafer, just the bag, I keep a belt on when I'm in the shower, just for a little reinforcement.

I hope you find the answers you need. Many of us on the site have been exactly where you are, and we're happy to share our experiences with you.

Do you guys shower with your bag on or off? I shower with it off...i definately dont take as many showers as i did before the ileo, but i got some spray body wash from the hospital that i use to wipe myself down between showers.

If I shower with it on do I need to cover it up or just let the water run on it? I let the water run on it. Ive heard its not a good idea to run hot water over it, but i havent had a problem with it

Is there a certain soap I should use? Ive also heard not to use creamy soap/ body wash because it may prevent the flange from sticking, but ive had no problems...i also just found out that if you whipe alcohol around the stoma it really helps the flange to stick amazingly

Will the water make the bag fall off? From the one time i showered with the bag the edges started to peel back a bit

I shower with my bag on unless I am changing that day. After I get out of the shower I pat the worst of the water off with a towel and then put on my pouch cover which I get from www.pouchpals.com. The pouch cover does the rest of the drying off for me and keeps the dampness of my clothes.

Showering with the bag does not reduce my wear time (5-7 days).

Replying to Ashkloff:

I shower with the bag on, every day, except for change day, about once a week, when I shower with nothing on.

If you shower with the bag on, you do not need to cover it up. You can let the water run on it.

Non-lotion soaps are best, and anti-bacterials are good, too.

Water should not make your bag fall off.

Mike asked:

>Do you guys shower with your bag on or off?

I shower every day. I wear a 2 piece system and wear all of it in the shower except on days that I change my wafer. Then I take everything off and wash around my stoma really well, and rinse it like crazy. It seems to help my skin be more healthy.

If you wear a 2 piece system, don't take your pouch off and shower with just your wafer on. Water will get underneath the wafer and that will cause it to come off.

>If I shower with it on do I need to cover it >up or just let the water run on it?

I used to cover my pouch up wiht plastic because I don't like it feeling damp after I dry off from a shower. Frankly, it got to be more of a pain than it was worth. I use Coloplast pouches and they dry pretty quickly, so I just towel dry it off now.

>Is there a certain soap I should use?

Any soap that doesn't have lotions or other things that will leave a residue. I use Dial white and don't seem to have a problem with it.

> Will the water make the bag fall off?

No. It won't make the wafer come off either. I've swam in pools and in the ocean and sat in jaccuzzis with my ileostomy appliance on, and have not had a problem with even hot water causing the appliance to come off or leak. Funny thing is, despite doing this other stuff, I get nervous still about taking an actual soak-in-the-tub bath with my appliance on. It isn't rational, but there it is.

-Rae