As winter is approaching, and last year I didn't go out much due to my situation with my ostomy, I was wondering how stomas do in very cold weather. Sometimes here it gets 20 or more degrees below zero, with wind chills even lower. Can a stoma get cold out in the elements? Can output freeze? Has anyone experimented with being out in the cold for an hour or more? I would assume it would stay warm under your layers of clothes. Can you make poopsicles?
Lee
Well... very good questions. Wow, 20 below!
Stay warm... and watch out for "poopsicles!"
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It doesn't seem likely that the stoma could freeze, but I do wonder if the output could freeze in the bag. I might have to test it out in the coming months.
Lee
Hi Lee, I live about 7-8 hours north of you in the big snow country of Northern Michigan, and I would spend hours out in the woods deer hunting in the snow and cold with no ill effects on the stoma or poopsicles. Like you said, layers of clothing are the key to no problems.
Poopsicles, indeed! Lee, I love reading your posts. You always brighten this site!
I was born and raised in Ron's neck of the woods, and I shudder every time I think of those -20 to -30 degree temperatures! But, he is right. The clothes you wear will help with insulation. But then there is a particular strain of Yooper male that likes to run around in 20 below with only shirt sleeves. For those guys, there is just no hope. :-)
Daniel
Lol, well, I saw a TikTok video that inspired the question. It was of someone taking an ice bath in just a bathing suit, and she had an ostomy. So I was like, would that not freeze her output that is in her bag? Or freeze the stoma from exposure? It just got me thinking about it. I, of course, would never take an ice bath. I get cold when it is 60 degrees out. An ice bath would probably kill me.
Lee
Yeah, I kind of thought that under a thick layer of clothes it would be okay. But I was sort of wondering if it wasn't under clothes.
Wow, you go hunting in the winter? Oh, I would be all frosty out in the woods in North Michigan. I have only been to Michigan in the summer months; I can't imagine it in the winter ones.
Deer season starts in mid-November up there, just in time for the first snows and frigid temperatures. However, I grew up in the banana belt where we only got a couple hundred inches a year. Ron, on the other hand, lives where they get real snow!
We are supposed to have a mild winter this year, but we usually get some snow. I am going to be out in it if we get some because my mother is 72 and has had a hip replacement that has been replaced four times, and I don't think she needs to be out shoveling snow. It has gotten a windchill of 50 below here before. They aren't expecting that this year, though. I live in central Illinois, so we don't get weather like you do. I have never been hunting before. Is it fun?
Lee
Hahaha Yooper—unless you've lived in MI, people generally aren't too familiar with that term. We were supposed to go to the UP at the end of September, but I backed out. I was trying to explain the culture of the UP to my husband, and I was like, "Watch a trailer for Escanaba in the Moonlight."
I live in a small mountain town in British Columbia, Canada. The weather can drop to -40 degrees in the winter. Not pleasant, but we don't all live in igloos, lol. As long as you have a nice warm coat that covers your bum, you'll be okay. The coat will retain your body heat and in turn keep you nice and toasty, haha. I keep questioning why I decided to retire here rather than someplace nice and warm. Oh wait, I know, not enough moola :-)
Your ostomy and stoma stay warm under your clothes, so there are no issues.
I've had a few ice baths and, weirdly, I didn't think about my bag or stoma, but there were no effects then either. I've never been in for more than 4 minutes.
The only "poopsicles" I worry about in the winter are in my backyard, courtesy of the dog. 😜
Your body generates 98.6 degrees. In sub-zero weather, your clothes will be warm enough. Unless you parade around with your stoma exposed (hee, hee). I'm
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I'm 4 years post-op, ileostomy. I love hiking in sub-zero. Denali NP, 30 miles from the base of Mt. McKinley. Root Glacier in St. Elias/Wrangell NP, AK. Excessive heat can loosen your wafer's adhesiveness (hot tub).
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Lol, how can you stand to be in icy water? I shiver in the therapy pool at the gym, and it is supposed to be the warm pool.
Lee
Oh, those pictures look so cold! My body idles at 97 most of the time. So, if I get a 102 fever, it feels more like 105. I once had a fever of 102.9 and I cried so much I had to go to the ER. You are lucky to have a good body temperature. Still, I must say, those pictures look so cold. But hey, you are smiling!
Lee
