hello...i'm about to get a permanent ostomy...i talked to a couple ET nurses and they seem very anti-cements/glues. they said there is alcohol in them that dries the skin, and latex (apparently this is bad because repeated exposure to latex can lead to a latex allergy?).....this scares me because when i had a temporary end ileo and a temporary loop ileo way back in 2004, i used some kind of skin bond stuff (can't remember the brand name)...it was like a white glue in a little tin and it had a little brush attatched to the lid...i would brush it on my skin around my stoma and i never had problems....my dad has used bonding stuff for 10 years and he gets 10 days of wear before he changes the wafer....i was too paranoid to leave it for that long so i changed mine every 5 days using the same system as he did....we both have such good luck with the cement type glue,and it gives such peace of mind that it will stay on...and i never had any skin issues at all, not even a little bit of breakdown in a year and a half before.....is this stuff really so evil? why do all the ET nurses seem to be against it if it seems to work for some people? is there latex free stuff that works just as well? is there a spray type adhesive that is better- or is that full of the same ingredients....you guys are the experts and i trust your experiences ..help!

Niki

I found out above all of what everybody else says, Each individual person that lives with an ostomy finds their own system that works well for them. Before my revision I had a system that would last 7 days. It was totally different then what the wound nurses suggested. I'm not sure about the latex allergy concern, guess you would need to do some research on that, but I use torbot "skin tac H" and it works great.

Sorry you have to have a permanent Ileo. I found once I had a system down that lasted a week, this thing really isn't the end of the world.

Best of luck to you.

Hi Niki,

Pooh is correct. We are all different and every ostomy is different.

I prefer the less is more approach and only use a no-sting barrier wipe under my moldable wafer. Have you tried Coloplast's moldable wafers? I find they work the best for me with Wee Willie. However, if you had good success with the system you used before then try it again before you discount it. There's no reason why you should develop an allergy when you didn't before.

Also, why not get some free samples from various manufacturers so that you can try different systems to find out which one suits you best? Most of the big companies are more than happy to send you some freebies and normally don't even charge for postage.

Good luck and take care.

Shell

Niki,
When I had my ostomy I had a horrific time with my skin around the stoma site. Routinely, I had yeast infections due to my experimentation with cements, them not working...leaking...needing to take the appliance off...damaging the skin...making it weep...etc. (It was not fun for a while). While cements with Alcohol do dry out the skin - they also absorb LOTS of liquid (along with the molding rings)- which (at least for me) made them deteriorate quickly. I found that the K.I.S.S. system worked best (Keep it Simple Stupid). I also really liked OstoGels which absorb excess liquid in the pouch, which prolonged wear time.

I use stoma paste and get 7 days wear. I like my system. I had never head about developing latex allergy.

Who do you order OstoGels through Kevin?

hey thanks for the replies everyone...

shell,what is a barrier wipe for? i never used one before...

kevin, i guess everyone is different but for me the alcohol never really bothered my skin or anything...i know from experience that i got longer wear time with a glue than without and i never had any skin problems. and i like things to be as simple as possible too but what i'm most concerned with is having peace of mind the bag won't come off .... the et nurses just really suprised me and upset me with their anti-glue comments....and what are ostogels? i wouldn't mind trying something else besides glue so that it is easier to clean off...

Hi again Niki,

I originally used the barrier wipe because I was getting an allergy rash under the white tape of my wafer. I've tried with and without and although I no longer get the allergy rash (think my skin has adapted after 5 years) I find that it helps the wafer to stay put for longer. I can get a week out of my wafer if I want to but prefer to change every 4-5 days. If you never needed a barrier wipe before then don't bother with it now. The less you use the better in my opinion. Plus I'm all for a simple life and hate making a chore out of a task.

Good luck and take care.

Shell

Cement saved me-use it every time, I am a believer.

My nurses said no cement and no belt-laste dless than a day on their 'plan' and average 5 days using cement and a belt.

As others noted-trial & error will help you arrive at a systems that works for you.
I found more gold in the generous advice here than in the advice of 10 nurses. They mean well but 'hearing' from people like you is invaluable

Good Luck
E