Staying on Top of your Stoma

So the title is a little bit cheesy but what do I mean when I say, staying on top of your stoma.  No I don’t mean push down on it or do a belly flop in the pool.  What I really mean is that if you just got a stoma and went through ostomy surgery then you need to be alert and on top of the situation.  Get into learning mode and put on your thinking cap. 

Now your body has a new way of doing things and you may have to relearn and replan your average day.  It really just means you have a few extra steps to take care of each day and maybe a few wardrobe changes to make.  Don’t worry it really isn't that different and you can still look stylish. So here are a few things you should look into and learn more about when you start out in what I am calling true ostomy care.

Become a dermatologist! Ok, you really do not need to become a dermatologist, but you do need to learn about taking care of your skin.  My wife is an expert on all things skin care and I don’t even wash my face at night.  So you see I had a lot to learn.  So pay attention to your ostomy nurse and surgeon when they are talking about how to care for your skin.  The skin around your stoma is really important and you don’t want it to get infected, or get a rash.  


You have probably rubbed the skin on your body too much at one time or another and it blistered up and ended up basically being an open wound.  Well now think about touching that open wound every single day and making the healing process take much longer than anticipated. Yikes, not fun!  So don’t worry, you can prevent that from happening.  Just follow instructions, and learn about proper techniques to care for your skin.

Become a friend with YouTube.  Yes there maybe lots of political reasons not to love a censoring platform, but there are lots of amazon videos on people who live and have a stoma.  I suggest starting with fashion videos.  If you are a guy or gal there are hundreds if not thousands of videos of people who are literally experts on how to dress with an ostomy bag.  You may not fit all their styles but there are probably a few that can lead you through similar clothing styles and how to stay fashionable and comfortable in lots of different situations! So take your ostomy care seriously and give these few tips a go