Please excuse the Caddie Shack quote, could not resist. I'm only a few weeks in to my first ostomy and have changed my wafer a couple times. I noticed that the wax adhesive stuff tends to build up on the skin and is tough to remove. Is it safe to just let some of that sticky stuff remain on the skin? I feel like I will irritate the skin worse if I try and scrub every bit of it off. Advice?

I was told you could leave some of it on the skin. If it just wax it is probably fine, but if there is any waste in it you should take it off. Try using wet gauze to rub it off, followed by a dry piece. That always makes it come right off for me. There's also adhesive removers, but don't use them too often as they can hurt your skin. Also, make sure you rinse the are where you used them off with water, because the remover chemical is very hard on your skin. Good luck!

If you let the water hit it a bit and then use a NORMAL SOAP ( no lotions in it, no foam and so on.. I use the plain old Yellow dial soap - things that foam or have lotion or vits in it will come to the skin when u sweat later on and your wafer wont hold) that should let you pick it off.. or put some soap on wash cloth and softly scrub it a little. Try and stay away from adhesive removers (swipes) and so on .. can effect your next wafer you put on. So, let water hit it... pick at it or normal soap on wash rag should work fine .. Hope it helps

I used to use adhesive removers , ConvaTec AllKare all the time to get the extra gunk off.
However, I made sure that I washed the same area with a soap that didn't contain any lotions..I think I used Ivory.
I would get 4 days wear from my wafer.

I just rub it off with my fingers, or a soft rag in the shower and it comes right off. I forgot once and used soap, and the wafer wouldn't stick, so I had to go back in the shower and start all over again. So now, I just use plain water and my skin has been great.

janna