Ostomy / Showering Question

Ok, I still have my temp illeo and I'm wondering what others do for showering?

I either do the pink tape and plastic baggie over my hardware, or I just roll it up,tape it up and just let it get wet.
I do that if I know I'm gonna change it that night.

I also tried the cling plastic wrap (made for food) over it, which had some promise but you really have to tape the top b/c water somehow gets under it.

So, lets hear it, what's your system?

Alan Z

It has been awhile since I had my ileostomy (6 years) but when I did, I had it for an entire year. I was able to get a full 7 days wear out of my set up and I showered everyday. I didn't do anything special...I left the baggie on and just showered. Fortunately, I found a system to get that wafer to stick "like glue"...literally! I used Smith+Nephew Skin Bond on the wafer and had to work really hard to remove it at the end of the week! Speaking of which, when I did, I'd shower without "anything" on and it felt so good to have my bare skin (around the stoma) exposed to the shower. I'm sure others have a number of ways to do this showering thing. Try them all and see what works best for you! Best wishes!

Hi Clever1,

I have also been having trouble with my ostomy and showering. I have been switched to an adjustable shower head and try to avoid the area. No matter how much plastic use, water seems to seep through.

Good luck.
AM77

I was pretty unscientific. For the 3 1/2 months of my bag, I generally would give myself a sponge bath and wash my hair in the sink.

My bag usually lasted 3-4 days on average, and I would take a shower only when I knew I would be changing my bag shortly afterwards.

I don't do anything special when I shower. Yes, water does get to the wafer, but it soon dries out once you get out of the shower due to body heat. Some people do like to use a hair dryer on it's lowest setting to dry the wafer out though.

I don't do anything special. I just shower as usual. Yes the wafer and bag get wet but it hasn't affected my wear time. I just use a towel and pat it dry. I have tried showering without the bag on, but never had any luck. My stoma is ALWAYS active and the warm water just encourages it to be more active.

I use a Holister 2 peice and do nothing special. I have cut down to a shower every other day because it does shorten the bags life but only very slightly. If I shower with the bag a pat it dry with a Kleenx afterwarfd. I change my bag every Monday and Thursday morning and that keeps me safe and confident during the work week. If I shower on Monday or Thursday I just remove the whole thing and shower freely. It feels great. Depending on how late I ate the night before it might be active or not; just let it go down the drain and scrub the tub at least once a week. Getting out of the shower I gently press a folded, damp washcloth over my stoma, drape one end of the towel over my shoulder, dry with one hand, then switch. With a little practice it gets easier.

I used a two piece system and would order the smallest bag (round-I think it was for urostomies) Just pop off the larger bag and put on the smaller and jump in the shower and replace when done. I would also use these so I could relax in the tub. Sometimes I would just go "bare" in the shower and pop the bag back on when I was done.

A great trick I learned was eating a couple of marshmallows before showering and that would slow down the output - also earlier in the day is better. Seemed it was near impossible at night.

Like Shaz, I don't do anything special. I have a perm ileo (for the past 7 years) and I just can't be bothered to fuss over it. When I get out of the shower, I tuck some toliet paper around the bag and then fold it into my underwear and that soaks up any excess water. Otherwise, I just don't worry about it.

I change my appliance every 3 days and shower with everything off then.

I recall that I didn't do anything special either and I could get 7 days before a change. However, when I got into the hottub I'd do what you do, fold the bag up and picture frame it with pink tape. I never had a problem.

kathy

I used to take advantage of bag change days and take a shower after removing the bag system completely. (Best to do this before a meal, not after!) Yes there was a little output that came out, but the shower rinsed it away. Sounds gross, but it was very helpful for the skin around my stoma. Be sure that your surgery wound is healed though, and make sure not to use any sort of moisturizing soap- plain old Dial soap is perfect. Any sort of fancy soap or oil will affect the way your wafer sticks later. Also make sure the area is totally and completely dried out before you put the new wafer on. I also kept a little output measuring type cup thing the hospital had given me near the shower to hold under the stoma while I got out of the shower. You never know when those things are gonna decide to surprise you!

Also, I even took baths before it was time to change the bag. If it came loose, well that was no problem 'cause I was going to change it anyway.

When I had mine, I'd shower like normal with no precautions. If I was going to change wafers that day, I'd do it in the a.m. before I ate anything except for a handful of mini marshmellows to slow things down to minimize any output. Then I'd shower without any wafer or bag, and replace it after drying off. I got the marshmellow tip from the www.uoaa.org site and it really worked. Be sure to use shower soap with no oils in it.

I used to let it get wet, and then used a hair dryer to dry the wafer. I also used a removeable shower head so that it did not beat right on it.

I've had my temp ileo for 7 months. I shower every morning and do nothing special to protect the flange or pouch from the water. My wear time has been excellent.

I wonder if the product makes a difference? I use Hollister. I also don't use any extra wipes, adhesives, etc except Keraya paste.

Same here, I don't do anything special. I do change my bag every morning after my shower but the wafer lasts for 4-5 days and isn't affected by showering.

I also think that perhaps you should try a different brand of wafer if the one you are using is being compromised by showering.

Good luck.

Shell