Showering Tips for Keeping a Stoma Dry

Thanks to everyone who helped me with diet info. I always shower with the bag on. What are the tricks to showering with the bag off and keeping the stoma dry? How is this done? Thanks to everyone.

1st... Know your cycle... THEN

Give that stoma a wash with soap and water...

It will not hurt your stoma to get wet.  You will feel great afterwards. 

Being an ileostomate, one needs to be mindful of when one last ate. I usually fast for 10-12 hours before taking a naked shower. This minimizes the chance of a shitty shower. For me, everyone is different, and some people often cannot stop the secretion of bile, especially those with SBS. But if you are comfortable getting into the shower without your bag, lather away. You are not going to hurt your ileum with bath soap and water. I use Irish Spring and then finish up the peristomal skin with Dial anti-bacterial soap. The tricky part is toweling off afterward. I use a Kleenex towel and a hair dryer on low for the peristomal area.

Obviously, this is something people usually save for bag change day. For me, that's once a week. If you are looking to only remove the bag, I am not sure I would recommend that, as warm water in a stream could be detrimental to your seal. And I am not sure what the benefit of that would be anyhow. :-)

Daniel

The concept of showering with no bag is to get your stoma and the surrounding area wet and clean. Let it dry well and put your new stuff on. The longer you can be with no bag on, the better for your skin, in my opinion.

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Towel dry most of my body and blot dry around stoma area with a washcloth. 

I agree with what everyone else said, showering without your bag on is not going to hurt your stoma. Some warm water and a little soap can do wonders. Careful when you get out that your little guy doesn't squirt all over your towel or the floor! Dry off your stoma and have the bag ready to go on. Set it up before you get in the shower. Have everything laid out and ready to assemble. 

I do this on change day. I was concerned at first, but now I try to take everything off, lay around for an hour (towel in area) and let the skin air out. In the shower, I make sure to get the area good and clean and then dry off well, and apply a new setup right away. I have a colostomy, which makes a difference. It took a while to get used to doing it.

lol. Always staring down at your stoma to see if you’re pooping? 😁

Showering without your appliance feels so good! You can get it clean and fresh, even if it's for a short time. I lather up my stoma and the surrounding area really well with Ivory soap, then rinse really well, but not putting the shower spray directly on the stoma. I have my set-up all ready to go when I'm out of the shower, and as I'm toweling my body off, I have a folded-over piece of toilet paper covering my stoma, which starts the drying process. I blot it dry with more toilet paper and even blow on it until it's completely dry. I have an ileo, so my window of time is short, but it's usually around two hours after eating, when I know my stoma won't be active for another hour or two, so I'm safe.

Terry

No need to keep the old stoma dry - let it enjoy the shower as well! The best time is when you have no or the least amount of output - sometimes that takes a while to figure out. I feel my stoma "shuts up when the water hits it" - he (yes, he - Seymour) doesn't want to drown. 😂. jb

I guess this is my cue to chime in, showering bagless, appliance-less, "nekked" as a jaybird. The only thing worn was a smile. 😁 It... stoma behaved, and I am grateful it didn't do a volcanic eruption. Not even a spit.

As an ileo for 8 years, this was a new and somewhat exciting experience. I concocted a painter's handheld cup which has a convenient handle. And a regular belt held it close enough not to fear my warrior happy dance of celebrating. Unlike a Snoopy dance... it's a very small shuffle, being nekked, and worried the first time out.

Chief Toyota reminds me

"Oh, what a feeling."

1946 is old????

Older than my 1948! :-)

Hi oldfart1946 from oldfart1942. Nice choice of handle😀

I try to guess when the flow stops early in the morning and then take off the pouch and get in the shower. Rosie (stoma) and I love to get in the shower and get all refreshed. Once in a while, you will need to push fecal matter down the drain, but that is no problem. Just clean your feet! Ha!

1944 very old!

Yes, but like any other household drain, a shower drain has a p-trap. That fecal matter can get trapped in the trap unless there is enough volume of water to force it out. Most showers aren't going to do the trick. Those of us taking naked showers are probably wise to occasionally using some baking soda and vinegar to keep unwelcome odors at bay. I know I do and my wife always tells me I'm a wise guy. :-)

Daniel 

Shower drains = 2"

Bathroom sink drains = 1.25"

Kitchen & Washer drains = 1.5"

Fill them with hot water then drain them.

Fill is the operative word. Hard to do in a walk-in shower. I use a bucket of hot water for the shower drain. After letting some baking soda and vinegar sit for a while. :-)

Daniel

Walk-in showers still have a 4" or so curb; there are flat rubber drain cover plugs that will hold 10-15 gallons of hot water.

Do as you will; good luck and safe health.

We are going sideways from the topic.

"Showering tips to keep your stoma dry." Your stoma stays dry with your bag on. Well...dry from shower water. Ends the subject...however...

Some of us can't fathom a bagless shower.

Others do it and advise how great it feels.

I tried a bagless shower twice so far and it is refreshing, but I wouldn't force it on anyone...

The issue then would be how active is your stoma? Mine behaved. Twice. Lucky me.

There are some who know their schedule, and some who can't schedule due to constant output.

Let's keep the ideas coming in a respectful way, huh?

What should be in another topic is addressing the output in a bagless shower. And this has been discussed before.

When I first saw this thread topic, I thought it was about keeping the bag dry since people get terms mixed up. And the poster is talking about a bag style shower, not appliance-free shower. Just my interpretation. 2 cents worth.

Sometimes sideways can be helpful, or better yet, can provide humor and laughter… you've done that quite a bit, as I recall… Anyway, I did find the whole drain sizes and baking soda and vinegar tips useful… as long as no one forgets what this post recommended and accidentally puts vinegar and oil down there… jb🥴

Well, I do stand sideways in the shower. But the topic thread answered itself. Then, tangents. Gotta love those tangents.

From "OldFart1946," the original poster: "What are the tricks to showering with the bag off?" Might want to go to the very top and re-read. Just saying.

You are absolutely right... with correcting me with what the O.P. asked. My bad. A thousand apologies to all, including the O.P., for overlooking that fact.

I did not read it thoroughly. Thank you for finding that error I made and passed ill judgment on the poster, mistakenly. 👍

Naked shower. Best part of my week.

I miss being really naked. Looking in the mirror and seeing my entire body without a bag.

I miss sleeping naked. Not waking to a bag full of farts that must be dispersed or, I don't know, suffer a blowout? Never chanced it.

Those showers? Naked? Oh my. So wonderful.

If a little stuff drops out, bah. I always spray my shower with goo when I get out.

Agree with your comments, but I have two additional comments: I never put any soap on my stoma - I figure it didn't get soaped in its original environment, so no soaping now, just some chemically laden water. My other input is a trick I learned from someone on this site. After showering, I have ready, just outside my shower, two sections of toilet paper (folded) which I apply to my stoma while still in the shower before I even dry off. It will become wet and stick to my skin, stoma, and surrounding area. It creates sort of a mini tee-pee and has saved many a spill…jb

I have tried both bag-on and bag-off showers. With the bag on, the fabric side cover of the bag needs to be dried. Not so easy when it's hanging next to one's body. I much prefer naked showers and don't worry about the stoma getting wet or acting up.

My Stella the Stoma to your Seymour.   Lolololol