Swimming with an Ostomy Bag - Leak-Free Tips

Pauli,

Just checked, I use them now, didn't recognize the name.

Take care,

Rod

Dear Knobby,

Thank you for your very sweet comment on my video. You made me so happy. I was so happy when Convatec made that video because getting an ostomy gave me my life back and I want my video to help others.

If you know you have had a good clear out - output-wise for the day or induce it with whatever flushes you out like fresh orange juice, then why not try a two-piece with a base plate on your body, then a cap that seals over the stoma flat, same color as skin, pinkish?

I'm nearly 4 years in as a double bagger. I loved to swim in the sea or swimming pool on holiday when abroad, renting a nice villa with a pool!
So now I've finally learned most of the tricks of the trade in ostomy, trialed more bags than I can remember, and tried various ostomy products. I finally took the plunge in good old Blighty last summer on a road trip in my motorhome in Kimmeridge Bay in Dorset, UK!
I plucked up courage as the sun was setting around 7pm at a very quiet location when most of the day trippers had gone home!
My swim started the moment I saw this old guy turn up from nowhere with his towel and just jumped in the sea and swam straight across the bay, which must have been half a mile at least??
That was when I got the bottle to go and get my swimming shorts on. As I was wearing my Coloplast blue high-waisted trunks, all I had to do was put my stoma belt on, which had an opening for my urostomy bag to hang but not one for my colostomy, as I have a parastomal hernia and prolapsed stoma on the left side. My belt is designed to hold everything in or closer to the body without too much pressure. When I've fitted that, I pull my high-waisted Coloplast trunks up over my stoma belt and everything is held in place where I want the bags with not much restriction on them. No problem if you want to pee in the sea like you did when you were little in the bath!!
So wearing my matching vest or muscle vest, off I swam for the first time in over 4 years, relaxed and happy as a sand boy!!
If you're really worried about untimely output, you can take loperamide or Imodium that day in the morning to be on the safe side and have less fluids if you're a double bagger??
Another two big game changers I've discovered recently that will also help out if you fancy a paddle are extra wide Coloplast Brava tape extenders and Pearls absorbent small sachets. You empty them into the drain of your colostomy or ileostomy drain end of the bag but inverted so it falls in, then seal it up. It will thicken your output almost solid if it exits your stoma loose or watery??

Go well, swim well.‍&zwj