Hi Mimi, Welcome to VO, the methods you have been using are indeed very good. Barrier rings are a great aid and I agree can be tricky to handle. You may think you have secured it and when you apply the wafer it’s moved so that’s not gonna do it’s job. Fitting the ring well 2 methods are directly or put it on the wafer. If it’s directly everything has to be dry. I wrap my stoma in a strip of guaze to keep the stoma from wetting the skin. The ring can be touching the stoma not pushing into it. Bare in mind it will swell. On the wafer is easier but measuring the stoma to get a good fit it key. Again wrapped stoma and dry skin a must. Using a mirror to see under the stoma is also handy. If it’s only under the stoma you can just use a small bit of ring which will be easier. It sounds complicated but you will soon master ?

Hello John

Thank you for the reply. Do all seals swell a bit? This is something I had not taken into consideration and I have tried really hard to get the seal right up to the stoma - and then I worry that it is sticking into the stoma and harming it. I appreciate that there is always trial and error for each person, but can you tell me how much you think seals generally swell - a few millimetres? I now think that I have maybe positioned the seal too close to the stoma. Still, next time I will know.

I think for me, it will be easier to attach the seal to the skin, and then pop the pouch over the top. I have an irregular shaped stoma, so getting the pouch cut is a task in itself. I hope that if I can get the hang of the seals, then this will give me a bit of latitude with the pouches, and I may even be able to get pre-cut ones.

Thanks again and best wishes.

Mimi, I see you are in the UK same as me. Reason I say is that there is a ring from Dansac called TRE Seal, it’s very easy to apply and mould. I have used to heal with good results. It will not swell much really whilst Eakin and others will swell quite a bit. It’s the way they are designed to work. Dansac are very good at samples and helpful 

Hi Mimi

Yes the Eakin seal swell quite a lot, and if you put it too close to the Stoma (it did it to me) it would just about build a wall around the Stoma. I put it on the wafer and cut my wafer bigger the the Stoma, this way it swell just up to the Stoma with no walls being built.

I wonder at times, how come I never had any skin problems, I read a lot about people with all sorts of skin trouble around the Stoma, I now have my buddy for 3 years (colostomy), I change every 8 to 10 days, and clean it while changing (taking my time to remove what is left from this seal). I hope you figure it out, and have success with it.

Good luck

Dan

Hi @mimi! Welcome to the forums, and congratulations on experimenting!

I do suggest trying a few brands of seals to see which one's work best for you. Some "melt" and swell a lot more than others. Some are really sticky and difficult to handle, while others are less so. Some will be better for tearing into smaller sections while others may come in a thickness that works for you. Don't be discouraged or give up after one brand. 

I like to apply the seal to my wafer, then apply the wafer to my skin. I find it easier, but you can do what you like, just be sure that if you apply the seal to your skin first that it does not get wet or contaminated with stool before you're able to apply the wafer over it. 

That said, I tend to get the seal as close to my stoma as possible (even if it touches a little). It will expand to fill in any gaps. 

How often are you changing your appliance? Sometimes, when healing, you'll want to change it more often than usual as prolonged wear tends to worsen skin issues. 

@danbh Hello Dan

Thanks for that. My skin started to break up when the stitches refused to 'dissolve' in the usual about 3 weeks, so new skin started to grow and got torn by the stitches . . . it took the stitches about 7 weeks to go altogether. So I need to get this all healed up, and hopefully I will be able to maintain healthy skin after then.

I had been changing every day - and then I recently noticed on forums that people were changing maybe every 2-3 days, and I can see the sense in this approach as it will reduce 'trauma' to the skin which comes with sticking on and pulling off bags. I'd like to get to the stage where the bag feels comfortable for a few days . . . so I can reduce the frequency of changing the bag.

Best wishes and many thanks for your help.

@veganostomy Hello - and thank you for your reply. I change at least every 2 days. And if I notice any itching I will change it sooner. The skin has been damaged by the stitches taking so long to dissolve. I will try different seals, and see how I get on. I really want to be able to feel comfortable and confident with the bag and set-up I use.

I am very lucky in that I have not experienced any leaks, or any other issues with this, although I think I have thickish output, which means that there is a cluster around the stoma. I have tried stickers on the filter, olive oil, water etc. - and while there always seems to be plenty of air in the bag, this issue of output around the stoma has not yet been resolved. Still - 8 weeks is early days I think. Oh, and I drink so much liquid too . . . litres of water, and lots of tea and fruit juice and plant milks.

Best wishes and thank you.

Question aBout the barrier rings - are they supposed to swell to the point where they build a wall around the stoma? Mine do, and I wonder if I am placing them a little too close. They really rise a lot, higher than the stoma  sometimes (my stoma is a little lopsided). Seems like a waste of much of the barrier ring material.

@llholiday

I'm not sure. I am new to the world of seals and indeed ostomy - and I am experimenting at the moment to get a system that works for me. Like you I'm not sure quite how close to go, and from the answers so far it appears that different seals have different qualities.

I think I will continue to try these out until I get it right.

Best wishes.

@llholiday

It did it to me the first few times, don't put it too close to your Stoma, the Stoma is kind of wet, and it swells as a result. I put the seal on the wafer, it's much easier to deal with, and you can wear rubber gloves to deal with the seal sticking to your hands.

Dan

Hi LL, The wafer absorbs moisture and output which causes the swell. The longer between changing the more it builds. Sometimes I think a wafer can be worn too long as it’s holding that moisture next to the skin 

Dan and John, thank you - I will experiment with this. My skin gets red and somewhat irritated beneath the ring and I have wondered if I might be allergic to the ring material or to the miniscule amount of stoma powder I have been using, but now wonder if it is the  moisture retained under the ring that is causing that. And I wonder, too, if I am putting the flange on too tightly. Cutting out the (irregular oval) hole then molding the ring directly into flange around the hole, then applying the flange a little more loosely, might improve both the projection of the ring and my skin. Thank you again. How I appreciate VO!

@mimi We are learning all the time, that is for sure! There are many little tricks to try, and so much useful and interesting information on this VO site. Best wishes to you. LL

@llholiday Thank you so much, and thank you to everyone else. It is good to know that there is a forum full of friendly experience. For some reason my confidence with the whole ostomy bag thing has plummeted in the last couple of weeks. So it is good to hear what others have found has worked for them.

Best wishes.

Hi Mimi

You might be allergic to the adhesive, or you have sensitive skin. I found the coloplast Mio adhesive okay some other wafers caused redness and itching

Q. are you using a adhesive remover I hope so?

I find I can clean the skin with Lidl's face wipes for sensitive skin. Also have you tried a barrier spray sometimes instead of the calamine lotion.

I changed to a 2 part system so I could change the wafer every third day - less skin trauma

they are more expensive so the nurses will only prescribe them if you ask/suggest.

3 to 6 bag changes a day are too much (leaking because of output degrading the adhesive) for the skin.

Hot weather may also cause heat rash?

That's my two pennyworth 

Fellow UK colostomy for now

Posted by: @mimi

 

 I have an irregular shaped stoma, so getting the pouch cut is a task in itself. I hope that if I can get the hang of the seals, then this will give me a bit of latitude with the pouches, and I may even be able to get pre-cut ones.

If you place a ruler or I use a cheap plastic vernier gauge from ebay next to the stoma

photograph then print out on paper at 100% with a photo program check to see if the ruler is same size as printout by laying it on top of printout, if so cut your stoma out and you have a perfect size and shape template.

If I can I will upload picture of this later

@chrisandbagpus

What a good idea . . . I had been thinking about buying some pipecleaners and using them to make a rough template!

Another reason to buy a printer. ;-) 

Thank you very much. Best wishes.

Glad you think its a good idea

I'm sure you already know your stoma will still be changing in size. so pre-cut might not be an idea for a while. I hope your nurse has given you a pair of the ostomy scissors they make cutting the shape much easier. Pictured are the coloplast ostomy ones

@mimi Hi Mimi,

I'm only a couple of months ahead of you (got my ileostomy in Nov) and have tried a lot of different products. My standard combination is a non-swelling (Coloplast Brava) seal that I position pretty close around the stoma (without touching) and use a pre cut wafer that is a little bit too big. As a result the wafer never touches the stoma. 

I consistently get 4 days of use out of it, never had a leak with this combination and no skin problems. I do use a heat pack after replacing seal and wafer to ensure optimal stickiness to the skin. When I replace the wafer and seal after 4 days there is a tiny bit stool on the seal but rarely more than halfway on the seal. I also make sure that I very carefully position and stretch the wafer sticker so that it puts a bit of pressure on the seal - nothing that is uncomfortable. I tried barrier wipes for a while but found no benefit. As a bloke, I do shave any remain hairs during every wafer change.

The first 3 months were way more challenging and I was often a bit nervous about replacing the wafer. Although I'm still a newbie it does get a lot easier over time.

Hope this helps.