Hi there, A leak does shake confidence. But you know the weak point where it’s happening. It could have been that too much stoma powder left that weak point.  Try crusting that place. Powder followed by dapping with barrier wipe. Let that dry and repeat. Output gathered round the ring can sit cause of the ring on a 2 peice. With a good fitting barrier and no skin showing it shouldn’t cause too much trouble. Keep heart it’s a learning curve 👍

John’s right - it’s a learning curve! One thing I wanted to comment on - you’re right about thicker output pushing its way under the flange and causing a leak. It sounds like your daughter has some pancaking happening. I’ve had that happen lots of times. I have a colostomy, so my output is thick. Output consistency is usually affected by what is eaten, or not eaten. I wonder what’s changed for your daughter? I would keep an eye on fluids. In hot weather, fluid intake should increase to replenish what is lost through sweat. The pancaking could also be causing some skin irritation too. It’s all connected.

Laurie

Posted by: @momof2

Anyway, she did have some damaged skin that she was told to use stoma powder on and it was healing nicely but all of a sudden it is back to being red and broken.  Maybe because of the leaks?  

I would think so. Because our output (especially in people with an ileostomy) tends to have some digestive fluids in it (i.e. bile), any amount left on the skin can eat away at the skin. 

She recently started cutting her hole smaller…could she have rushed the process a little?   Tonight, she was woken at midnight with a leak and I told her to try to go back to the size before these leaks happened.  

If it only happened once, and that was something she did differently, it's possibly related.

The other thing I noticed was when she took her bag off, the output seemed thick and clustered around the opening rather than down in the bag.  Could thick output that doesn't fall down into the bag possibly cause leaks?  

It does for me, but pressure from gas is usually the main cause of my leaks. 

Here are strategies to loosen her output and give it a better opportunity to drop down to the bottom of her bag. Some clothing/support garments also trap output near the top. Sometimes, manual intervention, in the form of sliding the stool down by hand, is necessary. 

She's having a minor bump in the road, and these things happen. This is always a learning process, so I hope she doesn't get too discouraged by it. 

Momof2, please tell your daughter not to be discouraged. She's doing good. We're here to pass our experience and what we know. Base of this, she will find out the reason of the leak and she will figure out her solution.

I myself use the Hollister ring 8805 before the skin barrier. The ring is put to the edge of the stoma (where the stoma join with the skin).  Then the hole of the skin barrier has a little space from the stoma (that it should be).

The ring is good for skin. 

There was a time my leak caused my skin turned into red and itchy. After I changed the appliances and put this ring on top of the red skin, the next change I could see the skin has been healed pretty much. Then one more change I could see the skin all healed.

This ring is good for protecting the skin all around the stoma and the adhesive is quite good for me.

I also like, the ring came with films on top and on bottom. When I put it on, I just took off the film on the bottom, attach to my skin, then I press gently the ring with the top film is there, so that it would not stick on my finger while I'm pressing. Doing this to ensure it attach on my skin good.

Please don't be discouraged,  she is doing good. (Love the baby. Although all parents may not like to change diapers for babies at night, but they all willing to do it with love. After changing, they may even give their babies a kiss)

Hi guys, 

My daughter had some good weeks and some bad weeks with leaks.  She kept trying to fix things on her own and it would seem like she did and then whammo.  So she came home from college for a week and I suggested we go to her old pediatric hospital and see a WOC nurse.  Well, it seems that her stoma has shrunk quite a bit and is actually what the nurse referred to as a flat stoma.  The nurse gave her a Hollister convex flange and belt to try to see if this fixes the problem. Side note, she hates the belt but the nurse says it is necessary and she says I guess the belt is better than those blow out leaks.  

The nurse was actually surprised that she is even sometimes getting such good wear time out of the regular appliances and that her skin isn't more broken down then it is so at least there is that.  But she does have quite a bit of broken down skin that we are going to have to keep trying to heal.  

BUT the real reason I am writing.  Wednesday, we had quite a few urgent bathroom trips.  You may remember right after surgery she was still passing stool from her rectum.  We figured this would stop eventually and it has certainly slowed down.  We have read that it can't be stool and it is likely brown mucus.  However, on Wednesday she swears it was an actual formed stool.  Thursday was fine but now today she had another instance of needing a bathroom urgently and she said it was a lot of stool and was like her old flat ribbons (sorry if TMI).  What on earth is going on here?  I am thinking that with a loop ileostomy maybe some stool slips past the stoma opening?  But I find nothing online that supports this theory.  I feel like we are going insane.  What was the point of the surgery if she is still urgently running to the bathroom?  Is there anyone here who has had the same issue?  I am wondering if she might need a redo surgery.  

Hi there, I hear the frustration from your post. I don’t have experience of convex , but I would say it can be worn with out the belt. ( someone correct me if iam wrong) I know my 2 peice flat has loops which I have never used. The convex works well for many with a level stoma. On the other issues, yes clear or brown mucus can be passed if the rectum stump is still there. I would run that passed the stoma nurse. Things will settle into a routine. Believe me they will 👍

John is right. I have worn a convex flange for years, and although I started out wearing the belt, I don’t anymore, with no resulting problems. I found wearing the belt annoying, so when someone in my ostomy support group said he hadn’t worn one in years, I decided to try that too. Never looked back.

 I no longer have a rectum, so I’m sorry I can’t help with that question. 

Laurie

@momof2 Thank you for updating us! 

I hope the convex appliance works; yes, she may not like the belt right now, but if it allows her consistently reliable wear time, I think she'll appreciate the benefits. As others have mentioned, the *belt* may not be something she'll need to wear forever. 

Passing mucus or stool can be considered normal, but I don't like hearing that it's urgent. While there may not be any cause for alarm, I'd still want you to keep her doctor or nurse in the loop, just in case they feel it necessary to investigate further. Make it a point to let them know that the urgency is affecting her quality of life, and perhaps that will get them to explore things more deeply.