How Often Should I Change My Wafer for Optimal Skin Health?

How often should I change my wafer? I have been changing it twice a week but feel I could go to once a week. The adhesion is still secure at 1 week and I feel like it would be kinder for my skin. I'd appreciate any help.

Thanks

Question: Do you have a colostomy or ileostomy? It makes a big difference.

A colostomy is far easier to care for than an ileostomy. Colostomy output is thicker, well-formed, and not caustic to the skin. The output is more predictable. Easy to seal.

Ileostomy output is mostly liquid and damaging to the skin. Output occurs nearly continuously. Hard to achieve sealing.

I just experimented with wafer change timing. I have a colostomy.

Look up my post called: Longevity. I just posted my experiment results. 12 days same wafer, no problem.

I have an ileostomy and my normal change day is Wednesday. So, 7 days. 8, if I push it. Less, if I did a poor job with the application. :-)

Daniel

Thank you

I have a colostomy with very thick stool, so after reading your post, I am even more encouraged to change weekly.

Increase your changes by 1 day each time and you'll figure out what works for you. So, if you're doing 3 days right now, go to 4. If 4 works for a few times, go to 5. If 5 works for a few changes, go to 6 and so on. Personally, I wouldn't go more than 7, just to keep your skin in good, clean health. And obviously, if you get more active or have non-normal wear on your setup, you can always change sooner than whatever your normal is.

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

I change mine every 3 to 4 days. But I know that isn't possible for everyone due to insurance and paying for supplies. I do that because it is what my ostomy nurse told me to do. I have always done it that way and I guess unless I have reason not to, I will probably always change mine every 3 to 4 days. The seal holds pretty good for me for that number of days, but I can usually see where a leak might have happened if I went longer.

I think it may be an individual thing and depend on certain factors for each of us. If you can go one week with no leakage, itching, or rashes, then that is probably fine for you.

AlexT's suggestion is exactly what I did.

I had an ileostomy for a year, started with 3 days, and slowly moved to 5-6 after I got more confident.

I converted to a colostomy in February this year and started with 4 days, quickly moving to 7 days - I have gone 8 a few times due to circumstances.

A month ago, I changed to new bags and reverted to 5 days to learn the new appliance and am now back to 7.

It is an individual thing. I personally need to change twice a week.

So how do you know when to change it?

Trial and error and your circumstances. Everyone is different. Personally, I usually do every 4th day because I'm very hard on my setup. I've gone 7-8 days, but I was still on medical leave and not doing much physically. I find that after about the 4th day, my wafer, the sticky part, starts to change color from brownish to white spots. I don't know the true answer, but I presume that's the sticky stuff breaking down. 🤷‍♂️ 

Colostomy. I change every 7 days, with a pouch change in between. Using Hollister. I have gone longer, but doing it on the same day every week eases the burden on my 81-year-old memory. 😀