Swimming

Hi there, there is a cap you can get here in Australia. Remove everything and put on a new seal, then add the cap like you would a pouch. The cap would be approximately 2 inches in diameter, so it's not a large pouch at all. Have your swim, then if you don't have a normal release routine, I'd change sooner rather than later to your normal setup.

Hmmm, that's interesting. My bags are one piece, though; my ‘wafer' or whatever it's called is part of the bag. I cut it to the size of my stoma and then attach it to the skin. I replace the bag daily, but if needed due to watery output, sometimes twice. I was told to change it daily by my surgeon and my stoma nurse independently, but I see people on here say they only replace it every 2 to 3 days?

If you have an ileostomy, you can go 3 to 4 days at least; some on here go 7 to 8 days, which I don't recommend, but every day or twice a day is crazy. Do you have a drainable pouch or a closed pouch?

I have a feeling that Kiwi Chick is talking about a colostomy, not an ileostomy. Your ileostomy is much more frequent than colostomies.

IGGIE

I have an ileostomy, and it's what my surgeon and stoma nurse told me to do. 🤷‍♂️

This is a group of ostomates that have had their stomas for a long time. A surgeon is good at cutting things out but has no knowledge of the day-to-day advice. Three to four days is the norm. Now you can blindly go on with changing daily or try what all ostomates do, and that is try things for yourself.

IGGIE

My Ostomy Journey: April | Hollister

I have a 2-piece Hollister drainable pouch, and I go 7 days between changes. My skin is fine, and my ostomy is healthy.

I know what you mean. I used stoma caps when I had no active stoma. They must be really handy for swimming, and I know some use them for bedroom fun with partners. Salts do a tiny bag almost the same size as a cap that's drainable but only in one piece.

I agree with iggie. As an ileo myself, I can vouch that an appliance change for ileos should go more than 1 to 3 days.

I get 7. But now learning 6 is better because it starts seeping out from under the ring.

You may like changing it because you feel cleaner.

One person said that. So I asked if they shower twice daily too?

Sometimes it's dumb logic.

But the question remains: why remove a perfectly sealed appliance without any issues?

We are tried and true. No b.s here.

Your doc and nurse are textbook.

We are street smart.

We'll take their books and beat them over the head any day of the week...

The cost for ten mio pouches is 240.00 US dollars here.

If you're on a tight budget...keep it tight. Do what's street smart.

Head butt those doctors and nurses telling you otherwise.

Maybe that's the difference; I'm in the UK, and I don't pay for them. But I find my Mio pouches start to seep after 30 hours or so.

Other ones I've tried are less than that.

Also, if I wear them longer than 24 hours, I start to get irritated skin around the stoma. My bags are cut to the right size as well, accounting for the swelling and shrinking of my ileo.

If your bags are lasting 3+ days, then that's great, but mine won't, and that's not after just trying one brand. I've tested a fair few, and Mio are the ones that suit me the best so far. But after 24 hours, I'm risking leakages.

And yes, I do shower twice a day: a long one in the evening when I change my bag and then another quick one in the morning using the hose shower head and avoiding getting the bag wet. But I've always showered twice a day, even from being 13 or 14 years old; it's always been normal for me.

The length of time they last me wasn't my issue; my issue is when they get wet, they peel off, and that's been the same for most brands I've tried in the last 7 months.

Looking more for what to buy/wear over the Mio bags to go swimming. When I get out of the pool, I'd be changing my bag anyway; I just need something to hold it tight enough while I'm in the pool.

Mr B

Honestly, it shouldn't be coming unstuck that quickly. There may be something about your skin that's doing this.

I've lost track of everything that's been said. Sorry if this is a repeat question. Are you using a barrier ring with the bag? If not, have you tried this? That's a lot of bag changes.

Best bet for swimming is to get the extenders that someone posted a picture of earlier and wear a wrap. The extenders will hold down the edges of the wafer. The wrap will reduce pulling on the bag.

Changing daily works for me. I shower at night, put a fresh bag on, and then go to bed.

Empty during the day as needed and then change at night after showering again.

We do pay a very high rate of tax for the NHS in the UK, so we do have to pay for them just a different way than other countries. But I get what you mean completely; we have a different healthcare system than other parts of the world.

Just do what's right; you know what works for you.

Oh, I understand I work for the NHS.

Not sure how we got on to the topic of this, like I said before, lol.

My original question was about swimming and what to buy or wear just to be confident it wasn't going to come off until I got out of the pool to get dressed 😂 though it's good to have a good conversation ☺️

Get more samples. There will be one you haven't tried yet.

I think one reason you pay a lot to the NHS is because people there don't work so much. Because no matter what time I pop into MaO, you're there, and looking at the time difference between Australia and the UK, that's when you're at work.

You have been given lots and lots of advice; it's now up to you if you take it.

IGGIE

I'm not sure if my last post uploaded. I use a StealthBelt made of neoprene for swimming, waterskiing, and you can wear it to shower.
There are some on Amazon, but this belt, which is more expensive, has worked best for me.

Here is the link to their site

https://stealthbelt.org/

No, I'm just fortunate I'm in a job where I can log in while I'm working, precisely because there are a lot of people here from Australia. If I only logged in the evening, I would get the responses the next day.

Yes, there has been lots of advice to take into consideration, and I'm grateful. A key one I'll look at is the neoprene belt/wrap. Sounds feasible as it's the same material as a wetsuit. And the waterproof dressing things I can cut and extend off the barrier wafer and see how I go in the shower at first. I don't have a bath at home, so unfortunately, I can't try it that way.

Thanks, everyone 🙂

Ileostomy here…I too use a one-piece setup. I change every other day…I would think daily could possibly break down the skin in the tape area….jb

A daily bag change seems an astonishing imposition.

I hate doing a bag change, and I have always changed every 3 or 4 days. Over the past 2 years, I've never had a leak.

Never being quite sure of terminology that is understood by all… I have a single stoma connected to my kidneys for urine management after my bladder was removed.

I thoroughly shower every morning, and my one-piece bag gets drenched. I make no effort to protect it, and it does not lift around the edges.

Out of the shower and after toweling, I dry off the bag with paper toweling and then blow it dry with a hairdryer.

In Australia, all of my supplies are free, so I don't stretch out bag changes to save money.

I stretch to 7 days, but I do that more out of laziness than cost.

Astonishingly, my urostomy doesn't leak. I've only had leaks from my colostomy. The only leaks I've had from my urostomy were my fault (wearing a safety pin that came open and punctured the bag or falling asleep without hooking up my night bag).

But I think the OP may have very oily skin since he reports having trouble with multiple brands of bags. His best bet is probably extenders. Though I think a good barrier ring might help too.

I use Cera barrier rings, but day to day isn't the problem; it's more about swimming than the changes. I have no issue with changing daily; it takes me like 7 minutes to do.

Sen Sura Mio sticks perfectly well day to day; no leaks really. But I've not come across a one-piece bag that doesn't mind getting wet for me. They all lose their adhesiveness.

I was more wondering whether a wrap would hold it tight enough for swimming and then change after. I think the waterproof barrier things that another person mentioned to stick around the wafer and further across my stomach might be the way forward. My ileo is quite close to my belly button, though, so the creases won't help.

I use the same product: Cera rings, Mio click, 2-piece drainable.

Those half-moon or "C" strips will do the job of keeping your appliance on. A belt and support belt are good measures for peace of mind.

You mentioned the appliance being too close to the belly button. Yeah, most are. Cut around it if you can. You won't need to cover the belly button. The strips are amazing. Stick mad.

I just don't get how you lose adhesion when wet.

Strange. It doesn't happen to most of us. The part number is...

120700 by Coloplast.

What the warrior said.

And I think a wrap is a good idea. You don't want the water pulling on the bag.