COVID Vaccine Reaction: Eczema Under Stoma Bag - Seeking Advice

I had a bad reaction to the Covid vaccine, high temperature, and aches. I also developed eczema under the phalange of my stoma bag. Has anyone else heard of this problem? I have had the ostomy for nearly three years with no skin irritation at all. Any advice is welcome!

Hi Tarka, I have had both of my COVID vaccines. I have not had any problems at all, no temperature or aches. Have you changed anything you use? Hope you can get the problem solved quickly. Best wishes and stay safe. Here are some things I saw online that may cause irritations.

What causes skin irritation?
There are a number of different reasons why you may be experiencing sore skin, some of the most common ones include:

A poorly fitting appliance
Leaks from the stoma, which cause the effluent (bowel or alkaline urine) to sit on the skin
Frequent removal of pouch which can strip the skin
Pre-existing skin conditions such as sensitive skin, eczema, or psoriasis
Humidity from hot weather
The use of chemicals such as fragranced soaps, detergents, deodorizers, bleach-based cleaning wipes, or baby wipes.
Other reasons include:

The hole (aperture) in the pouch might be the wrong size
Uneven surfaces of skin, from skin folds or scarring due to surgery
Excessive sweating can prevent the pouch from sticking well
The effluent from your stoma may be excessive
The effluent may corrode the hydrocolloid (adhesive of pouch) causing irritation
An underlying skin irritation may stop the pouch from sticking properly
Contact dermatitis (an allergy) from any of the stoma products
What can I do to treat it?
Below are some of the ways in which you can treat your sore skin:

Remeasuring of the aperture and stoma size, so that the pouch fits correctly.
Adhesive remover sprays or wipes to help with the gentle removal of pouches.
Stoma powders sprinkled sparingly on any moist irritated skin, to ease discomfort
Barrier creams or sprays can be used for a short period of time
Non-sting stoma pastes to help with adhesion of the flange to the skin
Topical steroid lotions can be used as a short course of treatment if irritation is severe, these would need to be prescribed by your stoma nurse or GP
Pouches with alginate, Aloe Vera, or Vitamin E in the backing of the pouch can help soothe the irritated skin
If you suffer from a skin condition such as psoriasis or eczema and the sore skin around your stoma resembles this too, you can try using small amounts of your usual prescribed cream.
Remember to always ask your HCP or stoma nurse for advice as it's their job to help you!

Hi Tarka,

Are you sure the vaccine and your skin issue are connected? Reason I ask is recently I had the same thing happen........for no reason I can find. I haven't had the vaccine yet, but the skin under the bandage portion of my barrier was doing great. Then two days later at the next change I peeled off the barrier to find the skin on the bottom side of the barrier and between my belly button and the barrier bright red and sopping wet. Again, for no reason I can see. There were no leaks, I'm sure of that, and my skin was perfectly dry the last time I applied my barrier. I started to think maybe it's the time of the year.......we're getting warm weather here and I'm outside working pretty hard....but I don't think that's it, as it's happened at other times of the year. I've been to a number of dermatologists in the past and they're all clueless. They just tell you it's either contact dermatitis or an allergic reaction of some sort.....then hand you some free samples of lotions and ointments that you can't use because nothing will stick to them, pat you on the head and wish you good luck. So I don't think we'll find an answer through the medical community.

I ended up cutting both sides of the bandage portion off my barrier yesterday morning to let the air get to the skin. It was still pinkish red this morning when I changed my barrier.......so I hit it with anti-fungal, cleaned it off and tried some Marathon no sting cyanoacrylate skin protectant before I applied my new barrier. It's just weird how the skin can be perfect one day and a total mess the next........for no obvious reason. Hence my asking if you're sure the vaccine has anything to do with it. Let me know what you do about it and how it works. We can never have too many tools in our ostomy toolbox.

Regards,

Bob

I would wash your skin around the stoma with Dermol 500 Lotion or if it's really bad, speak to your GP/stoma nurse. You may need something stronger only available on prescription. If you don't already use them, using some seals may give your skin a break and help it heal. Something like Dansac Tre seal. There are other makes available too. A stoma nurse could drop a few in the post if needed to try.

I'm thinking we're experiencing things that didn't occur pre-pandemic.  I know how important the Quality Control people are in the chemical industry.  The adhesives, cleansers, even the plastic pouches among other stuff that needs to be formulated must be checked to eliminate the possibility of allergic reactions or worse.  Sometimes I think the QC folks are working from home.

Mike

Thanks for your input!

I will try treating it with antifungal rather than hydrocortisone to see if it helps! Thank you for your help.  

Thanks for the input, I will keep you posted on my progress!

Hello Tarka.
It's a very relevant question that you ask, and I am pleased to see that you have had some sensible replies.
I am also interested in this phenomenon because I seem to get sore skin for no discernible reason (fortunately, mine is not around my stoma). I have some ideas as to what it might be because of where it occurs. I first had it on my private parts and the doctor prescribed athletes foot spay – which worked well and cleared it up within a day or two. the next time it happened was when I wore a full-face mask for my breathing (CPAP) machine. this took all the skin off around my nose and mouth area overnight and only cleared up once I stopped wearing the mask. The doctors put it down to being allergic to Latex.
More recently, the problem has arisen along the elasticated waistband of some of my underpants. I think that this might be due to the elastic making contact with the skin.
Having said that, I am reminded of many years ago when I was an apprentice engineer and the problem appeared on my hands. The doctors said I had what they called ‘A Dermatoid State’, which was reacting to the oils and chemicals that I was working with art the time. Eventually, I had to give up working in that environment and the problem went away on its own without medication.
The moral ( if there is one) is that it seems that these sorts of conditions can arise from almost anything that we come into contact with. Nowadays, I simply try to identify the cause and avoid it.
Best wishes
Bill