I've had my temp illeostomy about a week. Anybody out there had skin irritation all over, under the wafer? My problem is not so much close to the stoma, but farther out.

I've got red bumps, and sticky that doesn't want to come off my skin. its starting to get really sore. I've got the powder for a yeast infection and have used it 3 times with no help.

I'm already using one of Holister's no adhesive (only wax) wafers.

The problem seems a little like razor bumps. I've never been able to shave my face more than twice a week. Is it possible to wear this thing without shaving?

Is it possibly an allergic reaction to the wafer? An easy test for this is to cut a piece of the wafer and put it on the other side of your abdomen. Leave it on and see what happens. Also, I had this issue when I changed my wafer and didn't get all the old adhesive off (I use no-tape wafers also). Where the old adhesive was not completely removed I had red bumps (like razor bumps) which started to ooze. I finally started using an adhesive remover and making sure I got all of the adhesive off when I changed. Problem solved. I used stomahesive powder on the bad skin until it went back to normal.

Sounds something like what I have now. I just had my colon removed 6 days ago and am still in hospital. The skin surrounding my main incision is bright red and extremely painful. Little red bumps also. The skin feels wierd also. Doctors thought it might be an infection and started me on an antibiotic in my iv today. During the day today it spread a bit more. They will look again in the morning. They said perhaps they will have to open up the incision and see whats behind it. It is so painful. I'm taking percocet and morphine to control the pain. Even just my hospital gown touching this area of skin makes me go crazy with pain. I hope they can diagnose what is really going on and fix it quickly.

I must keep taking morphine so I can stand the pain coming from this skin area. So its possibly an allergic reaction to something?

I have the same problem but not quiet so painful. They decided it was a yeast infection but the mycostatin powder alone did not help. We had to add Kenalog spray which is a steroid spray that you let set a few seconds and then gently wipe off because it is oily then apply the mycostatin powder on top of that than dab the powder with the skin protective barrier wipe and let it all dry for a few seconds. I actually use the blow dryer on low for a few seconds to make sure it is dry then apply the wafer. If you do not change your wafer after your shower you need to make sure it is really dry before getting dressed. Again I use the blow dryer on low. If the wafer is damp or wet under your clothes it is the perfect breeding ground for yeast. I have only used this twice and have worn the wafer for four days between changes and it is already feeling a lot better.
Janita

When I had my illeostomy, I found that the two piece system worked best, and the silly putty type ring that goes under the main flange that the bag attaches too, is a must! The silly putty ring was for me, a saving grace! This way the acidic waste would work its way through the ring, and the flange and not my skin. I would have a really hot shower, and after the first ten min's in the shower, the flange and ring would soften up enough for me to be able to remove it from my skin easily. I then used kleenex to gently remove the excess putty from around the stoma.

Hope this helps!

I had the exact same problem when I first left the hosptial. Mine was just a skin irritation from the wafer adhesive. After a couple weeks on Hollister and Convatec bags, I switched to Coloplast bags since they are supposed to be more hypoallergenic. It made a world of difference. Now 6 weeks out of surgery, I'm dealing with other problems, mainly with leakage around the stoma since it's pretty flat, but found that the convex bags (as opposed to the convex light) fixed mostly everything.

Hope some of this is helpful to you!

thanks for your comments. I've gotten a lot better over the last week or two. I think the irritation was mostly from them shaving me before the surgery. I'm letting the hair grow back and the irritation is almost gone. I'm using the wafers with no real adhesive, only wax, and I haven't seen it pull a hair out yet. I do have a little bit of a problem with leaking though if I sit up much. This last change, I quit using any powder at all and it seems to stick better. When I sit up straight, I put a lot of stress on that seal. Its fine when I'm standing or laying down.