hey Tony  , don't know what could be causing the change , maybe a bad batch ?, I use the hollister cera ring seals , the slim ones and find that they don't expand much  and come away from the skin without leaving a residue , I normally get about 3 to 4 days before I need to change , been using them since before Christmas and so far so good .

Hi @Tony-H. Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I'm accustomed to at least a week of wear time. Most cycles are two weeks long. That's how well this has been working for me for years. It may be that I have to make a change or learn to live with shorter wear times, but the latter could get expensive.

hi tony

i use Salts mouldable seals under coloplast appliances and find they work very well. i have never seen them swell and i generally get 3 to 7 days before changing. my diet doesnt change much so cant explain why it varies from days to a week or more. one of ostemy's great wonders!

still cant figure why i cant stop peristomal bleeding right where my stoma comes out but had it since 2017, and powders and potions keep it it under control.

Hi @irshandy. I've been dealing with a bit of perstomal bleeding for a long time as well; it's not a big deal for me even if it is a little disturbing. My sympathies. 

Thanks for the reply. I might have to look at a new kind of barrier ring, so I appreciate the suggestion.

Hey @ileostony!

Coloplast has two different types of barrier rings. One is their "protective ring" and the other is the "moldable ring".

Do you know if perhaps you might have received the moldable ring, when you had previously been using the protective ring?

I ask because the modable rings do seem to absorb more liquid than the protective ring, which is resistant to absorbing fluids.

That could be one explanation.

Hi, @VeganOstomy.

Thanks for the kind response.

I've always used the moldable rings. It's easier to mold that to fit my stoma perimeter than to worry about cutting the wafer to size. This has kept me from having any skin problems beyond slight irritation for the last five years. Certain types of liquids in large quantities do seem to contribute. Apparently the sauce you get with egg foo young goes right through me—I don't eat that anymore—and I'm still not sure about red wine, but this time I didn't have either of those and the problem recurred.

Yesterday when I had my bag change, inspecting the wafer before taking it off revealed that my stoma was somehow partially tucked underneath the inner edge of the seal, so perhaps that was the problem. I could feel stool seeping underneath, but  would that little bit explain how the seal could bubble up and become useless in just two days, forcing me to change my appliance to avoid a midnight mess?

I'll be looking at the protective ring; it sounds appealing.

Hi Tony !!  Nice to hear from you! I hope you've all been in as good health as possible!

When I used rings, I had huge difficulty removing them off my skin. My pharmacist recommended that I use  "Solvo Plast", it's an over the counter request. I used it for years, it worked like a charm but, I can't remember if it stung or not. I don't think I would have used it if it did sting though, lol.  

During covid with all the denied, non - changes made in products, lol, several things became very apparent. Mostly, that I needed to try different pouches to break the three day wear time from noisey and stinky  plastic & leak issues at seams & folds.  I was terrified my happy skin would rebel. 

My  new pouches have been the best & much like my first long time wear pouch.  It's Hollister 8931, one piece, I now get 8 to 10 days with gardening & heavy housework, no stink issues & waterproof electronical tape & a little arts & crafts time between osto-e -z -vents & pre-fixing leak areas, its been a great pouch!   FYI, with all the pouches I have had this "leak" thing, even my very first one, but, this one just got to me so I needed to do creative arts & crafts time experimenting & after trying several tapes & time, I fixed it! You can use the white tape or you can dress your pouch up for a formal event using the black! Lol! 

I have a dip in my skin from surgery under the wafer but,  fortunately, again, this pouch doesn't seem to require a ring with my little dipped scar either.  I actually haven't used rings since learning thru Eric that just bcuz I came home from Hospital with all those  things, doesn't mean I need them! 

One little ⚠️ warning ⚠️...  if you do try this pouch. The wafer is a bit harder then qhat I'm used yo so until after the first day & you can *cut your stoma* if the wafer is cut on an angle.  I've  done this twice & OUCH, bcuz of arthritic hands, I have found it getting harder to cut flat edges.  Just sayin', beware. 

I hope you can solve your problem!  

Posted by: @ileostony

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Yesterday when I had my bag change, inspecting the wafer before taking it off revealed that my stoma was somehow partially tucked underneath the inner edge of the seal, so perhaps that was the problem. I could feel stool seeping underneath, but  would that little bit explain how the seal could bubble up and become useless in just two days, forcing me to change my appliance to avoid a midnight mess?

Yes! There are two issues that can happen, from what you describe.

First is that the stoma being as wet as it is, will create issues with adhesion if it ends up under the wafer or barrier ring. Even if this contact occurs when you are putting on the appliance, it can undermine the integrity of the wafer.

The second is that once the wafer or barrier ring has been compromised, either from the scenario above, or simply from wear, then it's really only a matter of time for things to go downhill.

Generally speaking, once a breach has occurred, I tend to give my appliance hours before total failure.

This current ring is holding up. The moldable rings expand; that's just a fact of life, but what got me was the precipitous expansion of the last few. It was making me think there might be something wrong with my stoma. Guess we'll see.

I'm loath to change systems; I had many humiliating mishaps before settling on the current setup, but if it keeps happening I won't have much choice.

Thanks for the suggestion, Linda. I never thought of using waterproof electrical tape. I've just been using some bandages from Dollar General that are extra sticky and water resistant, but that's a different topic. I find using a hair dryer over the wafer for about 30 seconds to warm it up and then pressing on the appliance with my hands makes it stick better for longer with fewer incidents of the edges pealing, but I was wondering if using the dryer too long might be contributing as well, so I shortened the interval to 30 seconds. That gets the wafer nice and warm anyway, and the shorter time doesn’t seem to have diminished the effect.

This is going to take a while to figure out. I'm waiting till it's nearly time for a bag change to try the wine again so if things do go south, well, at least I was going to change the bag anyway. I suspect the red might be the problem and not the white, but again, we'll see. The trial and error will take a few more weeks, maybe a couple of months.

Thank you to everyone who has responded. I welcome everyone's input.

Again, thank you.

@ileostony When I am doing my change, I have the ring under my arm to warm it up and make it softer. Also, if you haven't yet, try the Brava crescents. I use them to cover the edge of the wafer fabric and have saved me a number of times.
https://products.coloplast.ca/coloplast/ostomy-care/brava/brava-barrier-strips/brava-elastic-barrier-strips/brava-elastic-barrier-strips/

Another thing to try is Skin Tac wipe. It adds stickiness to your skin. It stings when I apply it but that goes away, and I found i interferes with the adhesion of a ring, so I apply it where the fabric of a wafer/flange would be.

https://store.mayoclinic.com/skin-tac-adhesive-barrier-prep-wipe.html

@ileostony Hiya Tony!!

Unfortunately, I have no advice. I just wanted to commiserate, because I have stool get under my rings all the time and it is such a bad feeling. And it is so hard on your skin, which perpetuates a vicious cycle because it is so hard to get a good seal on broken skin.