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Dealing with Dry Skin

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(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

I was wondering if anyone has any tips about how to deal with super dry skin.  My skin on my belly has become very dry and therefore the skin flakes off onto wafer, which causes the wafer not to stick.  I use wafer extender arches, which helps for a while, then the same thing happens--they lose adhesiveness due to the dry skin.   I think my skin is rebelling against all the adhesives.  The skin around my wound is maybe even worse, due to over 18 months of wound dressing (11 with a vac pump and 7 with medical tape)

I have tried using a piece of woven gauze, which has a bit of a roughness to it, and using it like a loufa to exfoliate the dead skin.  This works a little bit for a little while.  

I had another follow up with the ostomy nurse today, and she agreed it is definitely a problem.  Her suggestions were to increase my water intake from 10 to 12 glasses a day, and to try adding more healthy oils to my diet.  I used to get that from almonds, but since nuts are a problem, I am probably not getting enough healthy oils.  She suggested adding some avocado and maybe almond butter to my daily diet.  So I'm going to try that, but wondered if anyone else has had this problem and how you solved it.  Thanks!!

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
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Dona
 Dona
(@dona)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 832
 

Hi Liza,

Do you have dry skin everywhere, or just under the wafer? It might be both that you need to eat more healthy oils and drink more water and change your soap if you use it. I use a soap called Purpose that my dermatologist recommended. Leaves no residue at all , but leaves my skin not dry and flaky. ( available from Amazon ... like everything else in the world now I guess???)

I also tend to have dry skin, so I think this is helping.

I've mentioned this before on previous posts, but I really think this is helping.

Good luck, seems like we often get new challenges to deal with!

It is NOT vegan as it has glycerine in it...just FYI

 

Onset of severe Ulcerative Colitus Oct.2012. Subtotal colectomy with illiostomy July 2015; Peristomal hernia repair ( Sugarbaker, mesh, laparoscopic) May 2017.


   
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(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

@dona

Thanks Dona,

Yes, I do have rather dry and very sensitive skin. Anywhere else I can use lotion, but not on my tummy if I want the wafer to stick. I’ve never really noticed the skin on my tummy being dry before but with all the adhesive that has been on it, it has gotten really irritated. 

I do have a shower gel that leaves no residue, though with the way I get leaks so often, and needing to coordinate my wound dressing changes with my husband’s schedule, I am having trouble scheduling showers without my appliance. Once my wound is healed, I can shower whenever I want, so if I get a leak, I can hop in the shower if I want. ?

I feel like I have been itchier since getting my ileostomy, so some level of dehydration could definitely coming into play with my skin being so dry. Adding more water and avocado to my diet seems like an easy thing to try. And I will check out your soap. I really like the shower gel, and I was able to get it on Amazon, but it isn’t coming from the US, so it took forever to get it.  ?

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
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Dona
 Dona
(@dona)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 832
 

Hi liza,

Purpose also makes a gentle cleansing wash. I have only used the bar soap. You may eventually want to try both??

https://amzn.to/2Rqxcl5

I also have to drink tons of water to stay well. I'm getting used to carrying a water bottle around. Good thing its also the fashion these days! Ha.

Onset of severe Ulcerative Colitus Oct.2012. Subtotal colectomy with illiostomy July 2015; Peristomal hernia repair ( Sugarbaker, mesh, laparoscopic) May 2017.


   
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VeganOstomy
(@veganostomy)
Admin
Joined: 10 years ago
Posts: 4188
 

Dry skin is bad. I tend to get it on my hands over the winter, but have been fortunate that it doesn't affect my ostomy. 

The only wafer that I know of that specifically addresses dry skin are Hollister products with CeraPlus.  

Out of curiosity, do you have a shower filter? I know that before we started using one, my skin would get very dry and sometimes feel like it was burning because of the higher chlorine in our water (you could smell it sometimes!). The water filter has helped a lot in this regard and I wonder if this may be something to try. Also, having "hard water" could also make dry-skin worse. 

Just your friendly neighborhood ostomate.
~ Crohn's Disease ¦ Ileostomy ~


   
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(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

Thanks Eric!  I don’t think we have high levels of chlorine in our water, but we do have hard water where I live. I know that some people here buy water softeners, but they can be very speedy. When you refer to a shower filter, is that something you attach to your shower head that specifically filters the water coming into the shower?  I’ve never seen something like that. But I will look into it, for sure. 

Winter is the worst for dry skin. My hands get bad too, but at least I can, and do, use lotion all the time. 

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
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(@john68)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 2021
 

Hi Liza, A shower filter can be fixed on any point in the water supply. That includes where the water comes out of the shower unit. Very simple to install ?

ileostomy 31st August 1994 for Crohns


   
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(@squeakyandliza)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 992
Topic starter  

Hi guys,

I had another follow up with my ostomy nurse today and she had done some calling around since my last appt and had some samples of products that should help my skin. The first is cleaning wipes which leave no residue and are supposed to moisturize skin. The other is a lotion, called Sween Cream. The packaging says it will not affect adhesives. We put some on my skin and wiped off the excess. So far it seems like the wafer is sticking, but it has only been an hour...

1580241462-BF9C6996-BB39-4A64-9A8A-219057DE72C8.jpeg

-Liza
Ileostomy 6/18/2018
“May your day be bright and your bag be light.”


   
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VeganOstomy
(@veganostomy)
Admin
Joined: 10 years ago
Posts: 4188
 
Posted by: @squeakyandliza

Hi guys,

I had another follow up with my ostomy nurse today and she had done some calling around since my last appt and had some samples of products that should help my skin. The first is cleaning wipes which leave no residue and are supposed to moisturize skin. The other is a lotion, called Sween Cream. The packaging says it will not affect adhesives. We put some on my skin and wiped off the excess. So far it seems like the wafer is sticking, but it has only been an hour...

1580241462-BF9C6996-BB39-4A64-9A8A-219057DE72C8.jpeg

Yes, please update us when you've had a chance to try it for a little while! That sounds like a wonderful solution. 

Just your friendly neighborhood ostomate.
~ Crohn's Disease ¦ Ileostomy ~


   
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(@john68)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 2021
 

That’s really great to hear Liza, it’s a product I ain’t come across before. Good too know 

ileostomy 31st August 1994 for Crohns


   
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(@hardy23)
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2
 
Posted by: @squeakyandliza

I was wondering if anyone has any tips about how to deal with super dry skin.  My skin on my belly has become very dry and therefore the skin flakes off onto wafer, which causes the wafer not to stick.  I use wafer extender arches, which helps for a while, then the same thing happens--they lose adhesiveness due to the dry skin.   I think my skin is rebelling against all the adhesives.  The skin around my wound is maybe even worse, due to over 18 months of wound dressing (11 with a vac pump and 7 with medical tape)

I have tried using a piece of woven gauze, which has a bit of a roughness to it, and using it like a loufa to exfoliate the dead skin.  This works a little bit for a little while.  

I had another follow up with the ostomy nurse today, and she agreed it is definitely a problem.  Her suggestions were to increase my water intake from 10 to 12 glasses a day, and to try adding more healthy oils to my diet.  I used to get that from almonds, but since nuts are a problem, I am probably not getting enough healthy oils.  She suggested adding some avocado and maybe almond butter to my daily diet.  So I'm going to try that, but wondered if anyone else has had this problem and how you solved it.  Thanks!!

Dry skin isn't usually serious. In most cases, it's caused by factors like hot or cold weather, low moisture in the air, and soaking in hot water. You can do a lot on your own to improve your skin, including using moisturizers and avoiding harsh, drying soaps. But sometimes dry skin happens often or is severe.

The most effective way to deal with dry skin is to drink enough water to stay hydrated and apply moisturizing lotion to your skin. 

 


   
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(@stella)
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 82
 

@dona sorry Dona, may I know which one of the purpose soap bar that you use. I have this problem as well. After my output got onto my skin, I don't know what use to wash except water.

On Amazon, there are 2 as I'm now want to buy. the one with a all blue box, or the one with blue & white box ? 

Sorry for my stupidity. (can't figure out are they the same or different)


   
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