A SEAL THAT’S DESIGNED JUST FOR YOU

For your stoma bag to stick and stay put, your skin needs to be clean, dry, and free from any grease or lotion.  
 
Sounds simple, but the peristomal skin (that’s the skin around your stoma) can sometimes get sore, red, dry, wet, or broken.  
 
The main culprit is usually leaks from your stoma bag, but skin sensitivities, allergies, and pre-existing skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema can all play a role.  
 
Broken or wet skin makes it harder for your stoma bag to stick, which can cause leaks. These leaks can then cause even further skin damage.  
 
Sounds like a vicious cycle, doesn’t it? The good news is it doesn’t have to be!

See the solutions

 No two stomas are the same – some bulge out from the body by 10mm or more, some sit close to skin level, and some can even sit below skin level.  
 
Stomas that sit close to the skin, or below skin level, are known as ‘flush’ or ‘retracted’ stomas, and they can happen for a variety of reasons (including the amount of bowel available during your surgery, weight gain, or a hernia).  
 
It’s common to experience leaks from flush or retracted stomas, even when you’re using a convex bag. But adding a seal into the mix can help you fix the problem – fast.  

Here’s how

 Wondering how much is too much?  
 
You might be changing your stoma bag too often if:  
 
You wear a closed stoma bag, and you’re changing it more than 3 times a day 
 
You wear a drainable stoma bag, and you’re changing it more than once a day (emptying the stoma bag more often is perfectly normal) 
 
You wear a urostomy stoma bag, and you’re changing it more than every other day 
 
There are a few common reasons why you might be changing too much – and some easy tweaks to get the issue under control.

Here’s what to do

If you’ve got an ileostomy, a looser stoma output might be normal for you. A colostomy means you’re likely to experience a looser output sometimes. And if you’ve got a urostomy, you might be used to a higher volume of output.  
 
It’s important to get to know what’s usual for you, and to monitor any episodes of increased output. 
 
If you’re experiencing an unusually looser output, you’ll probably be emptying or changing your stoma bag more often, which can also lead to dreaded leaks.  
 
Luckily, you can fix the problem with just a few tweaks.

Here’s how

It’s perfectly normal for your body size and shape to change over time. But gaining or losing weight, pregnancy, swelling, or a hernia can have a knock-on effect on your stoma – and the skin around your stoma.

The result? Uneven skin that makes it tricky to get your bag to fit just right.  

The good news? There are plenty of products to help you get the fit that’s perfect for you.  

Here’s what you need to know

Granulomas are small painful lumps or raised areas around the edge of your stoma. They’re common, and they’re uncomfortable, but they can also be treated with just a few tweaks to your stoma care routine.

Although the exact cause is often unknown, they’re sometimes caused by skin irritation or damage from:

• Sutures from your surgery
• Repeatedly removing your stoma bag or accessories
• Leaks
• Tight clothing around your stoma bag
• Wearing the wrong size stoma bag

Just like the rest of your body, it’s perfectly normal for your stoma to change size and shape over time.  

Your stoma might be a bit swollen after surgery, and you might find that it shrinks as the swelling goes away in the 6 to 8 weeks following the procedure.

Daily activities, exercise, pregnancy, weight loss or weight gain, having a prolapse stoma, and hernias can also change the size and shape of your stoma over time.