I’ve been trying a new Hollister ostomy system out, and I immediately noticed something that I found rather annoying: the pouch outlet just dangles from the bottom.
Table of Contents
Intro
It’s not obvious if you have an empty pouch, but as you start moving and your pouch fills up, poof – it dangles around like a Christmas ornament!
Curious, I took to twitter to see what other Hollister users thought, and the response I received was a bit surprising.
One ostomate said that you simply get use to it and another uses a binder clip to keep it in place.
Call me spoiled, but companies like Coloplast and Salts have already solved this issue by adding a strip of Velcro to the pouch to keep the outlet from flapping around.
So I thought, “why not do the same with the Hollister pouch? ” And so I did.
The Hack
Here’s how you can hack your Hollister pouch to be less annoying, with a bit of adhesive Velcro strips and a few seconds of your time.
First, you’ll want to clean the plastic part of your pouch with rubbing alcohol. This will make sure that the surface is clean and oil – free.
Use rubbing alcohol to clean the surfaces that you’ll be sticking your Velcro to.
Next, you’ll want to take a small piece of Velcro (the fuzzy part) and apply it to the back of your outlet after it’s been rolled up.
Use enough Velcro to cover a large part of the flap.
Then stick it here.
After that, you’ll want to stick the other piece of Velcro (the hooky part) to your pouch so that aligns with the fuzzy part.
Apply the hooked Velcro here.
You should leave it on for 24 hours on order to get a perfect bond, so do this ahead of time. If you’re in a rush, you don’t have to wait for he adhesive to fully cure, but just be careful when releasing the Velcro, so it’s not tugging too much on your pouch.
And you’re done! Enjoy!
Feel free to use a wider strip of Velcro, but don’t use anything too small or it will come undone as your pouch fills.
Video
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Closing Words
That’s it!
A few things to note:
- Use regular Velcro, not the industrial strength one. You’re trying to keep your pouch outlet from dangling, not mount a shelving unit to the wall!
- If you make a mistake, do not try to remove the Velcro if it’s already on your pouch. You will damage the pouch and will likely get a leak. At the very most, use an adhesive remover and gently peel off any Velcro that was applied incorrectly. Be certain that your pouch wasn’t punctured before trying again.
- When it comes time to empty your pouch, go easy on the Velcro as it separates. It’s an ostomy pouch, not a pair of sneakers!
If you’ve used this trick, let me know in the comment’s below, and feel free to offer any tweaks that have worked better for you.
Hi all,In regards to above video Eric, it is a great idea, however I wear my bag out of my pants due to a large Stoma (Going for 2nd prolapse revision on December 6), so that bag does not bother me at all. What does bother me in the Hollister bags is the strip of hard nylon (or whatever you call it), that is extended past the outlet of the bag, and I have no idea what is that for. It gets really dirty while emptying the bag, and makes it hard to push open the bag on that side, even after creasing the outlet as per your great idea Eric, which is making it much easier to push open the outlet of the bag for cleaning. I just cut that piece at the end, and it does not effect the bag in any way.Would you know what that extension is for Eric?Thank you
Hey, Danbh.
You could try removing it, however, if it’s the same piece I’m thinking of, it would be best to leave it as it helps to keep moisture/fluids from seeping out. I did a similar modification on another product and cut off that tiny strip of plastic and I had a messy situation as I unrolled the outlet (as if liquids from the bag found its way out, even when it was rolled up correctly).
That said, I have known other people who snip those ends off without any trouble. Maybe cautiously give it a try?
I HATE the Hollister pouch materials; the bag, the vents, the velcro closure. But I LOVE the Premium CeraPlus wafer portion. I wouldn’t waste any money to add anything to the Holllister bag but the idea is a good on.Eric, any suggestions as to why the piece of velcro that is on the portion where the opening is wants to start coming away from the bag therefore having my change the bag earlier than I normally would have?
Hey Lilylifesaver,
I’ve only had that velcro part come off on me once, and I’m going to assume it was simply defective. If you’re having problems with it often, I would get in touch with Hollister to see what’s going on. It’s possible that temperatures during storage or transit may also have an impact on it. I’ve had products come in ruined because of the cold in the past.
Eric, do you have a suggestion of a Colopast 1 pc with similar wafer like Hollister Premier CeraPlus with a light convexity?
Coloplast and Hollister products are very different from one another. Light convexity alone narrows down your options quite a bit, but I would considering sampling some of the new stuff in the Sensura Mio line (they have several convex styles) and see if any work for you.
I really like this pouch hack works very well .Thanks for the tip
What size Velcro are you using please?
I’m wanting to try this, but don’t want to buy the wrong thing.
Thank you for ALL of your postings. It’s been a life’s changer to this new ostomate!!
?Jen
Hi Jennifer,
There is no specific size – as long as it fits the area you need to cover, then it’s fine. The ones I’ve used come in squares and I cut those in half. The dollar store should have plenty of these.
My only suggestion is to avoid the small circle velcro – they won’t get a good enough grip.
Ahh thanks.
I was thinking of the small oval shaped ones Bc of its size. Glad to not make that mistake lol!
?Jen
AnY suggestions for keeping moisture inside the bag to a minimum? I seem to get a lot of moisture and I think it affects my wear time with the barrier ring. It swells up too much.
I really enjoy reading your information.
Moisture (coming off the stoma) is normal and shouldn’t affect wear time unless the appliance isn’t fitting right (around your stoma ). If there’s a lot of liquid in your pouch, try a gelling product.
Hia this is great! I hate the fact you cant tuck it in as ive used hollister bas for a while now and i hate how sharp the edges are ……also another tip is use those sticker filter covers and just stick it up ….i change my two peice every day so id need alot of velcro haha x
Do you change your pouch everyday for a particular reason or is it just preference?