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What are Medical Adhesives?
For someone with an ostomy, medical adhesives can be used to help secure an ostomy wafer to skin. For ostomy wafers that have adhesive already on them (most of them), adding medical adhesive can help to create a stronger bond to skin.
How Ostomy Adhesives are Typically Sold
I’ve seen adhesives sold in several forms: as a skin bonding cement, as a spray, in the form of wipes and a sticky liquid that I’ll refer to as “syrup”. The latter two are not what I’d consider to be true adhesives, as they are only meant to give your skin/wafer more “tackyness”.
Pricing will vary on adhesives, depending on the form you’re using, but most forms can be purchased for under $40, which should get you more than a months worth of the product. Because the quantity of sprays, bonding cement, and liquids can be controlled, these should give you the best value, however, they are far less convenient compared to using wipes.
Purchase on Amazon
You can purchase ostomy adhesives on Amazon (affiliate links): USA | CANADA
How to Use Medical Adhesives
Depending on the type of product used, you would either apply it directly to your skin (wipes and “syrup”) or to your wafer (skin bonding cement and sprays). As with any adhesive, you might find that using an adhesive remover will help to get your appliance off without damaging our skin.
The durability of each product may vary, and some adhesives may break down in a few days, while other could bond for a week or more (assuming your wafer hasn’t already broken down!).
Tips on Using Medical Adhesives
- If you decide to try one of these products, test a small amount on your skin to make sure you don’t have an allergic reaction to them; many people find adhesives (including the ones on wafers) can cause skin sensitivities.
- The only samples you may be able to find are products that come as wipes.
- Keep your adhesive products sealed well in their containers/jars; these can dry out and become useless.
Are Medical Adhesives Vegan-Friendly?
I haven’t been able to find many details on the ingredients contained in these products, but I will add any that have been confirmed on my vegan/non-vegan ostomy supplies list HERE.
Hi Hadi, Yep What Eric says is right, level of output, body shape, lifestyle. All these are factors in making a system work for you. The various companies are very helpful in providing samples.
Hi
I’ve been looking for a good formula for an ostomy bag for a long time. Can you help me?
Hi Hadi,
Depending on your specific needs, there may be some products recommended over others. Do you have a stoma nurse who can help determine which product will work best for you?
Hi! Great site. Question. Besides my pouch I have never used any other ostomy products. I simply swap pouches after the shower and boom I’m done for 2/3 days. I would like to get better adhesiveness though for quick showers, snorkelling etc. I’m just looking for an adhesive that I can spray on the outside circumference of the pouch adhesive (where it sometimes gets loose due to water) or wipe on my skin. Which product do you think would be the best? Which one is the most bonding/strongest? Thanks
A better option would be a wafer extender, like Aqua Seals. I have an article on how these work, but they do an excellent job with protecting the edge of your wafer. https://www.veganostomy.ca/guide-to-ostomy-wafer-extenders/
Can I recommend Orahesive/Stomahesive from ConvaTec?
It’s a powder, so you just sprinkle it or wipe it over your stoma site during changes
– as a powder it adheres only to the moist broken skin directly around the stoma site (or anywhere the skin is broken) increasing adhesion just where leaks are most likely to begin as well as forming a protective barrier over those sensitive patches of skin.
It doesn’t seem to interfere with the adhesion of my wafer’s own adhesive and has really helped me as leaks and skin irritation used to be a very common problem for me before using this product.
I believe it’s 100% synthetic, so should be Vegan friendly and (in the UK) is available on the NHS.
Hope that’s helpful!
David
Hi David,
Unfortunately, Stomahesive powder and paste both contain gelatin. There are alternative powders, but these adhesives are specifically designed to bond to skin.