If you have had an ostomy ever in your life, then this article is for you. And I’m not just talking about all my new ostomates out there who are still in their beginner stoma period; I’m even talking to the veterans - the old dogs if you will - who have long since had surgery and have lived long and fruitful lives with the addition of a stoma. If you fall into any of these categories, then I have some news for you. It is very important that you are cleaning your stoma in the right ways. Yes, believe it or not, there are wrong ways to clean your stoma. I know from personal experience that neglecting to clean your stoma in the right ways (or at all) will result in further complications with your ostomy. This could lead to you having to start additional medications, taking unnecessary trips to the doctor’s office, or even having to go to the emergency room for a repeat of surgery. This is the last thing that you would want to happen, and I definitely do not want to see any of my fellow ostomates have to go through this. That is why I put together a quick article that entails a few tips and tricks to help you clean your stoma the next time you change your ostomy bag.
The first thing you need to get right about cleaning your stoma is that you should not be using any sort of soap or cleaning products to clean out your stoma. That’s the inside of your body, after all! Would you drink soap to clean out your throat? No, you wouldn’t. If you did that, you may find yourself taking a rapid trip to the hospital and getting your stomach pumped. Keep this simple fact in mind as you are cleaning out your stoma and avoid all types of soaps or cleaners.
Instead, it is best to just use warm water, because that’s the natural way that God has intended for your body to be cleaned. While you are rinsing with water, make sure you are not rubbing or scrubbing your stoma or the area around it. Ostomies aren’t super fragile or anything, but it is never a good idea to start getting rough with your stoma. The last thing you need is to tear something down there and get yourself in a whole mess of problems.
In addition to warm water, it is really important that you dry any and all of your stoma that was being washed. You don’t want a lot of water sitting in your stoma because that can lead to all sorts of problems when you go to attach your ostomy pouch or try to treat the skin barrier. While you’re at it, it is also important to keep your ostomy pouch and related supplies as clean as possible. Make sure to properly drain and empty out all the contents of your pouch when you are cleaning it, as long as it is not a disposable one. If you do use a disposable ostomy pouch, then just make sure that you are properly taking care of it when it is time to throw it out. Don’t leave your ostomy pouch just sitting around somewhere in the house! I hope this was helpful, good luck out there.
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