Ostomy Bag Leaks at Night - Need Solutions!

I am having a nightmare. Ever since I have had the bag fitted, it has leaked every single day. I have to change the bag sometimes four times a day. It leaks at night when I am asleep. I have to wash my clothes every day. I have been given different bags, rings, extenda tape, tablets, sachets, and powder to spray on, but nothing works. Please, someone must have suffered this. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

I suddenly started having this same problem after a couple of years of otherwise successful adventures with the bag. The ostomy nurse put a concave one on and there has never been an issue since!

Hello Atilla,

In the early days (last year) I had the same problem, leaking from the same place and the odd blowout. It turned out I needed a soft convex bag because the hole in my stoma was quite low and near my skin, allowing the output to seep under the baseplate. Since using Pelican soft convex, I've never had another leak and sometimes have been able to keep a bag on for 3 days. I also use flange extenders top and bottom to be on the safe side! I hope you can sort it out as it's a pain when that keeps happening... Beshlie

Thanks for the advice, I will bring this up with my stoma nurse next week.

Hello Atilla.

I have often said that these devices should be tailor-made to fit each individual but as that is not going to happen there is always the DIY experimentation option. 

In my own case, I can often percieve what the physical/mechanical problem is and address it by making my own solution.

The problem of leaking flanges was dogging me for some time along with the fact that I have a hernia right on the rim of the stoma sight so I figured I needed a plate to fit exactly around the stoma and onto the skin, which would fix the leakage and the hernia problem at the same time. I came up with a range of designs which all worked better than the bag on the belly approach, but the ones that I now use consist of a baseplate with a rubber flange against the skin (with no adhesive on the skin side to avoid making it sore). On the outside of the baseplate, is stuck the flange (with double sided carpet tape)  The baseplate is about the shape of a credit card but a little bigger to suit my frame so that it doesn't move when I bend. ( I found the large round flanges the manufacturer's provide are too long top and bottom- particularly bottom, so that they come away from the skin when I bend ).

THe baseplate is held on by a double elasticated belt that holds the top and bottom of the plate with slightly different pressures (as my stomach curves at just the wrong place for avoiding lower-edge leaks). The double belt also works for a similar adaptation to the irrigation sleeve that I use only  for the period of the irrigation (because the ring that they provide exacerbates my hernia.)

I do hope you find your own solution to this, very annoying problem.

Best wishes

Bill  

 

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Hello Atilla.

It's often difficult to envisage something that is only described in words so I've tried to photograph the double belted bag I made so that you can get more of an idea of what I'm talking about
🔒 Login to see image

I hope this helps to explain that I not only need a bag that forms a good  seal on the top half  - it needs to also form an adequate seal on the lower half. To achieve this the belts are set to different tensions. I have made several different applications of the same principle on irrigation sleeves and bedtime bags. You may have noticed that the belts pass through some material that I made out of an old pair of trousers. this is to keep the belts separtated at the right distance from each other. Prior to this they kept merging, which rather defeated the aim of keeping them apart so that teh tensions would be different top and bottom.  In case you are wondering, the orange washer/ring was cut out from a freebie placemat from Dansac which had a suitable bevelled inside edge to the ring that did not damage the stoma edges ( I have another similar device that uses  a stoma-gaurd inthe same way and they both work okay.    I found this simple solution to work quite well. It is comfortable and I have had no leaks night or day.

I hope you find this helpful 

Best wishes
Bill 

I just had my ileostomy done on May 2nd, and starting July 14th for five nights in a row, I woke up soaked because my bag had leaked on the right side (the side of my hip bone). Every night it was exactly in the same place and with the acid in the output, it created a rash to develop under my flange, which eventually became just raw. Not only did it hurt, but it caused me to be up most of the night. I was still having a nurse come in at that point and they had stopped using the eaken underneath the flange. I had run out of them, and went one full week without that part of the appliance, with the night nurses thinking I didn't need it. So after five nights of leaks and trying to drain into a urinary bag attached to my bag (which backed up because it had been designed for urine, not stool), I had my next appointment with my ET nurse at the hospital and my surgeon. The nurse told me that I absolutely needed the eaken and also added a medicated sheet under the flange. I haven't had one leak and it is absolutely wonderful to get through nights with emptying my bag once or twice during the night and no more leaks (touch wood). It is absolutely draining, tiring, and frustrating to have leaks night after night and to have just that adhesive around my stoma below the flange making all the difference in the world to my nights. I never leaked during the day and I sleep on my back to keep any fluid from pooling on one side or the other in my bag. I guess these appliance pieces are called different things in different countries perhaps. I wish you luck because the leaks mess up your entire body and drain you physically, mentally, and emotionally. I hope perhaps something comes to light soon for you as I know how difficult leaks are.

Hi all,

My name is Marsha, and I've had my ileostomy for more than 50 years, since I was a kid of 15.

Back in the day, pouches were rubber, and had to be reused, the flange was made of plastic, and was also reused. We had to use paste from a can to glue onto the plastic and the skin, and both had to dry first before they could be put together on the skin... or it would burn the skin. And there was no such thing as a stoma nurse, so it was other ostomates, or trial and error, or support from the supply company that got you through the complications.

Compared to "back then," today is a breeze.

I think sometimes ostomates are encouraged to rely or wait for stoma nurses to tell you what to do. Yes, they are helpful, but it's your body, and trial and error is the best educator.

The companies here in the US offer free samples of anything you want to try.

I've had very few issues over the past thirty years... but as I've aged, my skin has become more sensitive and less firm (especially on my lower belly), so I've had more leaks in the last 5 years than I've had in the last 40.

First off, I never use soap on my skin. I found early on that for me, it leaves a residue that makes it difficult for the wafer to bond with the skin. I also gave up hot baths and hot tubs because it melts the wafer and causes leaks. Showers are no problem, and I swim in both the pool and ocean. I used to wear a belt, but I found that it pulls the wafer and pouch up and has irritated the stoma. I use a great tape that's like a second skin and actually dries. Scanpoor. It's not readily available... but you will find it online. The distributor I use doesn't carry it, so I buy it on my own until I find a Medicare supplier who carries it. Because my stoma is pulling back into the skin (on the bottom), I switched to a moldable convex wafer (Convatec) with a detachable pouch/2-piece system. I use Eakin seals (thin) when I need to, but they don't always solve the leaking problem. The moldable wafer doesn't have to be cut to size, and after I put it on, I am able to spray stoma powder into the gap... helping to reduce the possibility of leaks. It takes being flexible and trying new things to find what works well for you. Best regards, Marsha

Hi. My leaks have reduced dramatically since using Sensura Mio Soft Convex with baby oil sprayed inside the pouch and cutting the hole bigger than my stoma. Also, use a skin barrier wipe to protect the skin.
I revert back to a snug fitting hole if my skin gets red.
Hasn't happened that often in the last year though.
Good luck. Jos

Just get the Salts (UK) XND1352 bag. Absolutely bombproof with a Salts Secuplast Washer, or Hollister Cera Washer underneath. I've not had one leak in five years since using them - and I have a fluid output ileostomy!! Not even any nighttime leaks.

For Atilla the Hun - just get the Salts (UK) XND1352 bag. Absolutely bombproof with a Salts Secuplast Washer, or Hollister Cera Washer underneath. I've not had one leak in five years since using them - and I have a fluid output ileostomy!! Not even any nighttime leaks.

An ostomy belt might help. Last year, I had a skin ulcer above my stoma and had to keep an ostomy belt on 24/7 to prevent leaking at the top. It might be of some help to wear a good ostomy belt at least until leaks are better under control.