Hi
Sometimes I get a strange smell which I assume is from my stoma. There is no leak from my appliance, I am sure, and my husband can't smell anything, but I am so aware of it. I know it sounds strange, but it's like the smell is almost at the back of my nose/throat. This only happens every now and again, and I can't link it to any particular food I have eaten.
Does anyone else have any experience of this? I have had my ileostomy for a year now, and it is still all quite new to me.
Thanks
I'm aware of a situation in which one of the components of the plastic pouch was not up to spec. The company admitted their error, replaced the pouches and were very apologetic. If you call the manufacturer of your appliance they might offer you some help.
If you don't see a leak there should be no odour.
Good luck,
Mike
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Hi Crossley. Ya know, I think it’s all about feelings. I don’t mean the pain feelings which could control everything. I mean the feelings inside our heads, our hearts and even our souls. I mean the feelings of who we are now compared to who we were; how we accept our situation or maybe we don’t. My wife asked how I felt and I said, “like crap”. She asked what hurt and I answered, “Nothing hurts, well, everything hurts, I don’t know, It all sucks.” That was a long time ago. You question if your feelings are normal. How normal is it to relocate your butt hole to your belly where it’s usually in the way of your belt and, you know. But that’s where we are and for lots of us we are so much better off than we were before, physically. Emotionally, psychologically, well, that might be a different story. I believe talk therapy is wonderful if we could find a real empathic or sympathetic listener. So guess what! I found MAO and began “talking” with a keyboard with some of the wisest, kindest most sympathetic and compassionate folks on the planet. Regardless of where we’ve been, lots of folks here have been there and worse places and found their way back healthier and happier. We really do help each other.
Keep “talking”,
Mike
Thanks, Mike.
Unfortunately, this has happened with different boxes of pouches, so I can only assume they are not faulty.
Agree with Mike. I often have that odor. It's almost like the bag sweats. Never thought it could be a defect. Thanks for the tip. It usually means I have to change the entire appliance or clean it out. I saw after replacing mine recently a gap between the "o" ring and wafer where poo obviously can linger. Even the ring squashes and allows an odor. That's what I have found. Small leak...passing through gap. Try washing the bag out next time. No, don't remove it. Just drain it then add water. Close it up. Swish it around a bit and drain again. Think of it as a flushing process.
t
You got me thinking it could be the actual appliance, and now after investigating, I think it is actually the filter where the smell is coming from.
The pouches I am using are Salts Confidence BE drainable convex, and they don't come with the little stickers like previous ones I have used. Not that I really ever knew the purpose of the stickers!
I will speak with the manufacturers tomorrow and see if they can shed some light.
Thanks for all your help.
It's summer here and if there is an odor, I can't help but think it may be because of the heat.
I don't use vented pouches. Naturally, with a filtered pouch, it likely will vent. But charcoal is supposed to prevent odor. Maybe you're right. The filter is bad. Mine still smells. No filter.
Hey Fi Trix, now that I know you're using filtered pouches, my thoughts are different. So many of our experts here with so many years of experimenting have written their opinions relative to filters. Many are discouraging and many have unequivically stated they just don't work. Before looking any further I suggest you investigate the possibility of the filter not doing its job as well as you would like. Next time you experience a problem cover the filter with non-porous tape and see if it goes away.
Keep us posted,
Mike
It is funny that filtered pouches work for such a short time. The circles or stickers are there to cover your filter when you get into the shower or are swimming. I usually forget to use them but the filter goes bad so fast that it probably makes no difference. They would be good to use over the filter when you know poo has contaminated it and that smell does come out. It does not help with releasing any gas but then it was not working anyway.
Puppyluv
Thanks for everyone's advice.
I will keep you updated with how I get on.
