the area around my stoma was sore, so i changed my appliance last night and noticed i have a few sores around it. i've had trouble with leaking and found that if i put extra paste in a certain area i don't have the leakage. the problem is is that is where the sores are. i read on another post to use powder and am planning on getting some for my next change. this time though instead of putting extra paste in those areas i used some moldable tape like stuff from convatec that they sent me and am hoping that helps for the area to heal. i did have to put some past around some of my stoma and it did cover up one sore, they are pretty small. my question is, i have some eakin seals, but don't quite understand how to use them. i use the moldable convex wafers from convatec b/c of my rollie pollie stomach. can anyone tell me how youactually use them. do i put them on the belly or on the appliance? does anyone have any other suggestions about the sores? i think the paste is causing them, but i have to use paste or i leak. if i use eakins, do i use past also?

gela,

I got irritated skin around my stoma whenever I used paste because my output dissolved the paste so the effluent came in contact with the skin. Using a moldable ConvaTec wafer or a Coloplast Sensura wafer, or using an Eakin seal, Adapt ring, or Coloplast strip works better than paste for me.

It sounds like you have already tried using the Convatec moldable wafer without paste, and got leaks. You can put the Eakin seal on the appliance or on your skin. If you are using the moldable wafers, you probably want to use the Eakin on your skin first. You can stretch the entire Eakin ring to fit around your stoma, or you can break off pieces of it and mold it like Play-dough to fit the area you want to cover. The Eakin shapes a little easier if you warm it up in your hands, or with a hair dryer first. You can use paste in addition to the Eakin if you wish.

Good luck.
Anjuli

Hi Gela,

I'm a big fan of the "more is less" theory. If you are using Convatec's moldable wafers then you shouldn't really need to use any pastes or seals. Although there are some members here who get along fine with the Eakin seals even with the moldable wafers so it's all very much an idividual thing.

The only prep I use before applying my Convatec moldable wafer is a no-sting barrier wipe. If on the rare occasion I do get some sore skin I apply a light dusting of stomahesive powder and then pat over with the barrier wipe. You could use a no-sting barrier spray such as Cavilon, just make sure that it's completely dry before applying her wafer.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Shell

Gela,

The sores could be from an allergic reaction to the paste you are using. I had redness around my stoma where I used stomahesive paste. My ET nurse did an allergy test and switched me from stomahesive to keraya paste. Allergy tests are pretty simple and non-invasive - your ET nurse should be able to perform one fairly easily.

Hi Gela,
I remember I had serious burning and issues with my temp ileo. I was allergic to the hollister bags, started leaking with coloplast, and finallyh ended up with convotec until i had my takedown. I started having serious burning again, and what I finally realized is that I wasn't using enough of the adhesive (but make sure you're not allergic to the appliance and adhesive that you are using first). I put the adhesive on the wafer itself... a lot of it. Make sure you have no skin show through areas when you are cutting the wafer to fit the stoma. It should fit around your stoma perfectly (even though the little buggers seems to change size after each change! ). Use the stoma powder, it helps a little bit. Put it all around the stoma, even on top of the stoma. Make sure to "dust off" the excess powder (take a gauze bandage and dust it like a feather duster) as it can make the adhesive not work so well. Use plenty of the stomahesive.

Sometimes when I took off the wafer for an appliance change, I had a bit of the adhesive left over. I used a tweezers to get it off. Just grab the excess adhesive, not the skin itself.

Hopefully by now you've had some improvements ... and found something you like!!!

well, i went to see the et nurse and she thought it was from not getting the hole sized big enough for my stoma. (i'm using the moldable convatec convex ones.) she also thought i had a bit of yeast infection so she sprayed it with something and put some steroid powder on it. she said it should be gone by the next change. well, it's been a week and it's not. i changed it on monday, b/c of a leak, then no leaks at all! i changed it last night, friday, b/c i could feel some pain in that area and figured the sores were still there and just wanted the darn thing off! sure enough they were, but i didn't see any bumps like on the friday i saw her. by morning i was leaking and 2 hours after that change was leaking again! i have no idea why!!!! i'm having to put either coloplast moldable stuff, not sure what its called, or eakin seals on a spot b/c my stoma is too close to my belly button and that is where i always leak. the coloplast has worked everytime. the eakins worked the one time i used it, so i used it again today, and that is the time it leaked. maybe i didn't get it flat enough under the wafer? i'm at a loss since sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. i'll call the nurse on monday and tell her the redness is still there.

Hi Gela,

I have a lot of lumps and bumps on the skin around Wee Willie due to scarring from some very nasty peristomal ulcers that developed curtesy of getting MRSA when I had my j-pouch removed. My wafer also overlaps my main abdominal scar which is full of dips and puckers. I find that the moldable wafers alone are more than adequate because they really do mold to every contour. Perhaps trying to go without any prep at all might help?

Another thought that's occured to me is are you making sure that your stoma isn't drooling too much before you apply your new wafer? I find that if any of this clear mucous gets under the wafer it won't stick properly. I always keep a piece of kitchen roll on Wee Willie to catch the clear drool stuff that he produces until I'm ready to apply my wafer. Then just before I'm about to place the new wafer I dab him with a clean piece of kitchen roll to make sure he's as dry as possible.

I know everyone is different and what works for one may not work for another but anything's worth a shot. I hope you figure this out soon.

Take care.

Shell

this may not be super helpful, but do you shower with your appliance on or off? i found that i was almost getting little rashes and abrasions from having the skin covered by adhesive all the time, so i started taking longer showers, just sitting and let the water run, so that at least twice a week my skin got a good hour and a half to breathe. this in combination wth no sting barrier lollipops/wipes made all the difference for me. the sores for the most part started to clear up.
word of caution on the ostomy powder, i may have just had a crappy wafer, but i found that using the powder anywhere outside of the centre ring surrounding my stoma caused failure in the wafer to stick beyond the first day. good luck to you, and feel better!

I had similar problems unyil my home nurse told me to use more skin prep(no sting).She had me put 3 layers drying with a hair dryer each layer.It cured my bumps and irritation very fast.So i now always use 3 layers,and no further problems.Also using marshmellows 6 before my shower really slows down the drainage while i prepair and get my new bag on.Hope tis helps you, sincerly Gary.

well, yesterday, at work it leaked again and i had to change it!! i teach pre-k and K so imagine explaing that one! my daughter's in my class so i'm sure when she saw me get my bag of supplies, she informed everyone, in her own language of course. there's no telling what my kids went home and told their parents. the doc prescribed nystatin powder, but didn't have it with me nor the stoma powder. we'll see if this sticks better without the powder. i will hope that the nystatin helps with the sores but doesn't affect the sticking.