How do you keep your pouch dry in the shower?

So I'm wondering how everyone gets on with protecting their ostomy pouch and skin barrier when taking a shower. I've only found one product, an ostomy shower guard (see pic) and it has mixed reviews. I personally have so far tried the Glad Press 'n Seal and Hy-Tape, which works ok. But, for many showers to come, prepping will grow frustrating. So, I'm asking "What do you do for showering"? "What solution have you found?"

Hi Oscar56, first off, did you have a problem taking a shower without protection? I just shower without any protection and just dry off the bag with a towel. You can also use a hair dryer, but not too close to the ostomy. Hope this helps.

Hi Oscar,

I do exactly the same as Lovely does. I pat the top dry and the underside I gently pat and wipe dry. I use toilet paper underneath because that will let me know if there is the slightest leakage. I use a one-piece bag. Hope you get things figured out.

Thanks Lovely and Mtnman. I've spent hours watching YouTube videos and reading online. And I hadn't seen or heard "just take a shower with it on and dry it off". But I'm going to give it a try next time. I do use a hairdryer to dry the barrier and pouch when it got wet even though I'd "wrapped up".

Hi Oscar,

I know folks on here have discussed shields for their bag/barrier previously, but I never really paid much attention, as I do like Lovely and Mountain....the water doesn't affect the adhesion of the barrier and the bag is all polymer, so it doesn't care. I just carefully dry it when I get out of the shower, first with my towel and then with paper towel to really get as much water out of it as possible. As Mountain said, the backside of the Hollister bags holds more water than the front, so it's important to make sure it's really dry before getting on with your day. You might want to try the forum search for words like shower, protection, etc., as I know it's been discussed.

Regards,

Bob

I have made my own shower curtain. It keeps the direct spray off. Look up ostomy shower curtain on YouTube, maybe you will find it. The link is also on here in the collections.

I don't. I just cover the vent with the tape provided with the bag and shower away. I dry a bit with a blow dryer but the Colorplast bags dry pretty well on their own. I usually shower with the bag off anyway, but once in a while I shower with it on.

After I first had mine, I would cover it with plastic and tape. It still got wet. Now I am brave enough to go without it. I also towel dry and then use a hair dryer. I am not brave enough to go without my bag.

Hi, I just showered with no cover and used a hair dryer when done. Works well.

Hi all, I use Convatec pectin-based wafers, so I tape around the edges with Nexcare pink tape so the edges don't get gooey. I just dry the pouch with a towel and toilet paper.

Hey Oscar,

Like most of us on here, I use no protector and just dry it with a towel and use the hair dryer for a minute after I dry my hair. No issues ever. I sometimes remember to use the vent tape too but most days forget it. Sometimes I think the ostomy supply people really play with our head in making us believe we need all this stuff and of course, we spend our money on it to give it a try. I use nothing but a pouch. Never any other stuff. I shower with regular gel that I always used and never had any problems! I tried all that stuff. Some is necessary for some folks though!
Puppyluv

The key is to not make taking hot showers a career move!

I used Bounty paper towels when I used Hollister barriers. The fabric would retain water but the paper towels solved that problem.

Dave

I've found the Hollister barrier bandage material (not the ring material around your stoma) would sometimes lift off my skin in areas when I spent a long time in the pool. But the actual barrier ring material never lost adhesion, so no leaks. And when the barrier bandage material dried, it would re-stick to my skin and you'd never know it lifted.

Regards,

Bob

I've had an ostomy since 2006 - I just shower and let it dry. It's never been a problem, after all, they are made to be waterproof. Stay well

I don't use any cover when I take my daily shower. I just take a normal shower and then just dry off in a normal fashion.

I guess I don't understand what your issues are around taking a shower with an ostomy.

When I first had mine, I had issues with bags leaking and coming off. I was scared of getting it wet.

Ostomy bags and seals have come a long way in the last 30 years. I just shower with mine on and dry with paper towel or bath towels. The bag does not come off unless I pull it off slowly.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience. To be honest, I was not explained about showering with a pouch on. As I began learning to live with a pouch, I first watched videos on YouTube prior to joining this forum. And there are many videos of protecting the pouch in the shower. But, I'm glad to say that I followed everyone's feedback and showered without covering. I actually removed the pouch first. I left only my skin barrier. And it went well. I dried the barrier with a paper towel and then a hairdryer for 10 minutes to dry thoroughly. It's a great relief to learn I won't need to "wrap up" before a shower and spend money on Press 'n Seal and Hy-Tape.

Thanks everyone!

Hi Oscar, it's amazing what we weren't told and how much we learn from so many who've been there before us. So for myself as I learn, I will be able to perhaps share with others. Our fellow ostomates have much to offer as we continue through our journey together.  

Yeah, I'm with mtnman - we could easily fill a book with what we weren't told. I use a Coloplast Sensura Mio, and I find that it dries pretty quickly, so I don't bother to cover it for showers. I just wipe it with a towel or give it a quick dry with a blow dryer. I also shower without any appliance on days that I am changing it. It feels really good to let my skin breathe for a while. I have a colostomy, so I can be fairly sure I won't have an accident in the shower, as long as it's not right after eating.

Hi Oscar,

I'm a week out of surgery. I've taken a shower nearly every day. For me, getting the bag wet hasn't been a problem. It dries easily. Having a damp barrier may be contributing to a rash/irritation. I use a blow dryer on it for about 5 minutes and that solves the problem.

Hope that helps,

Shark Fan

If you don't want to get your bag wet, try using double-sided sticky tape and tape a bag from your ostomy kit with your pouch inside to your stomach. It's a bit of a hassle but keeps it pretty dry. I just use a hairdryer or a towel but find it dries quickly anyway within 20 minutes.

Hope this helps.

Update: FYI, because of my obesity, my stoma does not protrude. It is receded. When I shower without the bag, I'll have some liquid in the cavity. When I come out of the shower, I've had fluid drip onto my bath mat. Some blood too. And of course the possibility of output. Also, some water gets under the barrier and past the ring a little, weakening the barrier adhesion. I use the Hollister New Image™ Two-Piece Drainable with 2-3/4" Flange 12" length. These work great (18184). Then, I decided to buy some of the "mini pouches" which are 7" (18284) and give them a try. But they are too small to hold all the output of my colostomy so I figured I wouldn't use them. But then, I realized I CAN use them when I'm taking a shower. Of course, the bag gets wet but I don't worry now about "leaking" onto the floor when I exit the shower. After I dry off, I switch back to the 12". I still need to dry the skin barrier (14604) by towel or paper napkin (better) and a few minutes with a hair dryer.

   

Why, what are the reasons I need anything around my colostomy when I shower?  

I'm 3 weeks post-op with colostomy after perforated diverticulitis.

Sure, there are black stitches still there, but the seal I am managing to form between my base plate / flange prior to attaching a bag has not been perfect, so I am changing the base plate every day at the moment.   I   feel it would be a relief to have warm water on the surrounding skin, which is just getting used to the adhesives.   I think I could cope with a motion into the shower, which would be easy enough to wash away down the plug hole into the sewage system where all the other water goes.

More of a curiosity question until I am managing better.

Hi Melb,

There is no reason to have anything over your stoma when showering. I shower without anything on the days that I change my flange. That is usually only every 10 days. It feels great and my skin loves it. Everyone says be careful of the soap you use but my skin does not care what I use and the flange sticks well anyway. I just use my normal shower gel. Not everyone can do that. I irrigate so do not have any output during the shower and so what if you did right? Lol since you have a colostomy, you may want to research irrigation and once you have healed, usually 4-6 months, you may want to ask your doctor about it. I learned to do it on the internet. YouTube has some great videos. It sure beats output constantly!
Take care,

Puppyluv

Thanks for that.

Oscar,

There should be no reason why you would have to change pouches for a shower except to use them up! Lol I do not remove my pouch from the flange to shower. I could see how that could cause some problems. I never tried a shower with just the flange. The pouch does just fine in the shower. Pat dry and blow dry for a few minutes! It even does fine in the pool all day and even in a hot tub.

Pup

Right. I am now showering "as is" now, with the entire appliance. I was reacting to the first information I'd learned from videos on YouTube. Many tell of a need to keep the appliance from getting wet. I think it's mainly to keep the skin barrier from getting too wet too soon and necessitating change due to seal deterioration. This is what happens when showering. But, it seems to take a few days and by that time it's probably time for a new one.

I notice some replies to this thread seem to not understand my question. They seem confused that I am confused. I do not have right now, a "normal" stoma which protrudes. Mine is recessed and the wound is still healing. And, because this is new territory for me, I was (was) extremely concerned about getting water into the recess. (See pic).

But, much has changed now. I finally had my first appointment with my Stoma RN. And he taught me a lot. I'd been using the wrong appliance for my ostomy. And I was not taught the details. The hospital only shows you the basics. Between the time after discharge and the first stoma nurse visit, the Home Health Care Nurse is supposed to show and teach all about my appliance, diet, care, etc.. But, as I learned, this "3rd Party" did not care about me as much as bilking my insurance. And all I learned yesterday was new. That company, Absolute, will be discharged.

Wow Oscar,

I feel your pain. My ostomy nurse had me using some kind of freaky three-piece pouch that she called a one-piece but had three steps of sticking things together before sticking the pouch on. It left a lot of room for error. And boy, was there error! I leaked all the time until I found the right product for me. Being in the medical field, I understand what and why she did that. The makers of our products supply the ostomy care nurses with free supplies, and because they don't actually have an ostomy and have no frickin clue, they give the substandard product to new patients. She did come to the hospital every day to teach me to care for it and use the pouch. It was good to have that but not reality since there is no output for several days. Just practice!
Glad you found what you should be using, and hopefully, you will not have any issues when it gets a little wet!

Take care,

Pup