Raw Skin Around Stoma: Seeking Advice for Mom's Repeated Issues

Hi ... my mom is having repeated issues with raw bleeding skin around her stoma ... I don't know what to do, any suggestions?

Thank you,

Carol

Yes, two reasons.

First of all, the hole needs to be smaller on the stoma bag.

Use a stoma powder to help reduce the sore.

Clean with a wet water wipe. Then dry with a cool hair dryer.

Use stoma seals which sit around before applying the bag.

Use a soft convex stoma bag.

Use a different adhesive bag, for example, I use Salts because it contains Aloe Vera. Good for skin and better adhesive.

Thank you so much!

No worries.

I use calamine then do crusting. Works well for me. I had to switch from Eakin seals to silicone. Wishing you all the best.

Thank you ... but what is crusting?

Forgive me but I'm still learning about all this.

You use powder, then you use an alcohol-free barrier wipe.

I was getting sore skin at first. I have found using Appeel flange remover, to keep my skin healthy and clear of any skin issues. I have been using this, only, for the past five months. Along with plain water after using the Appeel, to clean it off the skin. Letting the water in the shower, spray over the stoma and skin, no soap. I drink goat's milk which is excellent for the skin. It is also a milk that clears up eczema. Goat's milk has lactose but is not the same lactose as in dairy milk. My skin and stoma are amazingly healthy. I use the Appeel sparingly and have found it does not need a lot. If you would like any more information on this please ask. Thanks for reading.

Hi Carol,

There can be many causes for what you're describing, so it's important to figure out what's causing it before you start throwing solutions at it. In some cases, depending on the cause, using certain things can make it worse. Contacting an ostomy nurse would be the first thing on my list to do. It's easy to email them pictures of what's going on and get their opinion. In case that's not an option for you, here's a link to a good article that briefly describes the most common causes for what you're seeing. The second link is for a great picture book on stoma and surrounding skin problems and how to deal with them. With those two things you should be able to narrow down the cause, and quickly get it under control.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2780183/

https://docshare.tips/abdominal-stomas-and-their-skin-disorders_5884d04fb6d87fb4298b4ac9.html

Let us know how you are making out!

Regards,

Bob

Thank you very much. I will check this out for sure!

Hey Carol, no need to apologize for not understanding some of our language.  We speak Ostomanian with a gutteral dialect. We sometimes forget we were new at this once.  You'll get all the answers to all your questions here.  Please be patient and remember my Eleventh Commandment:  Any unprotected skin will become damaged by output.  Fix the irritated skin first then be very aware of the distance between the stoma and the wafer.

Please let us know how it's working out for you.

Respectfully,

Mike