Sorry Chris wasn't supposed to say cover barrier supposed to be convex  barrier  . I only use the cleaner wipes then skin protector wipes then just powder and a convex barrier . That's what is was supposed to say . I need spell check . Lol 

That's exactly what I did this am. First time trying it like thst. Probably unrelated but I'm itchy as hell right now. I'm going nuts and want to rip the damn thing off. I'm wondering if it's something I ate as I just polished off a HUGE thanksgiving lunch .

How tight to your stoma do you cut your wafer?

How do you apply your powder exactly? 

I actually ended up spraying the entire area with a spray skin barrier and then applied a bit of powder to the underside of my stoma (which is a frustrating ordeal standing up) then I tapped the open skin powdered afea with a skin barrier wipe. Then I think I put a bit more powder. Then I cut my wafer and kinda tucked the bottom edge of the wafer under my stupid stoma. Then I pressed down the edges with a cotton swab and then I layer down and prayed.

and here I am itching like hell. Maybe he praying didn't work.

Chris,it may be worth a visit to see your stoma nurse

Yes, Chris, looks like time to get some expert help. Do you have a good stoma nurse you can see or even talk to on the phone?

That itchy feeling , at least for me, is a sure sign that leaking is occurring. Especially if it continues and/or worsens. As you need to keep that skin in good condition, any exposure to the stoma's output is not good.

One other thing to try.

I do my changes lying down. I put a beach towel ( I live on the coast in California...so it IS actually a beach towel) down on the bed. Make a pile of pillows so you can sort of recline enough to see your stoma.  I find this much easier to apply the powder ( I just put it around the base of the stoma) and then to place and press down on my wafer.  Gravity is your friend with this position. I use a hair dryer to both warm and dry the area  before I add anything and then to blow away the excess powder.

Like you I use use a Hollister convex. I also use an Eakins  ( Cohesive) barrier ring. I do not use an adhesive wipe. Its true the less you can use, the better.

I could go into minute detail, but you would probably be in tears from  the boredom.

PLUS... try to relax and keep breathing as you do this. Deep breaths, no hurry ( you have all that gauze/wash cloths in case it gets active).

Hi Dona, I like yer style, doing a change should be a relaxed as having long soak in the tub. only thing missing their is a gin and tonic.

Hi John... not sure a G & T would improve my aim. But it would surely relax me. That used to be my drink of choice. Also white wine. I stopped all alcohol when I got sick with the UC  ( five years ago almost to the day!).  I had a catastrophic onset. I guess that is unusual, but not unheard of. One day fine, next day horrible. Ah well. Such is life's rich pageant. Cheers.

Okay... I did a little looking around and I liked Eric's suggestion in his article to just take off the two piece and look.

i did that and can't tell if it's going under or not. It doesn't look like it. 

It kinda looks like I cut the wafer too tight. Which I did intentionally to try to stop leaks. 

Can that create an itchy situation, do you think?

grsphic pic again :)

crap.. I chose a bad pic and don't know how to erase it. 

Chris, Thats really looks pretty good. Doesn't look Bad at all. I don't know if a too tight set would make it itchy ... sorry I am not much help here. Have you been using this same wafer? Have you had good wear time with it before?  Its it clear, so what we can see is your skin underneath?

Maybe someone else will be more helpful ... hang in there ( nothing else to do, right!).

Thanks Dona.  This is only my second time ever using this convex wafer, but Ive been using the same Sensura Mio Click since my stoma was born.

Im thinking thats skin underneath.  It's also my first time not using a ring or paste so Im thinking MAYBE, the tight wafer along with no "soft" barrier between the stoma and the wafer?  I donno

I started out with the Hollister, I think we must all tend to 'stick' with the one we start with if it is working.

As I said I use  the Eakins ring under my wafer. I stick it on the wafer first ( before I put it on my body) . I gently widen the opening so that is just a bit smaller than the opening of the wafer. I leave a small collar of the ring material so that it lines the inner diameter of the wafer ( make any sense?)  I kind of wrap it around the wafer. I think this kind of cushions & helps to seal the whole thing. This is MY magic way, anyway. I don't burn sage over while chanting it yet ( not that I would judge anyone for doing so!). Whatever works is good.   Sha-Zamm!!!

( has the itching gotten any better?.. it really looks pretty good if that is your skin.. doesn't look leaky anyway).

Hey Chris 

I am like Dona I lay down on a towel also . But I have tremors so my wife actually helps me most of the time unless I have an emergency  . We clean it up of course with (I get my supplies from Hollister ) a cleaner wipe and a warm wet towel then like Dona I use a blow dryer to dry it  then the powder goes on blow of excess with blow dryer then skin protector wipes dry with blow dryer then the convex barrier and of course the bag last (2 piece) . It all has been working good for me . I cut my barrier at 1" . My powder I am using right now is a prescription from my surgeon  . I switched to this because I too was having problems  . My ostomy nurse told me to try marathon it's a liquid 1 time applicator comes in different size packs and ain't cheap but took care of my irritated skin . If you would like the exact number of the Hollister products I would be glad to give them to you just let me know . I hope this wasn't to much information  and boring for ya . Hope it helps . 

No.. thats ALL great info.. I love hearing this because it gives me insight on what works for people.

Right now Im not itchy..  Ive been still for some time however.  Ill see what happens when I move around.

I may bug you for those number Robert...  right now (tomorrow morning) I think Im going to try Dona's method of wrapping the ring around the wafer.  I like that concept.

When I spoke to a rep from Hollister on the phone, she suggested setting up the ring so that it sat 1/8 inch BACK from the wafers edge to allow room for expansion.  It makes sense but doesnt sit well with me.  Id be too afraid it didnt swell soon enough or whatever.

Anyway.. thanks for all the info!

Hey Chris, I hope you aren't getting overwhelmed with too much info. I guess more is better and figure out what sounds good for you. Anyway, after looking at your pic, I'm not sure a convex is really the best choice for you. I don't think it can be the problem with leaking but maybe it is causing irritation. My stoma doesn't stick out nearly as far as your's and I tried that exact same wafer. It did not cause me irritation like you describe but I found it to be very uncomfortable pressure. I have a colostomy so my output is a bit different but I went back to a flat wafer and I use the Brava Protective Seals. I also use Cavilon barrier spray and let it dry completely before applying anything. I used to use paste and got 4 days. I still go 4 days in most cases but could possibly get more with the new seals I'm using. when I get some skin irritation in the past, I dusted on some powder, then sprayed the skin barrier, then while the barrier was till a bit sticky hit it again with some powder and the sprayed again with barrier. It sort of created a crust over the area until it healed.

Me again Chris.

When you do the little wrap of the ring around the edge of the wafer the resulting diameter is of course dependent on the width of the hole in your wafer. Mine fit pretty close ( I am lucky and can use precut size) but I definitely do not have the hole in the barrier ring larger than the wafer hole.

Wow.. this does sound more confusing than it really is. Good luck tomorrow, and do remember to breathe.

Hey Chris 

Not a problem at all when ever and if you want the numbers I will gladly send em . I have tried some of the rings and they failed on me right away like you said it did for you . We are all different and who knows what will work best for you . It sucks but like Eric says you gotta experiment and see what works for you . I'm know it's all confusing . Let me know if I can help . 

It is strange. I can only use the eakins rings. I have tried several other types.  I only get a day or two of wear time with them.  I have to buy the  Eakins rings as my supplier ( Shield) only deals in Hollister items. Ah well.  We need a swap meet!

Great discussions, guys!

Chris, on your photo I can see a lot of pink colouring around your stoma - is that exposed or just the colour through the wafer part? It's hard for me to see. 

If you do end up cutting your wafer too small, you'll either notice bleeding when you take it off or sharp pains when you've got output. If that happens, make the hole a little bigger - the wafer will expand a little bit to fill in any gaps, so don't worry about getting it to touch your stoma.

Itching is annoying and not always easy to find the source. If it continues, have a stoma nurse evaluate - there could be several reasons for it, and not all require major changes to be done.

Okay... so I've been kinda concerned about all this wafer wear development because I was planning on going on this trip to Myrtle Beach.  I'm now here (after three days of driving because I drive along side my parents who can't get their car going faster than 80kph) and things are ... okay.

Fist off.. Eric, to answer your question, that is not exposed but rather the skin showing through.

Second.. I can't remember what second was.

Or third.

So I'll skip right to "finally"... Anyway, I changed two days ago and I got down on the floor of the hotel bathroom and did three layers of "crusting" and proceeded to wrap the ring around the edge of the wafer. My skin was, what I would call REALLY bad. 

Anyhiw, I just changed it and it seems to have improved somewhat, and no leaks. So I decided to repeat and wait three days (if it will allow me) and check again.

i brought along enough supplies for almost two changes a day :)

Hi Chris, On the subject of itching I can some times get it for no reason will be driving me mad and then after the next change disappear, another time I can get it is when I have been doing a lot of lifting and the wafer will be tugging at the skin and also sorry for being pass-remarkable but you are a hairy gentleman and shaving round the stoma area and especially with a blade could be causing problems. Beautiful looking spot for a holiday

Looks beautiful, Chris! If your skin is improving, and you can manage changing every other day, try that.