Bathing with an Ostomy Bag - Tips and Experiences

New ostomy bag just a couple of months in. Was wondering how people bathe? Are you careful with getting your bag wet, or is it okay to get it completely wet?

I wear a Coloplast bag.

Dive in and see what happens; adjust afterwards.

Hi there,

I wear Coloplast as well. As Cplumber said, dive right in and see what happens. I always have taken a shower with no problems.

I wear Hollister. I just take a shower and wash around the bag. I use a paper towel after a shower as well as a hair dryer.

You will be fine. My bag gets wet every day when I shower. Just don't stand where the water is blasting down on your bag the whole time.

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

No problem with the bag on; I also swim every day with the bag on. However, when showering with the bag off, it feels so much better. Every other day, I do a change and shower bagless - I've never felt cleaner!

I shower bagless. Easier to clean the stoma. Real time saver.

Shower, enjoy. Dry it off however you want.

I have a colostomy and take a naked bath on change day. Just in case, I have a dipper for any unexpected output; otherwise, I shower. I have been swimming in the ocean and pool with no problem.

Your pouch is absolutely designed to get wet. You can bathe, shower, or swim. It will be damp afterwards, and what I do is pat it dry with a towel and then give a little bit of warm air from my hair dryer and put a folded tissue underneath the tail between the pouch and my skin.

I take my bag off when I shower. I've never had a problem with my stoma or the skin around it getting wet. Sometimes it goes poo in the shower, but I just wash it down the drain. Today, I showered with the bag on because it was not a changing day and I was sweaty after exercising. No problems with that either; I just dried the bag and around the wafer really well with my towel.

Lee

My stoma is nearly 8 years old. I have a urostomy (urine only) and I have showered every day with it fitted as usual. Never dared to shower without it :(

I have used Dansac bags and now Hollister bags. I replace them every 3 days without exception.

I don't care if the bag gets saturated, and after getting out, I dry myself first with a regular towel, then use a paper towel to dry the bag on both sides, and then use a hair dryer to thoroughly finish the job.

Never had any issues :)

PS - I keep getting double line spacing when posting :(

I empty the bag, cover the exhaust hole with the little light blue transparent patch, and take my bath.

When I get out, I use my old t-shirt to wrap around the pouch and it dries quickly.

I have always showered with the pouch off.
It's been fine.

I have always showered with the pouch off.
I talked to my doctor first.
He said it's perfectly fine.

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This is what we bought for my dad; it works okay.

Prior to my major MVA at the end of 2016 (and subsequent colostomy due to severe trauma, plus many other injuries), I used to really enjoy taking a long hot bath every week or so. Although I restricted myself to just showering — either with my bag off or left on — for the first 3 months after I was released from the hospital, I really missed my long relaxing soaks in the bathtub. It was wonderful when I took the plunge and discovered that my bag (an Eakins brand one-piece, drainable) was able to cope with immersion in fairly hot water for at least an hour or so without any problems.

The adhesive does swell up and becomes rather soggy during this lengthy immersion, so I usually wear my underpants over it (to reduce the risk of any partial detachment). This also means that I always have to change to a new bag afterwards, but since my baths are usually scheduled for a day when a bag change is due anyway, this is of no real consequence.

I don't have any medical concerns with bag-off showering. Most members here do not have a urostomy, and so their output is predictable, but with urine, it squirts out often and when it wants to. I could never get through a shower and drying process without literally pissing myself. :(

Thank you very much for all the help, everyone!

I use Coloplast Sensura Mio 1 piece drainable (not that I drain it - but because the adhesive is way, way better than that on the non-drainable ones) and I have had no problem ever with showers, even quite hot ones. I haven't taken a bath with it, nor have I swum in open water. To be honest, if possible, I try to time my showers for when I am changing my bag, so I give my stoma a good wash while showering. The occasional, um, output is usually dealt with by what someone else has hilariously termed "waffle stomping"! In the occasional group shower, e.g., after sailing, I wear the bag. Hope that helps.

Best of luck to you, Tomblakeman94,

I take everything off in the shower and give her a good rinse, then put on a new system afterwards. I was told to air her out in between changes, so I shower once a week and sponge bathe the rest of the week (I'm allergic to chlorine, so I get a rash in the shower but not when I sponge bathe).

I'm also allergic to most band-aids, so I am happy I have no reaction to Hollister products, but I also make sure my skin, barrier, and bag are always clean and dry.

You can get it wet; I swim with mine. (Advice) Get yourself some rubber glue before attempting the pool. Brush rubber glue over flange edges to help keep water out. You can also use it to keep the edges down as you sweat. Try ConvaTec two-piece system with Flex Flange. They stick the best. 25 years with ileostomy, I'm 56 now. Good luck.

I also shower without a bag on change day early in the morning before eating or drinking. Output is at its lowest then, so you have to know your lowest output time or when your stoma is silent. It may vary for some people, and you will only know this by trial and error. On the days when it is not a change day, I wear a small pouch just for showering, to catch any output. When I get out of the shower, I dump any output in the toilet and change back to my regular pouch. Then I blow dry the barrier. I use Convatec or Hollister two-piece systems.

Please tell me more about rubber glue! I have a newish urostomy (2 months in) and everything is fine...I shower with it on, the edges of my flange detach under the shower :-(  and  so pretty sure they would not last in warm pools...and even less in sea water next summer.. but would LOVE going back to spas and beach.

First, I empty my pouch. I put a shower cap on the pouch because my Coloplast pouch has a soft fabric cover that I'll have to blow dry if I don't cover it. The base plate edges will get wet and have to be wiped after the shower. Taking a bath requires more time to dry the pouch, so I typically don't bathe. Instead, I use my sauna then shower, so much better than the bath, and I have the shower cap on the pouch the whole time.

From what I've heard from fellow hikers with ostomy bags, they're designed to withstand various temperatures, including freezing conditions.

To be on the safe side, you might want to layer up and wear clothing that provides insulation to help keep your body temperature regulated. And don't forget to stay hydrated and keep an eye on your ostomy bag to ensure it's functioning properly in the cold.

As for hiking outfits, I recently came across some great options at https://thehappinessfxn.com/spring-hiking-outfit-ideas-for-women/ that are both functional and fashionable. They'll keep you warm and comfortable while you're out exploring the trails.

I have a holster and was told to take it off when I shower on changing days to clean the skin. I have to change my bag every other day. So, I use the adhesive remover in the shower, wash the skin, and rinse. Then I dry everything and try to avoid dropping bombs on the floor before we change the bag afterward.