Colostomy question

Hi everyone, I’m new to this site and to the colostomy world. I’ve been home from the hospital for about 2 weeks. I’m struggling with leakage under my wafer. I’m currently using Hollister flextend. The wafer doesn’t seem to stick to my skin. What am I doing wrong?

Hello and welcome.

I have a colostomy, 25 months post op.  The skin your wafer sticks to must be clean and dry.  You can't use soaps containing dyes, lotions, or fragrance.  These chemicals will affect adhesion.  I use Cetaphil soap.

Try different products.  Ostomy manufacturers and supply companies offer free samples.  It takes a while to find what works best for you.  Look em up on the internet, call them.  They have ostomy nurses on staff to help you.  Coloplast, Hollister, ConvaTec, Fortis... to name a few.

I use Hollister 2 piece system with a Coloplast Brava moldable barrier ring.  I've never had a leak or bag blowout.  Never had a wafer come off.

I wear a Nu-Hope support belt all the time.  Only remove it to take a shower.  I have a mild parastomal hernia.  Hopefully the belt will keep it from getting bigger.

The skin area around your stoma should be flat.  No skin creases or fat bulges.  

Your stoma should stick out at least 3/4 of an inch   if your stoma retracts close to skin level, output could get underneath the wafer through the stoma cutout, causing a leak.  Convex wafers can help in this situation.

Hi Rob,  There could be many reasons why your wafer isn't sticking.  It's very early days for you, and this is a time of figuring out what works best, as everyone is different.  Start with the basics, ie, are you preparing your skin properly before you apply the wafer?  It needs to be clean and completely dry.  If your skin isn't irritated or damaged, clean dry skin is the best surface for your wafer to stick to.  No powders or sprays necessary.  Next, it could be that the product just isn't right for you.  Try other brands, Coloplast, Convatec, and other types of Hollister wafers, ie, convex versus regular.  A barrier ring will also help the appliance stick longer.  When you apply your wafer, it helps to use the blow dryer to warm it for about 30 seconds before applying.  Hold it in place firmly with your whole hand for a couple of minutes for maximum adhesion.  To try other brands, just call the companies and request samples.  They are happy to send them out to you, as they want you as a regular customer.  Good luck.

Terry

Beachboy gives great advice. 

I'm only about 5 months into the stoma stuff and I had many leaks as I was starting.

If you use adhesive remover be sure to clean the skin well with plain water to get it off. 

I often had eruptions when changing so I tended to rush too much. Bad idea! The skin needs to be thoroughly dry. Many people use fans or blow dryers. 

Barrier rings were a game changer for me. I also use flange extenders which are u-shaped strips that go around the edges to help hold down the appliance. These were very helpful at the start and helped me spot leaks before they made a mess. I've since discontinued them but worth adding until you sort thru the leaking issues. 

Are you pancaking? This is when the stool sticks to the top of the bag over the stoma. When this happens it can push the output under the flange and leak. Lots of advice for this. Traditional methods include adding oil or lubricant to the bag and trapping some air in the bag. The only thing that has helped me is to remove the bag (I use a 2-piece set-up) and clean the area as soon as I realize it is starting to pancake. 

If it's pancaking, then a different setup won't help. Otherwise it's worth getting samples and seeing what works best for you. 

I attach my adapter ring directly to the pouch and before attaching the pouch to my body I take a blow dryer on a low setting and heat up the adapter ring. Seems to work for me, haven't had any leaks.

Staying Hydrated with an Ostomy with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Hi Rob, along with the great suggestions above, keep in mind that your stoma will continue to shrink for the next few weeks. At five weeks, you’ll need a bag with a smaller opening than the one you’re using now. Hang in there!

Hi Rob welcome to the site, all good advice from other folks, before i put on the ring i cut one side that way i can wrap it around my stoma for a snug fit but i cut the hole in my wafer a little bigger so the ring can expand some and give me a tighter seal, i have an ilieostomy that is more liquid output so a good seal is important.

Describe your procedure on how you change your setup exactly and we may be able to help figure out your issue. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of us saying do this or do that about what we do individually. 

I feel your frustration! I am not fond of hollister products. I too, had wafer leaks and a serious rash. After awhile I got sick and tired and looked for samples via google on other sites and found that the Mio flip was the way for me to go. It is a really wonderful product! Coloplast will.send you samples for free to.try.

This seemed odd to me at first because I had never heard of attaching the barrier ring to a pouch then it occurred to me you may be talking about a 1-piece appliance. Are you referring to a 1-piece?

Pancaking is hell. I would rather have diarrhea than a pancake. I have been at this since October 2023 and I hate my bag, named Leroy, as much as I did on day one. Had a perforated bowel in 2016 and after six months was able to get it reversed. Unfortunately, this guy is going to be with me for life. My large colon is a disaster, I am battling several cancers and chemotherapy, no chance for a reversal this time. I don’t like it, to say the least, but it beats dying  on the table. 
I will have to just suck it up buttercup. Once my head is straight, then I will be able to cope a little better. Hoping to find some very good advice from all of you and hoping that I can be helpful to you as well. God bless all of us.

I do this with my urostomy and I'm using a 2-piece system there. I put the ring on the back of the flange as part of my prep before the change. It cuts out a step during the change and makes it a bit faster.  Because my urostomy is going almost nonstop, the fewer steps the better. 

I apply the ring directly to the skin for the colostomy though. 

I definitely heard of applying the barrier ring to the back of the  barrier/wafer/flange but not the pouch. That is when I realized the OP was perhaps referring to the 1-piece as the pouch since it is one assy.

I use a skin prep. It helps with sore skin and helps with sticking.

I use a skin prep. It helps with sore skin and helps with sticking.