Help Needed: Correct Steps for Adhesive Removal in Wafer Change

Yes, wash after using the adhesive remover. The remover is designed to break down adhesives. I don't want even a trace of it on my skin when attaching the pouch.

Hello, my story is a little different. I have a urostomy bag. I use a CeraPlus bag from Hollister. I used adhesive spray remover to remove my bag. I used Coloplast paste when I apply a new bag instead of barrier rings. I could not get rings to work for me. I had a local supplier of ostomy products, a non-medical person, say to use a little (very little) soap to clean the area under the bag. I did that, and it was the secret to getting my bag to stay on for more than a few hours. Caution: I MUST get all the soap off, dry the area with Viva paper towels, and also sometimes use a hair dryer on cool air. As for adhesive wipes, I buy them on my own since I order spray; they will not sell me both. I do not always use the wipes but have to help clean the remnants of the CeraPlus product next to my stoma. I wash after using remover, at least with warm water. I also use "pink tape" to help hold the edges of my appliance down, and it has made a huge difference. I order it through Byrum, where I get most of my supplies. You can get it in various widths. I found the 1-inch wide to be nicer than the half-inch. With the half-inch, I had adhesive residue, and that is where I really used the wipes. With the inch-wide tape, I do not have as much residue, but some. Hollister is not big on skin barrier preps; soap is a little more agreeable to paste instead of rings, and tape is a personal preference. So you can have a huge number of combinations to try. Personally, I would try remover wipes and then clean the area, but I see others have luck just the opposite. I do very well most times until I sweat a lot in summer; then cleaning is a huge priority.

Have you tried rings from other manufacturers? If not, I would suggest getting a sample to try. And your mother's skin may have changed some or rebelled for a time, as mine seems to do. I am just offering a story of my approach, but I see with a quick scan you have been given some very good approaches to try. Best of luck.

P.S. The pink tape I referred to is also called Hy-Tek.

You do not want to use acetone on the delicate peristomal skin. That is what is in nail polish remover!

Who's using acetone?

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Just to interject some humor…. Tried doing the shower thing after pouch removal, but ended up with little “poop-lets” on the bathroom floor. It looked like we had bought a non-housebroken pet rabbit! 🐇🐇🐇

My stoma is a colostomy, mostly solid output, but it happens fairly often—whenever she (Rose) decides to make a “contribution.” Something about removing the pouch or taking the shower gets her active.

After I dry my skin with a wipe, I then set a timer and let my skin around the stoma “breathe”—just air dry for ten minutes, to give the skin a break from being covered by the pouch all the time.

My stomal nurse recommended that strategy if the skin was broken at all, but unless I'm rushing out the door somewhere, I just do it routinely at each pouch change.

Even in those ten minutes, Rose often makes another contribution, so I keep a waterproof drape at my side or a wipe. It happened once in the hospital when the regular (non-stoma) nurse was helping me, and we both had a giggle, as it looked exactly like a gopher poking its head out of a hole!

You gotta laugh….

Yes, I've been using a hairdryer for some time for this, and it has always worked. You can get half-circular extensions to seal the edges. If the problem persists, it takes the worry out of leakages.

🤣

I've seen the gopher, the snake, and the 🌋 volcano.

Between my colostomy and my urostomy, I've never been brave enough to try showering without bags.

I was taught by the nurses to use the remover spray, then clean with soap, then rinse well. I actually do that twice to make sure there's no residue and then use a hair dryer to make sure the skin is completely dry and warm. Then, I lie on my back, holding the bag firmly in place for about 15 minutes to make sure it sticks. Doing it this way, I've never had a leakage, now going on a year.

Terry, I agree! I take a shower butt naked. I use soap {I shower when it's not active}. I never have leaks; I had about three when I was a newbie. I don't use those wipes; they gave me a rash. I use a little bit of the spray adhesive, dry good, then apply my paste around the wafer, then the barrier strips. Less is definitely the way to go!

I have found that when removing the old wafer, it is essential to wipe away the adhesive residue thoroughly. I use Unisolve. Once this is done, then thoroughly wipe away any Unisolve so that it is dry. Then I apply skin prep and let it dry before applying the new wafer. If necessary, I apply some Stomahesive powder. Finally, you can take a hair dryer and heat the karaya seal of the new wafer before applying.

Xerxes

I have had a lot of skin irritation issues, so after much trial and error, I have found a solution that works pretty well. I start removing the pouch with an adhesive remover while pushing down on my skin so the rest of the pouch comes off easily. Then I wash the area with warm water and Dove Sensitive soap, so there are no extra chemicals. After that, I lay down with air on my skin for 15-30 minutes as I have time. Then I use a hair dryer around the area to warm it up for better adherence, apply the flange, add the pouch, and then use the hair dryer again to seal it on.

Oh, I can so imagine your troublesome little red devil. Even if I change mine right after getting out of bed and nothing to drink, it seems to contribute some "advice" on its own. I use a plastic bag tucked into my jeans/underwear to drop used items and hopefully any contributions in. Then toss the whole bag.

Same here, Susan. The nurses had me doing that in the hospital a couple of times, but the urostoma in particular just dribbles most of the time, so it was stressful for me, even though I never had a problem with poo droplets. For me, I do bag changes on different days so I don't have to worry about output from both of them while they're "naked."

I do them on the same day, but one and then the other. I shower, bags on, right before. I don't want to risk showering right after before the seals get fully set.

I apologize that I did not see this comment along with a bunch of other people's comments. For some reason, I don't get notifications when I get replies. I only see if I log on.

My mom has never tried rings from different manufacturers. We only ever used the Esentia rings from Convatec. However, I do have some good news. Using the adhesive remover wipes has helped. Our supplier gave us some samples, but the one that worked the best was the Medline wipes I bought from Amazon. Ever since I started to use them again, the problem is solved and the wafer stays in place.

Terry,

I never saw this last response. I am so happy to report that everything worked out. Medline adhesive remover wipes seem to be working.😁 We can get about 6 days with it.

We got Smith and Nephew adhesive remover wipes as a sample. But we only got 3 days, and one corner of the wafer started to lift up. I was going to try all the samples, but since Medline is working, I don't mind paying for it on Amazon.

Thank you for sharing what works for you! I appreciate your reply. Sorry it took long to respond. I didn't see your reply until now.