Showering tips please.

I'm a less is more gal - I don't cover my bag when showering. When I get out of the shower I use a towel and press the bag between two layers. Then I get ready and when I get dressed I use a papertowel to wrap my bag from underneath and then another over the top. Tuck the whole thing in my underwear. Within 10 minutes it is dry and I take the towels out. I have two small kids, I don't have time to do lots of extra stuff so this works for me.

I cover it with press and seal wrap. It keeps it nice and dry. I hate the feeling of something wet on me.

My routine is pretty much like Jill's. Except after I get out of the shower I use a clean fluffy washcloth and dry the bag. Then I fold up some tissues between the bag and my skin. I don't bother with anything on top of bag. And put my underwear over all of that. I take the tissues out the next time I use the restroom.

I do use coloplast sensura opaque bags. They are heavier and more cloth like than a lot of the other bags, so they don't seem to get as wet or hold moisture like the other bags.

I do the same as Liz and Jill. I really hate having anything damp against my skin so if I'm in a huge rush to leave the house I'll swap out for a clean and dry pouch, but that's rare (I think the last time I did it was on vacation when my friends were in a rush to get to a tour).

I pop my bag off, lay it on the back of the toilet, and pop it back on when I'm dried off.

My showering tips (whilst showering with bag on)?

a) Take off clothes

b) step into shower

c) lather and cleanse body

d) step out of shower

e) towel-dry self and bag (wafer will dry by itself within a few minutes due to body heat)

f) get dressed

g) go about your business

If showering without bag:

a) take off clothes and bag/wafer

b) step into shower

c) lather and cleanse body

d) step out of shower

e) wrap paper towel around stoma in case she begins to spurt

f). towel-dry top of body so no water drips down to stoma area. Wrap towel around top half if it's in colder weather to keep warm.

g) put new bag/wafer on as per normal routine

h) get dressed

i) go about your business

Thanks everyone! But one question, if you get the flange wet, doesn't it affect it's adhesive? I was afraid if I got it wet, it would fall off, I guess not, thanks for the advice, much appreciated!!!

Cheers,
Eric

Sorry, one more question (I'm a virgin!), do you let your bag hang outside, or do you tuck it into your clothes? If you do, do it impede the flow of stool? Just curious

eric, getting the flange wet doesn't really affect the adhesive. However if you are swimming or sweating tons (aka massive cycling!) it may start to affect the outer edge of the flange. In that case look at sure seals. They work wonderfully.
http://alpglobal.com/Free-Sample-Request.html

I wear the ostomy inside all of my clothing, right next to my skin. Underwear goes over the ostomy. Clothing does not impact the flow of output at all. I am a chick and I wear tight clothes all the time. Leggings, skinny jeans (have them on right now), tights in the winter. It is far more comfortable and secure for me to keep the ostomy tucked in nice and tight. Also, it enables me to dress any way I want. I can wear pretty much anything I wore pre-ileostomy days. Sometimes, I have upped a size in something. For example, tight lycra gym shorts or cycling shorts.. I have gone up a size. But other than that.. pretty much no other changes to my attire.

Swimming does erode my weartime by a couple of days or so (I usually get 6 - 7 days weartime) but I consider that a small penalty for the ability to be able to able to swim at my leisure.

I wear my bag not straight down like a lot of people do, but at a 45 degree angle towards my groin. That way I can contain it all in my undies (I hear of horror stories where bags have slid to the ground as they've fallen off, but mine can't because it's all contained in my underwear and the elastic would stop it. Besides which, it's never ever become totally unstuck in 36 years and I find it hard to understand how it does, unless it's not supported within underwear and just hangs down and the weight as it's filling pulls it off??????) and it's at a convenient lean to empty between my legs when I sit on the loo

Cloothing doesn't impede mine because my stoma is located a couple of inches to the right and a couple of inches below my belly button. I just wear high waisted jeans and 'granny pants' to accomodate it. It doesn't interfere with my beltline. I used to wear the tightest jeans possible (in my slimmer days) and all I had to do was empty a bit more. Then and now, I prefer longer tops which flow over my belly and give me a bit more emptying room

Thanks everyone, I've tucked it in and you can't even notice it! I've always put tape on the top of the bag. It holds it close to my skin (sometimes the Coloplast bags have floppy tops, that show through my clothes), and it supports the weight of a full bag, taking the stress off the flange, making leaking a thing of the past!

yes that's actually the best reason for tucking it in. No one notices you have an ileo. In fact, I spoke to a lady in my church a few weeks ago trying to help her as her mum was struggling after bowel surgery and getting an ileo. I told her I had one. And for 30 minutes of the conversation she just kept looking at my abdominal area because she couldn't believe I had one because I looked normal. I felt like pulling my clothes up and my underwear down so I could prove it to her!

Jill. Do you do anything to alleviate the gas in the bag? That's the only time mine is noticeable. But it is often.

Would it be wrong if I said that I wear my bag into the shower then I take it off, rinse it down the drain, look at my stoma, poke at it a few times, go about my normal showering activities then put my bag back on before getting out?

If so...forget that I said anything.

Seriously though, I gave up on trying to keep everything dry after about my second time in the shower. It got wet no matter how hard I tried. When I get out I pat the flange down with my towel and use my wifes hair dryer to finish up. I don't like the wet feeling.

I also shave around my stoma when I'm in the shower. I take the old flange off, clean off the tape residue with a wash rag and then shave. It just seem easier to me doing it that way. I don't have to worry about output or if I left anything on my skin that will affect the new flange.

Forgot to mention..I get anywhere from 4 to 6 days before I have to change the flange.

The gas is tough year one, but it will gradually get less and less. Now I rarely have gas issues. There are some products you can try - there are valves that you can buy to attach to the bag that make a small hole you can use the valve to vent. I tried them but found putting them on the bag a big project and then I found I never really bothered to use them anyway. When I was early on, I would just try to go to the bathroom more often to release the gas.

best solution I have found for gas in the bag, is to focus on your eating habits, how you eat, what you eat, etc.. to try to reduce the gas itself.

Actually, the Coloplast bags have a filtered vent at the top, allowing gas to escape when the pressure builds up, and the charcoal filter takes away any unpleasant odours, it's a wonderful feature. I remember when I had my temp ileostomy back in 1991, the bag looked like a plastic shopping bag (felt like it too) and would leak from gas build up all the time, I absolutely love the new appliances, so much better, I often forget its even there!

If I shower with my bag on I just put on a fresh bag after I shower. I like showering without wafer to give my skin a treat. Just shower before much food intake so the stoma is quiet.