Question about summer heat/humidity to fellow colostamates:

coloCan
coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Greetings!!!This is my first summer (heat wave) living with a colostomy. I use a ConvaTec 2-piece. In the past week, on three occasions the wafer that sticks to my skin came loose and the whole appliance (including semi-full pouch) started coming off (it was not due to contents in bag). I had to hold bag in place with hand while finding someplace to safely/hygenically clean self/stoma and change bag.Does this happen to you in hot, humid weather? I've never needed anything to help keep wafer attached to skin, like pastes or powders . Just wondering if anyone else who has a similar permanently rerouted internal solid waste disposal system with a replaceable, temporary external waste recepticle attachment also has this problem in the summertime........

Maybe all the sweat dripping is loosening the adhesiveness of the wafer?

Any suggestions/advice will be welcomed...

steve

Comments

  • TxKayaker
    TxKayaker Member Posts: 176
    No longer a colostamate but ----
    For the last few years I have worked safety for the swim events for our local Ironman races here on Joe Pool Lake they race rain & shine. On one ocaasion last summer I had to wear my dry suit and with the rain and sweating going on my bag stayed on to my surprise.
    I had the coloplast one piece on at the time and was happy with the performance.
  • khl8
    khl8 Member Posts: 807
    ultra thin panty liners on
    ultra thin panty liners on the front of your underwear where the bag rests. seems to soak up any sweat and keeps the bad dry. and thin enough that no one knows.
    kathy
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    khl8 said:

    ultra thin panty liners on
    ultra thin panty liners on the front of your underwear where the bag rests. seems to soak up any sweat and keeps the bad dry. and thin enough that no one knows.
    kathy

    Tho I'm not familiar with their use, panty liners might be
    feasible tho your idea, Kathy, got me thinking for a more "manly" tho similar solution, like maybe covering the adhesive part with material that absorbs sweat (Need to ask girlfriend what a panty liner is like;ie-made of). But truthfully, if panty liners work for me, I'll use them; no shame in making myself more comfortable......

    I'm assuming when our Texan Kayaker swims he uses a stoma cap? I've never used one yet but was thinking of using it when I exercise so bag doesn't get in way of DBs or when doing pushups, etc. Just want to ask if stoma starts activating while a cap is on (assuming you notice whats going on)will there be enough space to contain some of the output or does it stay inside you, causing a problem?

    steve
  • TxKayaker
    TxKayaker Member Posts: 176
    coloCan said:

    Tho I'm not familiar with their use, panty liners might be
    feasible tho your idea, Kathy, got me thinking for a more "manly" tho similar solution, like maybe covering the adhesive part with material that absorbs sweat (Need to ask girlfriend what a panty liner is like;ie-made of). But truthfully, if panty liners work for me, I'll use them; no shame in making myself more comfortable......

    I'm assuming when our Texan Kayaker swims he uses a stoma cap? I've never used one yet but was thinking of using it when I exercise so bag doesn't get in way of DBs or when doing pushups, etc. Just want to ask if stoma starts activating while a cap is on (assuming you notice whats going on)will there be enough space to contain some of the output or does it stay inside you, causing a problem?

    steve

    Did not swim with bag but at
    Did not swim with bag but at times in my yak I thought I was. I work the swim events in my kayak doing rescue if swimmers get into trouble if anyone in the DFW area is intrested there is a Ironman this weekend at Joe Pool my wife & I will be there working the swim event on Saturday. I worked all the Ironmans all last summer during chemo and did not have any problems with my bag coming loose thank god would have been a real mess in my yak.
  • neon356
    neon356 Member Posts: 137 Member
    Wafer sweating off
    Same problem for me when I'm out working in this weather. I was also using the Convatec, and switched to the Holister wafer which did offer some improvement. I've tried the pads, but they don't seem to help much because they're absorbing the sweat that's already gone thru the wafer and loosened the adhesion. The only thing that definitely works is the belt that attaches to the tabs on the bag. The wafer might still come loose but at least it can't fall off.... Carl
  • tesslee
    tesslee Member Posts: 97
    neon356 said:

    Wafer sweating off
    Same problem for me when I'm out working in this weather. I was also using the Convatec, and switched to the Holister wafer which did offer some improvement. I've tried the pads, but they don't seem to help much because they're absorbing the sweat that's already gone thru the wafer and loosened the adhesion. The only thing that definitely works is the belt that attaches to the tabs on the bag. The wafer might still come loose but at least it can't fall off.... Carl

    some thing else to consider
    this happened to me when my stoma shrunk. i would have leaks because the wafer would semi come loose. i use the same appliance you do and i have not had that problem. but then again i'm in AC most of the time. good luck.

    oh and hollister makes a special unit for sweating.

    something else, you said you use no adhesive. do you mean no stoma paste around the inside edge? i'm new to this, but my wo nurse has me use a stoma paste and then a 3m non sting barrier for the fabric part.
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    tesslee said:

    some thing else to consider
    this happened to me when my stoma shrunk. i would have leaks because the wafer would semi come loose. i use the same appliance you do and i have not had that problem. but then again i'm in AC most of the time. good luck.

    oh and hollister makes a special unit for sweating.

    something else, you said you use no adhesive. do you mean no stoma paste around the inside edge? i'm new to this, but my wo nurse has me use a stoma paste and then a 3m non sting barrier for the fabric part.

    Till now, only adhesive I've needed was that which was already
    on the wafer part when you removed the paperish covering. Except for a rare blowout, wafers have always held to skin. (girlfriend thinks that my gaining weight in the belly area may have affected sticking but I think there's now more area to adhere to).Never used a belt so that might be an option in the summer. I have some Hollister samples (somewhere)I could try but maybe I'll just carry extra pouches as well as wafers now and hope we don't hit high nineties with humidity too soon again (have difficulty breathing in such weather anyway yet I still like to get out).......Just wondering if I'm the only one who's bag seems to be slipping perhaps due to heat and humidity and the resulting sweat .......steve
  • Shayenne
    Shayenne Member Posts: 2,342
    coloCan said:

    Till now, only adhesive I've needed was that which was already
    on the wafer part when you removed the paperish covering. Except for a rare blowout, wafers have always held to skin. (girlfriend thinks that my gaining weight in the belly area may have affected sticking but I think there's now more area to adhere to).Never used a belt so that might be an option in the summer. I have some Hollister samples (somewhere)I could try but maybe I'll just carry extra pouches as well as wafers now and hope we don't hit high nineties with humidity too soon again (have difficulty breathing in such weather anyway yet I still like to get out).......Just wondering if I'm the only one who's bag seems to be slipping perhaps due to heat and humidity and the resulting sweat .......steve

    Steve....
    This is my 2nd summer with the colostomy, and do sweat abit around the edges of my wafer. I always use a skin prep barrier wipe, then stomahesive powder, and then put paste on before putting the wafer on. It seemed one day that the wafer melted into my skin due to the heat, and I got so scared, that never happened to me, till this year...nothing was holding the wafer on...I then just used more paste on the wafer, added it to the circle part, and the the edges where the wafer ends, then I hold my hands on the wafer part and leave it there for like 5 minutes, till it's body heat activated, and it's been fine. Sometimes I use a hospital tape, and then cut 4 small strips, and stick them over the wafer edges, over the skin too, so nothing comes out. It's a little more to do to it, but anything that holds!! LOL

    Hugsss!
    ~Donna
  • RickMurtagh
    RickMurtagh Member Posts: 587 Member
    Warm weather
    Steve,
    I found warm, even humid weather, made my appliance stick better, even when wet. I used Holister two piece. You might check the UOAA forums for more info. There have been many recent discussions concerning the time of year and activities and the affect they had on various appliances.
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    Care and feeding
    I have an ileostomy, but all ostomy appliances need basically the
    same care.

    I found that the Coloplast Assura 2pc series, with their
    Extended wear wafer to be about the best for wear. I use a
    Hollister Adapt ring between wafer and skin, for added wear-time.

    Only -hot water- should be used to wash the peristomal area,
    since all soaps leave a residue. The adhesives will dissolve
    and/or degrade with hot water.

    Paper towels are best to dry the area with, since they don't
    contain any skin softeners that leave a residue.

    No topical dressing should be used on the skin under the wafer
    or appliance. The manufacturers design their products to be
    used on clean, dry skin, not for any other product under it.

    The hole for the stoma should be cut as tight to the stoma as
    possible. Any skin that shows around the base through the hole,
    will be damaged by your system's acids. The stoma is not harmed
    by your waste, but your skin is.

    Pastes are used to fill depressions, like spackle is to fill a dent
    in your wall. It is not an adhesive or sealant, and if used for that
    purpose, it will fail.

    Stretching the peristomal skin as you apply the appliance (or wafer)
    will allow the device to stick to skin that's already stretched as it
    would be during normal wear. If you stick it to lax skin, when the
    skin is later stretched during normal activities, the skin will try to pull
    out from under the adhesive, drastically reducing wear-time.

    With the 2pc, I can get an average of two to three weeks out
    of the wafer, and change the pouch as I see fit. The longer the
    appliance stays on, the happier your skin will be.

    Each time you remove the appliance, some skin comes with it.

    I probably forgot something, but that's the scoop on getting better
    wear-time.

    If the stoma protrudes as it should, by about 3/4 to 1" out, the
    problems are less than if you have an "innie", where the stoma is
    recessed. If you have an "innie", a convex adapter should be used
    to get the best seal possible.


    If any of that helps, send money.


    Good health!


    John
  • RickMurtagh
    RickMurtagh Member Posts: 587 Member
    John23 said:

    Care and feeding
    I have an ileostomy, but all ostomy appliances need basically the
    same care.

    I found that the Coloplast Assura 2pc series, with their
    Extended wear wafer to be about the best for wear. I use a
    Hollister Adapt ring between wafer and skin, for added wear-time.

    Only -hot water- should be used to wash the peristomal area,
    since all soaps leave a residue. The adhesives will dissolve
    and/or degrade with hot water.

    Paper towels are best to dry the area with, since they don't
    contain any skin softeners that leave a residue.

    No topical dressing should be used on the skin under the wafer
    or appliance. The manufacturers design their products to be
    used on clean, dry skin, not for any other product under it.

    The hole for the stoma should be cut as tight to the stoma as
    possible. Any skin that shows around the base through the hole,
    will be damaged by your system's acids. The stoma is not harmed
    by your waste, but your skin is.

    Pastes are used to fill depressions, like spackle is to fill a dent
    in your wall. It is not an adhesive or sealant, and if used for that
    purpose, it will fail.

    Stretching the peristomal skin as you apply the appliance (or wafer)
    will allow the device to stick to skin that's already stretched as it
    would be during normal wear. If you stick it to lax skin, when the
    skin is later stretched during normal activities, the skin will try to pull
    out from under the adhesive, drastically reducing wear-time.

    With the 2pc, I can get an average of two to three weeks out
    of the wafer, and change the pouch as I see fit. The longer the
    appliance stays on, the happier your skin will be.

    Each time you remove the appliance, some skin comes with it.

    I probably forgot something, but that's the scoop on getting better
    wear-time.

    If the stoma protrudes as it should, by about 3/4 to 1" out, the
    problems are less than if you have an "innie", where the stoma is
    recessed. If you have an "innie", a convex adapter should be used
    to get the best seal possible.


    If any of that helps, send money.


    Good health!


    John

    Two or three weeks?
    Wow - I was lucky to get seven days! You clearly are the master and I the padowan. Where were you when I had my ileo?
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member

    Two or three weeks?
    Wow - I was lucky to get seven days! You clearly are the master and I the padowan. Where were you when I had my ileo?

    Longest time I've kept wafer on was about 9 days; kept one
    pouch on for about 4 days--output was good (solid) to dump those days.Last summer I was in preop TX, then prepping for op on Sept 2 so I wasn't outdoors too much and don't recall it being as hot and humid as it is this summer (and, of course,didn't have colostomy yet neither). Now that I'm moving around much more these days, exercising some and going outside in the heat to walk and sit by nearby water, or shop, etc , as I've said, three times wafer had started to fall off skin .

    Want to avoid using tape to secure it cos of short belly hairs (tho adhesive remover will probably work to painlessly remove added tape.) I'm just glad the heat didn;t melt the plastic pouch or chemically alter its contents, thereby causing an explosion and sending sheit flying everywhere.....(Look out, here comes that guy with the exploding ostomy bag!!)Things could be worse.

    Another question: do any of you take your shirt off outside in warm weather? When I do so (and originally I said I'd never take shirt off in public again)I face away from people so they don't see bag, take off shirt or t-shirt and then wrap it around pouch area and waist, sticking part into pants to keep shirt in place and to cover up bag......Try not to get too much sun at once as chemo/rad seemed to have made sunspots from years and years on the beach much more prominent. Glad the heatwave in NY ended for a spell (used to love going to beach-could walk there in 15-20 minutes-but COPD put an end to that)

    Enjoy the summer as best you can cos in a few months we'll be complaining its too cold. As Mark Twain had said: Everyone talks ABOUT THE WEATHER BUT NO ONE DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT.(but then again, he;d also said we have the best Congress money can buy----I disagree:we have the most corrupt gov't money can buy, not the best!!!! (NYS tops the list)

    steve
  • classicman
    classicman Member Posts: 34
    Sticky question..
    I was lucky, i got my Ileostomy bag, in late sept 09 and even tho i did go back to work i had some problems with body moisture causing the Flange come loose. I wore the Convatec 2 piece with the moldable flange, which seemed to hold better, I did use the barrier adhiesive wipes, and spray, and the stoma powder to form a tighter bond and i used a hair drier to dry each application, my stoma was in a difficult position, right in the middle of a natural fat fold,, HA<HA and whem March came around and i got my reversal done i was ready, i had no skin left, and my adhisive program didnt work as well, several suprise leaks and messes., but i do feel the use of adhisive wipes along with using a hair dryer is a good suggestion. A nurse at the wound clinic even suggested the use of a small lightweight panty liner , but i never used them, i can say 1 life saver is the use of the belt to hold the flange tight to your body, I didnt like the Convetec belt, so i used the belt from Hollister, much easier to snap on and off and made with wider elastic for a comfy fit.
    I hope these tips help. Classicman
  • classicman
    classicman Member Posts: 34

    Two or three weeks?
    Wow - I was lucky to get seven days! You clearly are the master and I the padowan. Where were you when I had my ileo?

    2 weeks,
    wow, my skin couldnt handle that, the most i ever got was 6 days topsand that was pushing it, i always used a marker and wrote the expire date on the flange tape to remind me to keep watch
  • classicman
    classicman Member Posts: 34
    John23 said:

    Care and feeding
    I have an ileostomy, but all ostomy appliances need basically the
    same care.

    I found that the Coloplast Assura 2pc series, with their
    Extended wear wafer to be about the best for wear. I use a
    Hollister Adapt ring between wafer and skin, for added wear-time.

    Only -hot water- should be used to wash the peristomal area,
    since all soaps leave a residue. The adhesives will dissolve
    and/or degrade with hot water.

    Paper towels are best to dry the area with, since they don't
    contain any skin softeners that leave a residue.

    No topical dressing should be used on the skin under the wafer
    or appliance. The manufacturers design their products to be
    used on clean, dry skin, not for any other product under it.

    The hole for the stoma should be cut as tight to the stoma as
    possible. Any skin that shows around the base through the hole,
    will be damaged by your system's acids. The stoma is not harmed
    by your waste, but your skin is.

    Pastes are used to fill depressions, like spackle is to fill a dent
    in your wall. It is not an adhesive or sealant, and if used for that
    purpose, it will fail.

    Stretching the peristomal skin as you apply the appliance (or wafer)
    will allow the device to stick to skin that's already stretched as it
    would be during normal wear. If you stick it to lax skin, when the
    skin is later stretched during normal activities, the skin will try to pull
    out from under the adhesive, drastically reducing wear-time.

    With the 2pc, I can get an average of two to three weeks out
    of the wafer, and change the pouch as I see fit. The longer the
    appliance stays on, the happier your skin will be.

    Each time you remove the appliance, some skin comes with it.

    I probably forgot something, but that's the scoop on getting better
    wear-time.

    If the stoma protrudes as it should, by about 3/4 to 1" out, the
    problems are less than if you have an "innie", where the stoma is
    recessed. If you have an "innie", a convex adapter should be used
    to get the best seal possible.


    If any of that helps, send money.


    Good health!


    John

    I agree
    I agree with your regement, and i strongly feel placement of the stoma is important, my ostomy nurse didnt mark mine properly, and placed it in a skin fold, deue to the loss of over 200 pounds, I used an Ekinseal, some times 2 at a time, and no matter how tight i got it i still had moisture problems, maybe due to excessive natural skin oils