Hello all, I noticed a small scrape or cut, when I was cleaning my stoma. Just a few drops of blood, but it worries me about infection. I dabbed a small amount of antibiotic cream on the suspected spot. How do you take care of this, or ,will it heal itself.

Hi Mike,

Where abouts exactly is the cut and how deep is it? I have suffered from cuts on Wee Willie before now which were caused by the edge of the wafer where I used to cut it to fit. Wee Willie had a habit of retracting and telescoping and he would catch on the edge of the wafer. I now use moldable wafers and no longer have this problem.

The good news is that a stoma is much like the inside of your mouth and therefore heals very quickly without having to do very much to it. In fact there really isn't much point in trying to put anything topical on it because as the stoma is a mucous producing organ it would just wash right off again within seconds of applying it.

Watch out for any swelling or if your stoma starts to change colour such as going black or very pale in colour. This could indicate that something is very wrong and would need immediate medical attention. However, I think you'll find that if it's only a nick or scratch that it will be healed fully in a couple of days.

Take care and let me know how it goes.

Shell

Hi Shell,
Changed my device this morning, and all seems well. Much worrying over nothing, I guess. The area around the device, seems to have gotten bigger, and a bit sore. Not in burning sore, but in muscle sore. Especially wearing ,even loose pants. I'm still wearing sweats for most of my "day to day" business.

Again, thanks ahead of time. Mike

Mike, are you making sure your bag is well supported and emptying before it gets to half full? If the bag is allowed to get too full and isn't supported it will drag on the skin and feel uncomfortable.

I use high waisted lycra underwear and wear my bag at an angle across my belly so that the tail is pointing towards my left leg (Wee Willie's on the right). I think close fitting stretch boxers would do the same thing or you could wear an ostomy belt.

The other thing is that it is very important to measure your stoma every time you change your wafer because it will continue to shrink for several months. You may need to use a smaller sized hole in your wafer to prevent stool getting around the base.

Good luck.

Shell

I am currently using the small white strap from Hollister. The plastic adjustments dig in, and make it sore. I did try the sideways "wrap" support last weekend. VERY comfortable, but at night, I tend to roll around, and I guess the pressure on it, BAMM, a major blowout.I empty every night before bed. I may try it again, when I get the nerve. Thanks Shell.