HELP!! Skin breakdown/infection from iliostomy

musiclover
musiclover Member Posts: 242
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I posted something for my friend Mark last week asking how long one can leave on an iliostomy bag. He's really been having grief with this from the beginning but since he discovered benzoid, he left his last back on for 16 days. Not having access to the nurse (she's an idiot anyway), apparently leaving it on for this long is not a good idea. He is bewildered now suffering from a nasty skin irritation. I haven't seen it myself, just heard his sorrowful voice over the phone tonight.

I'm afraid for him. He was sent to the emergency room over Christmas for a bad skin infection brought on by radiation treatments. That was so traumatic for him. I hate to think he'll need another trip to the emergency room for this. I will take him if necessary but I'd love some feedback from you out there.

Questions:
1) Has anyone experienced this??
2) How can the skin heal with a bag on covering this irritated skin?? He can't go without a bag, right? He put benzoid (sp) in a different location than the iritated skin to hold on a new bag. The tender skin is immediately next to the stoma and he's afraid to lay down. He said he would try to sleep sitting up tonight!
3) How did anyone out there overcome this? Did you need to take antibiotics?

Thank you so much for your help. I feel somewhat responsible since we left the hospital last week before seeing the iliostomy nurse to tell her how long he'd had this on. We'd already been there for five hours and Mark hadn't eaten anything. I figured anything she told him was worthless anyway (she has been miserable help throughout the whole iliostomy ordeal) and encouraged him to leave rather than wait for another two hours to see her. I shouldn't have discouraged him from seeing her. Another lesson for me...There is only one iliostomy nurse in the entire hospital and she's only there on Monday's. I hope no one ever has to go to the County Hospital in Los Angeles for any reason.

Comments

  • jerseysue
    jerseysue Member Posts: 624 Member
    #2
    I have a colostomy but when my skin gets irritated I take a shower then I don't put anything on for a while. I stay pretty close to the bathroom when I do this but I find that it helps me air it out. Can you contact the closest American Cancer Society and see if they have anyone that can help him with this? It maybe worth a try.
  • musiclover
    musiclover Member Posts: 242
    #3
    jerseysue said:

    I have a colostomy but when my skin gets irritated I take a shower then I don't put anything on for a while. I stay pretty close to the bathroom when I do this but I find that it helps me air it out. Can you contact the closest American Cancer Society and see if they have anyone that can help him with this? It maybe worth a try.

    Thanks for the suggestion. I will try that right now. Kathryn
  • nanuk
    nanuk Member Posts: 1,358 Member
    #4
    He could consider irrigating until the skin heals.
    also, there are many "tricks" to treating stoma area skin problems-go to
    http://www.ostomyinternational.org/forums.htm and
    post your questions.

    A few sites for you to explore RE Colostomy:
    www.ostomy.org
    http://www.uoa.org/discussion_main.htm
    http://ostomyinternational.org/
    http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~takkenb/OstomySites.htm Here are some chat sites and forums for more Ostomy information:
    Every second Sunday: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/ukostomysupport (UK
    Time)
    Monday: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/peopleswithostomy2 (US Time)
    Tuesday: http://www.stuartonline.com/chatroom.htm (US Time)
    Wednesday: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/ostomatessupport (US Time) and http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/ukostomysupport
    http://www.uoa.org/discussion_main.htm
    http://ostomyinternational.org/

    and, last but not least:
    http://www.ostomy.evansville.net/

    this site will have articles directly related to
    rashes/irritations and their treatment. Bud
  • jana11
    jana11 Member Posts: 705
    #5
    Oh no! I have a colostomy and I have eczema.

    I change my bag every 3 days or so. After I shower I leave the bag off for about 30 min - 2 hours (depending on my schedule). During my off time, if the skin is irritated I put a steriod cream on it. Before putting the bag on, I wash it with alcohol and then rinse with water. Then allow to dry fully.

    I ALWAYS apply a skin barrier film on before I put the plate/bag on. It is a life saver. I use the 3M no sting barrier wipes and love them. Lots of companies make such wipes. Your friend should call the major companies and request samples. Or ask the ostomy nurse for samples.

    I hope this helps. jana
  • cal79
    cal79 Member Posts: 57
    #6
    When I had my ileostomy I also had problems with skin irritations and rashes.

    With the ileostomy, you can't leave a bag off (like a colostomy) as it almost continually produces liquidy stool, this would be very messy and would also perpetuate the problem as the output would irritate the skin further. Irrigation cannot be done with an ileostomy either. The maximum length of time you should leave a bag on would be 3-4 days. Very occassionally some people get away with 5 days.

    As for the rash, the appliance suppliers have many options for skin irritation. There are barrier creams and powders which you can put on under the adhesive which protect the skin but don't stop the wafer from sticking. I used a cream called Stomahesive, and also a powder on top. This means that the bag is actually sticking to the powder and not directly to the skin. My skin irritation cleared up within a week of starting to use this. Warm showers with the bag off can also help with soothing the skin, just be careful not to put soap or anything directly on it (residue is ok).

    You will find lots of information on www.ostomates.org, the message board is particularly good for info about skin problems. It is also really, really important to keep regular contact with the stoma nurse. They can usually provide you with the creams etc that I have mentioned.

    Hope this helps, and good luck!

    Cal :)
  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    #7
    The major supply companies have 800 number and I believe several have a stoma nurse/specialist who might be able to address some questions/concerns over the phone. The skin barrier wipes and powders can be very helpful.
    Tara
  • Moesimo
    Moesimo Member Posts: 1,072 Member
    #8
    when I had my ileostomy I had to use convex wafers, they keep the output away from the skin. I had to change the appliance every 3 days or my skin would breakdown. If that happened the stomahesive powder and the skin barrier wipes helped.

    Maureen
  • fedester
    fedester Member Posts: 753 Member
    #9
    when i had my bag i use to go the the shaz ostomy site and found it very useful. just google shaz and look for the shaz index page and it runs the gambit with information. i think it is www.ostomates.org
    all the best
    bruce

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