pressure ulcers next to my stoma...ugh!!!!!!!

Aside the fact I dont like my bag, after three years of having it dealt with pretty well. I had figured out how to make a wafer last for a week and a half with no leaks. And when it itched, I figured out how to minimise it. .....and then somehow I got a small pressure ulcer. 05/03/15 About the size of half my pinky nail. And it has gotten to be the size of my stoma ( quarter size) in three weeks. And it is right next to my stoma. UGH!!!! it hurts like hell and I go thru wafers like one every two and a half to three days. Tomorrow I have been refered to a wound care DR by PCP. so we will see. As of right now I have to put butt past and/or this other prescribed cream silver something. And I have to use a brava protective sheet under my wafer. (Warning if you dont have adhesive remover,) use coconut oil. Well thats all I have for now.except this freaking SUX!!! THANK YOU for read my complaint. If you have any question....post them. Never wrote a blog before, so I dont know if I did it right or not or if it made any sence.

Chances are, the sore adjacent to your stoma isn't a pressure sore, per se. Pressure sores are caused by...pressure, and almost always develop over a bony prominence, of which there are few over the abdomen.From your post, it sounds like you've had some leakage (itchiness almost always equals leakage) After figuring out the primary cause of the sore (pressure vs enzymes/bacteria from leakage vs moisture build-up not related to leakage vs trauma from stripping or an ill-fitting wafer.I'm betting on moisture, either from leaks or from sweating. Do you have a tell-tale signs of candidiasis-a rash consisting of little pinpoint dots? Stop using butt paste and switch to anti-fungal powder (Desenex foot powder is inexpensive and works well) Apply a very thin layer, blowing off the excess. Crusting is a technique of using alternate layers of anti-fungal powder, patting over the powder with no-sting skin prep pad-two layers of each. I'm sure you don't need to be told twice to make sure your skin prep is no sting! You can apply the wafer directly over the crusting as soon as it's dried.Slowly build up your wafer wearing time back to a week. You're really pressing your luck going longer than a week between wafer changes. Good luck!

Well thank you for you comment and advise...much appreciate. I went to the wound care DR today. They looked at it and the pix I took as the ulcer progressed. They gave me a patch that feels like felt but has silver in it and melts when my wound weeps. They were perplexed by it. That it ad unusual thaT an ulcer would appear under the wafer so close to the stoma. So they are keeping an eye on it. As I have to go back weekly. The possiw of it being something else....well could be possible. I guess I am rather lucky that this is the only real issue other than the leakage and itching that I over came for the most part, for the past three years. I have surgery and have not seen a doctor for three years and not been on any meds. Well maybe luck had nothing to do with it. GOD IS ON MY SIDE.

I was told to remove everything the minute I felt itching and then wash carefully, cover the stoma only with a wad of paper towel and expose the entire area to the sunshine for 15-20 minutes. I could not believe how quickly it healed. Good luck -- it really has worked amazingly well for me -- our stomach acids really eat skin.

Hey hey! I spent close to six months dealing with what I thought were pressure ulcers from using a convex wafer to skin issues cause by leakage. Just like you, it was an ulcer RIGHT next to the stoma that hurt like hell and continued to increase in size.Finally, one weekend it increased in size and pain intensity that I wasn't able to eat or drink and checked into the ER. A savvy WCON immediately recognized it as pyoderma gangrenosum.It's a fairly uncommon skin condition associated with autoimmune disorders, but it sounds exactly like what you are dealing with.Check out some pictures and see if the look fits!

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

so the update on what I thought was a pressure ulcer. my pcp dr referred me to a wound care dr. he has me putting these white felt material that has silver in it. it hasn't really gotten better but it hasn't gotten worse either. he took a biopsy and he said this week it was diagnosed with crohns of the skin. really? what the hell is that. yeah because he didn't know what it was..

I had a teaching friend who ended up in the hospital a nimber of times with Chrons -- I did not know much about it but she said it can appear in any organ and the skin is your largest organ. She was so pleased to be pain free after getting the ileostomy. She had so much scar tissue from prior surgeries, that she has an area that will never heal. She is still going strong after at least 15 years since the ileostomy which she feels was the first thing they should have done - not the last.

Do you wear a Hernia belt? I had some sores around my stoma and Dr. thought it was PG. I found a great WOCN nurse and she found out it is pressure sores from my hernia belt. I wore my hernia belt 24/7 and now a week later with no belt sores are healing.

i do not wear one. I don't know how I got this thing. my Dr wants to do some tests on me. he feels that I have an infection.... after three year of no meds!! I was on no meds after surgery and now I have to get back on them. he wants me on humara. not looking for it! when the text came back my wound care Dr said it came back stating Crohns of the skin. I don't know what to think of it. I am just tired of all of this!!

What type of Ostomy do you have? What type of pouch do you use? Never heard of Crohns of the skin, I thought Crohns was Crohns. Do you have a Hernia? Sorry for all the questions, just want to help you out.

I had the same thing happen to me last year. The ulcer lasted about three months and talk about pain, not much sleep for a while. Hopefully you won't have any nerve damage, but talk to your nurse about that. Mine caused some nerve damage and the pain last a long time. Most of the pain from mine is gone now but it takes a while to go away. Hope it heals up quick.