Febreeze - A Game-Changer for Colostomy Bag Odor?

Hello everyone, it's me again. I just wanted to share with you all something I tried. Going into my 3rd day, my bag really stinks. So, as I'm going to change it the next day because the adhesive itches so bad, I out of the clear blue took the Febreeze and sprayed on the back and front, and lo and behold, can you believe it, pretty much killed the smell. Have any of you tried this? I'm sitting here now and the bag is not stinking. Wow. Let me know if anyone tried this.

That sounds like a great idea!   Thanks for sharing.

Best wishes

Bill

Hi Dr. Fields,

Yes, I do the Febreze often. I sometimes use my favorite perfume as well. I suppose since Febreze was meant for fabric, that's why it lasts longer than perfumes.

Try M9, it's worked well for me, especially if used regularly. For me, if I feel itching, it usually means output is sleeping beneath the skin barrier and I need to change, ....

Hmm. I'm highly allergic to Febreze. And lots of perfumes. If you have a smell issue, the disguise is often worse than the smell. And really, if you haven't fixed the "smell issue", then what's really happening is that people around you smell a smelly bag AND the cover-up perfume, which is often more undesirable than you realize. It's the old thing where someone wears their favorite aftershave to the office and half the staff go home with migraines.

A clean, fresh bag should be odorless.

When you empty the bag, and if you clean around the mouth well, the smell will reside in the bathroom, not on you.

If your bag starts to smell in and of itself, you might be dealing with a broken or compromised seal, and the best fix is to change the bag and figure out why that happened in the first place. My bag used to smell after 36 hours. So now I change it after 24 hours.

As for itchy adhesive--I find that with a little patience, that goes away.

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

A clean fresh bag better be odorless!! It when it gets a bit used that we need to do what we can to keep it smelling as fresh as we can. That can be a challenge when you have to make your supplies last until the new ones are approved and on their way to you.

Hello Mrs. A, I clearly understand that information. I'm stating that every 3rd day is when I change, but that evening I wanted to wait until the next day. And I was saying Febreeze worked until then. And it does calm the smell down in a positive way. I get my supplies from the VA, so my supplies are not only free, but I can always get them whenever I need them. I'm very thankful. I'm allergic to any kind of adhesive, and it really irritates by the 3rd day. Sometimes more than others. There's not a bag without adhesive on it. Have a good day.

Hi Dr. Fields,

I understand, it's always great when we can get an extra day out of our supplies and not have any odors. I like Febreze myself and almost always rinse out my pouch after emptying, even if it's just with water. I also like essential oils and like using myrrh in my pouch to help keep an empty pouch odor-free. Some essential oils are quite strong and can be great to put into a small spray bottle mixed with water to mist the air to overpower any lingering unpleasant scent as well.