Need tips for Showering

foods55
foods55 Member Posts: 35 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1

I'm fairly new to the Colorectal forum. I had colonrectal cancer suergery on 2-13-15. I had my large intestine removed and ended up with a pernament iliostomy bag.

I need tips for showering-What does everyone do to keep thier bag dry when they shower?  Does anyone have a great tip

Comments

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    #2
    Welcome to the forum.

    We have several here who have 'the bag' and will give you great advice. They pop in now and again, so it may take a little while.

    I was blessed not to have to go that route, so can't be any help.

    Have you been doing any treatments?

    Sue - Trubrit

  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    #3
    Ileostomy, etc...

    You can read some suggestions on my “blog”. Just click on my avatar and go to the blog…

     

    You can shower with the appliance intact. The appliance keeps the liquid in, and it keeps liquid out. You do want to make sure that the seal is secure; any lifting of the wafer can erode fairly quickly. Taping a piece of plastic (like a zip-lock bag) over the appliance can be of some help. The appliance’s adhesive is subject to hot water….. You use hot water to  dissolve the adhesive, so a hot shower may cause some degradation of the adhesive qualities of the wafer.

     

    I strongly suggest you use two-piece appliances with a “cut-to-fit” wafer. The stoma will change in size as time passes and you will be better off changing the diameter of the stoma hole in the wafer to match the need.

     

    The wafer/appliance should always be as firm against the stoma as possible, with no area of peristomal area visible when the wafer/appliance is mounted.

     

    And forget the instructions to change it every three days. Each time you change the appliance, you take some skin with it. Your skin (peristomal area) will be healthier if you do not change the appliance (wafer) unless it’s necessary to do so. Don’t do things arbitrarily… do things as necessary.

     

    Read the blog…. It may be of help.

     

    Good luck, and best wishes for better health!

     

    John

  • LivinginNH
    LivinginNH Member Posts: 1,456 Member
    #4
    John23's tips

    Hi,

    I can certainly attest to how extremely helpful John and his blog were to Rick and me.  I highly recommend that you read his blog and learn from his experiences.  Rick was having such a hard time with his two bags, but John's tips on which bags to use and the Convatec Power, etc. were simply indispensable.

    Best wishes,

    Cyn

  • lp1964
    lp1964 Member Posts: 1,239 Member
    #5
    Dear Friend,

    You don't have to worry about the water getting on the pouch, just dry it after or replace it. 

    Laz

  • foods55
    foods55 Member Posts: 35 Member
    #6
    Trubrit said:

    Welcome to the forum.

    We have several here who have 'the bag' and will give you great advice. They pop in now and again, so it may take a little while.

    I was blessed not to have to go that route, so can't be any help.

    Have you been doing any treatments?

    Sue - Trubrit

    Trubrit-Thanks

    Thanks for responding and I have been going through chemo every 2 weeks and wear the chemo bag for 48 hours and then go back to get it off.  I have two more treatments left and then I'll be getting a Pet scan to see if treatment is working.  I wasn't able to get radiation for my colon cancer because of all the radiation I had when I was going through treatment for uterine cancer in 2011

    Thanks again,

    Sue

  • foods55
    foods55 Member Posts: 35 Member
    #7
    John23 said:

    Ileostomy, etc...

    You can read some suggestions on my “blog”. Just click on my avatar and go to the blog…

     

    You can shower with the appliance intact. The appliance keeps the liquid in, and it keeps liquid out. You do want to make sure that the seal is secure; any lifting of the wafer can erode fairly quickly. Taping a piece of plastic (like a zip-lock bag) over the appliance can be of some help. The appliance’s adhesive is subject to hot water….. You use hot water to  dissolve the adhesive, so a hot shower may cause some degradation of the adhesive qualities of the wafer.

     

    I strongly suggest you use two-piece appliances with a “cut-to-fit” wafer. The stoma will change in size as time passes and you will be better off changing the diameter of the stoma hole in the wafer to match the need.

     

    The wafer/appliance should always be as firm against the stoma as possible, with no area of peristomal area visible when the wafer/appliance is mounted.

     

    And forget the instructions to change it every three days. Each time you change the appliance, you take some skin with it. Your skin (peristomal area) will be healthier if you do not change the appliance (wafer) unless it’s necessary to do so. Don’t do things arbitrarily… do things as necessary.

     

    Read the blog…. It may be of help.

     

    Good luck, and best wishes for better health!

     

    John

    Great information

    John,

    I sure appreaciate all the information from your blog. I really had a hard time getting correct information on how to take care of my ileostomy bag.  The nurses at the hospital and my home care nurse would give me different information on how to deal with my bag.  I was so frustrated when I came home from the hospital because the bags were leaking. I'm finally getting the hang of it.  

     The support from everyone on this forum is a blessing for me because my family and friends are not able to help or understand the issues I have at times when I really need answers.

    Thanks,

    Sue

  • foods55
    foods55 Member Posts: 35 Member
    #8
    lp1964 said:

    Dear Friend,

    You don't have to worry about the water getting on the pouch, just dry it after or replace it. 

    Laz

    Thanks for the resonse

    I have tried showering with the bag on and dried it off but I felt uncomfortable because I thought my bag might fall off later in the day.  So, now when I shower either I use the Glad Press'n Seal or just put on a new pouch.  I don't always like using the Glad Press'n Seal because it takes too much preparation and it doesn't always work.  Also, I worried about using to many waffers and bags. 

    I miss the days when I was able to take a quick shower and get dressed fast and go to work without thinking about the extra preparation. Laughing

    I guess practice makes perfect so I'm working on it!

    Thanks,

    Sue

  • foods55
    foods55 Member Posts: 35 Member
    #9
    LivinginNH said:

    John23's tips

    Hi,

    I can certainly attest to how extremely helpful John and his blog were to Rick and me.  I highly recommend that you read his blog and learn from his experiences.  Rick was having such a hard time with his two bags, but John's tips on which bags to use and the Convatec Power, etc. were simply indispensable.

    Best wishes,

    Cyn

    John23's tips

    Cyn,

    I sure agee with you about reading his blog.  He has such great information that is so helpful and I wish I new about it sooner!  I really appreciate when caretakers take time out

    to spend time on this forum and give sugestions/ hope to newbies.  I hope you continue to get the love and support from your family and friends.

    Sue

  • foods55
    foods55 Member Posts: 35 Member
    #10
    LivinginNH said:

    John23's tips

    Hi,

    I can certainly attest to how extremely helpful John and his blog were to Rick and me.  I highly recommend that you read his blog and learn from his experiences.  Rick was having such a hard time with his two bags, but John's tips on which bags to use and the Convatec Power, etc. were simply indispensable.

    Best wishes,

    Cyn

    Cyn,
    I sure agee with you

    Cyn,

    I sure agee with you about reading his blog.  He has such great information that is so helpful and I wish I new about it sooner!  I really appreciate when caretakers take time out

    to spend time on this forum and give sugestions/ hope to newbies.  I hope you continue to get the love and support from your family and friends.

    Sue

  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,460 Member
    #11
     When I used the one piece

     When I used the one piece system, I just towel dried it and then stood in front of the fan so I wouldn't get a rash but I never liked the smell that happens with those so I avoid using them.  The two piece system is so much more convenient.  I take the bag off, wash the wafer and the general area then I use an ostomy "cap" as a mini towl which is a very tiny bag and absorbs the water and then I put on a new bag.  I don't know if an ileostomy is different because it is liquid.  Is there constant output? Is there a two piece system for that?  Colostomy has a more solid output.  The bags are waterproof, I swim with mine all the time with some waterproof tape to make sure the wafer stays on.  Also sometimes when they get wet, there can be a smell but as I mentioned, with a two piece system, I can just replace the bag.  Since you are dealing with moisture, make sure you have ostomy powder handy in case you get irritation.  It resolves it rather quickly if you catch it at the start.

  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,460 Member
    #12
    foods55 said:

    Thanks for the resonse

    I have tried showering with the bag on and dried it off but I felt uncomfortable because I thought my bag might fall off later in the day.  So, now when I shower either I use the Glad Press'n Seal or just put on a new pouch.  I don't always like using the Glad Press'n Seal because it takes too much preparation and it doesn't always work.  Also, I worried about using to many waffers and bags. 

    I miss the days when I was able to take a quick shower and get dressed fast and go to work without thinking about the extra preparation. Laughing

    I guess practice makes perfect so I'm working on it!

    Thanks,

    Sue

    There is also a wipe that

    There is also a wipe that helps create an extra seal, they are a no sting barrier film and the one I use is called Cavilon by 3M (product number 3342). I find it works well when needed.  It is what helps seal the powder to your body when you have a rash. The wafers are a lot stronger than they seem. I highly suggest calling each company and asking for free samples of everything.  That's how I discovered all of these products.  They will send you a whole bunch of different things.  Extra barriers, extended wafer forms, pastes, sealants, powders, perfumes.  It took me about a year to really truly get the hang of it all.  Now it's second nature (I'm two years out).  I called two places for help.  The Ostomy hotline and I have to say, they were very helpful.  And a sales representative at each company, not customer service, an actual sales person who knows all the products.  Usually you receive a letter with a contact who can tell you about all the products and send you samples.  I also now have a rule, ALWAYS carry 3 bags, always and also carry a pair of cotton pants that are light and roll right into my purse.  I have had 5 major blowouts in the past two years.  Two at work, one in the basement of a funeral home.  I had to stand in the basement of the funeral home naked washing my body and washing out out my pants, it wasn't pretty.  I don't know if blowouts happen with an ileostomy.  If you still need to do a cleanse with an ileostomy to clean out your small intestine for a colonoscopy, there are very long bags that go right into the toilet so you don't end up with a mess in your shower, learned that the hard way.  They are called irrigation bags.

    I got free samples from these companies:

    Convatec

    Coloplast

    Nu-Hope

    Hollister

     

    I don't come on very much anymore but I do pop on here and there so feel free to PM me if I can be of any help.  As I mentioned, I have a colostomy so it may be a little different.

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    #13
    Helen321 said:

     When I used the one piece

     When I used the one piece system, I just towel dried it and then stood in front of the fan so I wouldn't get a rash but I never liked the smell that happens with those so I avoid using them.  The two piece system is so much more convenient.  I take the bag off, wash the wafer and the general area then I use an ostomy "cap" as a mini towl which is a very tiny bag and absorbs the water and then I put on a new bag.  I don't know if an ileostomy is different because it is liquid.  Is there constant output? Is there a two piece system for that?  Colostomy has a more solid output.  The bags are waterproof, I swim with mine all the time with some waterproof tape to make sure the wafer stays on.  Also sometimes when they get wet, there can be a smell but as I mentioned, with a two piece system, I can just replace the bag.  Since you are dealing with moisture, make sure you have ostomy powder handy in case you get irritation.  It resolves it rather quickly if you catch it at the start.

    I use Convatec bags with the

    I use Convatec bags with the velcro closure. I don't try to keep it dry but I wrap it in a facecloth after and clip it to the top of the appliance with a hair clip until it dries. One day I went out when it wasn't dry yet and the whole front of my pants were wet. It was rather embarassing. When I'm going to change the whole thing I have a nice, hot bath to loosen up the adhesive first. Which works but the wafer still sticks well.

    Jan

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