I know this may sound a silly question, but when I first got the stoma in November I shaved around the area of the stoma, but found that I got a few leaks from the bags.

I'm quite hairy and now considering shaving the area again - it's quite painful changing bags because of the hair sticking to the bag! However, I've not had a leak for ages and keep the bags on for 4 days a go.

Any suggestions what I should do?

Maybe you could shave on the 4th day before you change your bag? That way the bag would be coming loose anyways, and you have to change it anyway because it has been 4 days. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. But when I last shaved the stoma area I had several leaks afterwards. Could the skin have been too smooth - or maybe the shaving foam I used affected the skin??

I am not very hairy, but shaving foam has conditioners that soften the skin, thereby making the seal not want to stick.

I simply use soap and a disposable razor while in the shower. I do not get any skin irritation and it has no impact on the seal.

Good luck


Derek

Thanks so much! I'll try soap next time I change the bag.

I agree. Being a girl, I am very hairless. I always got a good seal with my wafer.

I know when I shave my legs in the shower. After I apply the shaving cream the water beads up. This is most likely your reason the wafer is not sticking. Good luck using soap & water. Just be sure to use a soap that does not contain a lot of conditioners.

I dry shave with ostomy powder before my shower. I agree that your shaving product may have given you problems, or it was just a coincidence

I know what you mean I find that I get a sticky build up of glue clinging to the hairs which is quite painful and time consuming to sit and individually pick the residue of each hair so I try to shave or cut the hairs dependant on how close they are to the actual stoma. I tend to shave in the shower with a razor and just water then use a wipe which removes any sticky residue and the dry off and then use a barrier wipe allow to dry of then fit a donut ring and bag. Since I had my op in January I have had big problems with leaks but I have now got on top of things and am now getting bags lasting 4-5 days. At one stage I was doing 4 bags in a day!

I'm a female in my twenties and I shave the area around my stoma as well because the pulling of the hair is the most painful part! It's much less painful being hairless in that area.