Is It Okay to Leave Your Bag Off for Hours?

Is it ok to leve your bag off for a number of hours ?????  I was told not to put the stomer in the sun but nothing about just going without the bag.

Thanks

Faith

interesting question, personally i never leave mine uncovered unless in the shower.... back in  my early days i wasnt as cautious.  after painting a few walls and bathroom fixtures i learned to treat my stoma like a gun..."dont point it at anything you dont intend to shoot"...!!!! not much help, am i..???  

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Couldn't imagine doing it with an ileostomy, those things will squirt away til the cows come home!



But perhaps with a colostomy you could let it get a bit of fresh air and sunshine!  As always wear sunscreen!  

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Am sure I have heard people on here say they give their stoma a bit of "breathing space" before change time so give it a go.



Cheers,

Jo

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My brother has a colostomy and he has told me he can leave his off for hours at a time. I have trouble keeping mine off (ileostomy) for the length of time needed to do a change. As an aside, we both have ostomies because of a screw-up by doctors, a hard thing to forget.
Ed

I don't think that's a good idea...like one of the others said it is so like pointing a gun an the trigger goes off...has happened to me...ugh...but you have to find humor in it..I only take off when I shower...some people irrigate...I never tried it..but I have other issues so it's just not meant for me...I don't know if you do that maybe you can leave it off for a while...hmmm...something to check out..

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Stories of Living Life to the Fullest from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

I have a ileostomy i wish i could leave it for fresh air marshmelo only last 3 4 5 minutes grrrr i hate ileostomy wen i work at our association i found out sooo much they irrigate and put a little cap on it

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They irrigate ilios????  I thought just colostmies can be irrigated.

You are the second person that has mentioned marshmellows. You say it stops the flow of urine for 3-5 minutes? How many do you have to eat and how much time do you have to wait before you pull your bag off?

Hi lampelady, I think the marshmallows may just slow the output flow of an ileostomy or colostomy, perhaps not a urostomy.

Leaving your bag off could have serious & messy concequences

With an ileostomy just the thought is enough, on the brighter side its something you only need do once, any more than once its time to reevaluate the consequences, I mean its just the clear shits, pun intended, Ed

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gutenberg



It is sometimes helpful to eat a handful of marshmallows about 15 minutes before changing your appliance if you have an ileostomy

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It would be interesting to learn how many of us have our permanent ostomies as a result of "doctor error."  I was hospitalized nearly a month cleaning up a septic abdomen due to medical failure in a take down!

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If you have already eaten food, and need to change your ostomy, how do marshmallows bypass it to make it easier to change your bag??

Hi, mashmallows don't actually bypass any food you have eaten but if you know you are going to change your pouch you can eat a few mashmallows a while beforehand and it sort of thickens you up a bit especially if you have an ileostomy.

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I figured out my digestive system a long time ago  :))     I can change without fear of "spouting" as long as I haven't eaten for a few hours.  So for me,  later in the evening....about 3-4 hours after dinner, or first thing in the morning before evening, is the best time.   But everyone is different.   Best time, is probably one minute....from time of taking old one off, and slapping the new one on.  Only taken me 48 years to perfect that.

Wow! This topic is HOT!  My WOCN encourages people to leave their pouch and/or wafer off especially if experiencing broken skin.  



Only descending and sigmoid colostomies can be irrigated.  This makes it possible to go w/o a true pouch for a whole day or more.  The ostomy still puts out mucus, so a cap or mini-pouch or even a 4x4 gauze are used to cover the stoma.  I prefer mini-pouches.



Marshmallows do thicken the stool and can be a little blocking if you eat too many at once.  I have also seen WOCNs recommending Immodium if you want to stop the flow of fecal material for a period of time.



When I had a transverse colostomy back in 2003 I took one Immodium a day and became very regular - action only at 6 am-noon-6pm (unless I ate the wrong thing during the day - usually something like commercially prepared cake from Costco!)

I have found noodles to be great for "thickening" things up a bit before changing the bag or just when you have a bit of super liquedy output

Hi, I have a colostomy, however, I only ever leave a bag off when I'm in the bath, even then I wear a stoma cup, as mine decides to empty whenever it feels like it, which is most of the time!

The marshmallow idea would probably work better if you just jam a few right up the old stoma.

mine was also a screw up by dr.'s & I spent almost 2 yrs. in the hospital because I caught an infection called mrsa. Terrible, my family and the doctors wrote me off but here I am, a survivor. I never leave mine uncovered completely but I do put a gauze square over it to air it out before putting the bag on. It helps in case of an accident.

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I've learned a new thing. I have never heard of eating marshmellows before changing out. I just know within 2 hours after eating a meal my ostomy starts to put out. I shall have to try this marshmellow thing. It's a great excuse to get a yummy treat haha.

Its fine to leave your bag off if you're stoma is predictible, i like many other's have also decorated more walls etc than i care to mention. Personally i'd be careful what sunscreen you use and be very careful because its very sensitive intestine and who knows how it would be if it got sunburned.



Star

hi everyone



i would love to leave my bag off as i suffer alot from broken skin and sores around the stoma.....but as most of you...it has a mind of its own!



xx

leave the bag off when your swimming(in the ocean) or when you want that busybody neighbor to mind his business.lol

What a wonderful idea!  If it works, my wife will love you forever.  No more hives from nerves.  One of the first times she changed the bag solo I had diahrrea and had to be taken back to the hospital.  When my nurse sent a specimen down to the lab she was scolded for sending a urine sample down.  She had trouble convincing them that it was definitely not urine!  All this because of an Ecoliburger in a restaurant.

I find that the pre-washed packaged salads does the e-coli thing for me. I just can't learn to leave them alone. It was probably the lettuce in your burger. I am just getting over one now.  I guess we are more succeptable to the germ because of our lack of intestines and colon length? I have had my colostomy for 6 years now and still, when you think you have yourself all figured out, the next day will be a whole new ballgame!! There are never 2 days alike!

hi,had fistulas and eight surgerys before finale colostomy,messed up me and my life but doing ok

i'm into 2 1/2years of an ostomy,had lots of problems with sores,but finally found how to treat them.Iwear a one piece drainalbale,I leave one 5-7 days,if iratated i use powder and protected wipes.build up a layer by useing protective wipes and powder and making several layers and then fine next time.

When i was in hospital the dietician told me that to "thicken up" the output I should eat marshmallows, peanut butter or bananas.

I've since found out that jelly babies (in fact any sweeties with gelatine) also do the trick!



Newbie...Chris