The perfect ostomy care

 

We are forced to deal with our ostomy care each day more than we would like.

The base plates are so large that they protrude from any underwear. When stool or urine are infiltrating the ostomy appliance, the most expanded edge of the adhesive is useless. An ostomy appliance should last for 3 to 4 days. 

The fleece lined drainable pouches hold water and perspiration captive, resulting in a warm and humid climate in the underwear. The pouches have to be changed all the time which only pleases the manufacturer.

Funnily enough, the plastic for the pouches has been getting thinner for years, so that the aggressive stool lets the pouch stink faster! It is so easy to towel a smooth pouch after showering, bathing, or sweating.

Closures with a touch fastener system are unsafe, they stink, and they are bulky. Even I don’t succeed in keeping my fingers clean while emptying the stool. In case of stool turning up on the touch fastener, to cap it all off, the whole place stinks like hell. I long for pouches that are simple, opaque, coloured, and odour-proof, with delicate little closure clasps.

Closed colostomy pouches are useless and should be abolished. What distinguishes a colostomy patient of an ileostomy/urostomy patient who is clearly in a position to dispose of his stools into the toilet? Why should a colostomy patient dump his stools into the dustbin? Don’t we still have enough plastic waste on our planet? Besides, the colostomy patient is being forced into loneliness, for where but at home the pouch should be changed and disposed of? “Leaving home” becomes like running the gauntlet as if you had nothing else to do than changing the pouch constantly. The costs of ostomy appliances are unnecessarily driven up by closed pouches. There should be investment in quality and not in large quantities. The summit of madness are one-piece, closed pouches. We should use our brains, and we shouldn’t let somebody palm something off on us!

Air filters work only for a short time, they stink, stick, or leak. Therefore, the pouch must be changed permanently. Owing to the air filter, we can’t even flap the upper, superfluous part of the pouch downwards so that everything neatly fits into the underwear. If there is air in the pouch, I can briefly open the click ring, letting the air escape at the place of my choice. I don’t have to leave a scent trail so that everyone immediately realizes that somebody with an ostomy has been in the area!

Since it is only about money, we ourselves must try to change something. We should contact the manufacturers again and again if we are not 100 % satisfied with the ostomy appliances. You can try out several manufacturers to find the perfect product – even against the wish of the ostomy therapist. If we keep our problems and ideas to ourselves, the manufacturers will not be able to react.

Look at our links to find the well-known manufacturers. They always offer free service hotlines and will be pleased to send you free samples.

 

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My ostomy care

I adjust my two-piece appliance according to my individual requirements!

My base plate lasts three to four days if I cut away the material around the click ring, resulting in an outer diameter of merely 8 cm. I need only seven appliances for 32 days on a small Asian island, being up to the neck in seawater.

My pouch has three plastic loops on the click ring that I cut away with a pair of nail scissors – except for the one in the middle. I leave it standing so that I’m better able to open and to lock the closure.

I don’t need the fleece around the pouch for moisture just gets caught in it. I cut it away with a pair of nail scissors so that only the smooth brown pouch remains. Thereafter, I cut the outlet of the drainable pouch slantwise to obtain a smaller surface of pollution. This works only for pouches with closure clamps. I have to order these small beige closure clamps separately because the conventional ones are too large and curved.

Thus, the whole ostomy appliance fits much better into the underwear and into the swimwear.