Ileostomy Appliance Itching: Anyone Else?

has anyone had itching around the appliance? i almost always do

Hello looking forward,

The itching is most likely yeast which grows in moist, dark places such as under ostomy wafer. It helps to use Head and Shoulders dandruff shampoo to wash skin around stoma each time you shower when you are planning on changing your appliance. After drying off, put a layer of baby diaper rash cream around skin at stoma site and leave on for about 10 minutes. I use Boudreaux's Baby Butt Paste- you can find in baby section of store. This usually clears up the yeast and stops itching within a day or two. It has helped tremendously, especially in the summer months with pool and humidity. Best of luck to you!

Hi LF,

Yeah, that itching does suck, doesn't it? And if you scratch it... it gets worse... kind of like a Chinese finger puzzle. Try what's been suggested, but the Head and Boulders didn't do anything for me. No soap did. Which is how I partially solved it... no soap. I also find the liquid spray Athlete's Feet anti-fungal seals the deal... meaning no itch ever.

What I do is as soon as I peel off my old barrier, I liberally spray the anti-fungal all around my stoma, fully covering the area the bandage portion of the barrier covers. I leave this on and let it air dry while I dick around lining up my supplies and cutting the hole in my barrier. Then when I'm done getting ready, I apply Nystatin liquid over the dry anti-fungal, which essentially does the same job as the anti-fungal, but helps moisturize my skin, as the anti-fungal works by drying out the skin. Then I just dry the area with a hair dryer, shave, and then pat the whole area down with a damp paper towel (to remove most of the Nystatin and anti-fungal so I can get good adhesion of my barrier to my skin) and hit the area again with the hair dryer. Before I apply the barrier, I dust the area with ostomy powder, apply protectant wipes, and again thoroughly dry the area with my hair dryer. Then it's just pop on the new barrier (I pre-attach my ring to the barrier). It's important the whole area be completely dry before you put the new barrier on, as moisture and fungus seem to really like each other. I haven't had that dreaded itch in a long time, knock on wood. That damn itch is just one of many things they never told me about when I got my ostomy and was sent home with my little bag of barriers, poop bags, and product literature. Let me know how you make out.

Oh... almost forgot... if you have scratched that itch (literally) and you have red, weepy skin... I find it best to cut away the bandage part of the barrier that would cover that red, weepy skin so it can dry. It won't dry under the barrier, and if your ring has good adhesion to your skin, you don't need the bandage portion of the barrier anyway, so cut away, or cut holes in the bandage portion of the barrier over that bad skin. Then the next time you go to change your barrier, that red, weepy skin will be all healed up and you can cover it. Good luck!

Regards,

Bob

Wow Bob! I'm impressed! It sounds like you are a pro at this! I've only been an osotomate for three years so I really appreciate your knowledge. Although the Head and Shoulders and zinc paste work for me, I'm certainly going to try your technique and see if it works better. Thank you so much for being a wealth of information. Your posts are truly helpful to myself and I'm sure many others! Please keep sharing! 
Kristen

Try spraying Flonase on skin around stoma. It is used for allergies and is a nasal spray and anti inflammatory. Had severe itching and redness. Went to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and saw their Ostomy nurse team. This was their go to treatment. Make sure Flonase is dry before appliance application. I usually use a rechargeable small fan. 

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