How to Treat Red, Weepy, Irritated Skin: Effective Solutions!

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The forum discussion is about a member sharing their personal experience and solution for dealing with red, weepy skin around an ostomy.
Posts:2619
 

HiGuys,

First up, I had to change my picture from the hot blonde back to me.........cuzz you horny male ostomates kept hitting on me. I'm not a girl.....I'm a guy....so knock it off!!!

Second.......what's with the new format?Are you guys liking it?I seem to remember it being a lot easier to find posts before I left.....now I'm totally confused. Sucks getting old I guess. Change is good....change is good.

Ok, now onto my favorite topic..........red weepy skin. It sucks doesn't it?All red and wet and nothing sticks to it. Just sucks. I've been battling with it for what.....2 years now. For those that don't know.....I got my ostomy in 2014 and was discharged with Hollister products. I used Hollister up until 2021 when in that last year my skin under my wafer/barrier/whatever you want to call it just got too red, irritated and weepy to do much with. I'd been to see the Dermatology team in Washington DC that was a combined group from Georgetown and Washington Hospital Center. They had no clue what to do or what was causing it. I saw 3 local Dermatologists, as well as Ostomy Nurses from Georgetown and Johns Hopkins. Did patch tests on everything for a week at at time and had no allergic reactions. Ended up stumping a lot of good folks, but the problem remained. So I made a list of all the dermatological problems it could be.........and started addressing each one. After nothing worked I was down to an allergic reaction to the material Hollister used for the bandage portion of their barriers. So I switched to the Sensura Mio Convex Flip barriers and associated products. And it made no difference or improvement (I write a post on that later). So now I was shit out of things to try. So I called Nu-Hope Ostomy Products and got connected to a really great Ostomy Nurse there. I explained the history and sent her tons of pics of what I was dealing with. That same day she emailed me back with instructions on how to get the red weepy skin under control. I just rolled my eyes and said sure, why not. But what she told me to do WORKED.........and now I'm going to tell you. So print this out and hang it on your refrigerator......or put it in your ostomy notebook.......but keep it. Because one day red weepy skin could appear out of nowhere.......just like it did for me. And it's very frustrating and maddening to deal with. Until now.

Here's what you do



Go to the pharmacy and get yourself a box of Domeboro Medicated Soak Rash Relief - it's Aluminum Acetate powder
Beg, borrow or steal some Apple Cider Vinegar
Mix one packet of Domeboro with 4 oz of warm water (not the vinegar)......stir it well until all the powder disappears
Take some paper towel, soak it in the Domeboro/water mixture, squeeze out the excess liquid and place over your weepy skin
Let it sit there for at least 10 minutes (it won't sting or hurt in any way)
Remove the paper towel and blot with a water soaked paper towel to remove the Domeboro residue
Mix 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar with 1/4 cup warm water and soak a couple paper towels in it
Place the vinegar soaked towels over the weepy skin and hold in place for at least 10 minutes (it doesn't sting, but itches like crazy for the first minute or so)
After 10 minutes remove the vinegar soaked paper towels and do NOT wipe off the vinegar
Let the skin dry (I use a hair dryer)
Once dry lightly sprinkle Ostomy Powder over the irritated skin and blow off the excess with the hair dryer (just a dusting, don't cake it on)
Heat your new ring and barrier with the hair dryer, stick in place and have a wonderful day!

Now it won't work in one application. I took 4 or 5 before my skin was nice and dry. I change my barrier every other day, due to my high liquidy output.......so if you normally leave your barrier on longer I'd still suggest you change it every second or third day until you get the weepy skin under control. Now this process stops the skin from weeping, but doesn't cure what's causing the weeping....so you need to still address that. But this method buys you time to figure things out. It's made a world of difference for me, so hopefully it will help you too. Also, before you rush out and by the Domeboro go to their website and download their coupon. It varies between 4 - 6 off. If you are a member of CVS's Extra Care club they email you 40 off coupons every month. So it ends up being pretty cheap with both those discounts. Amazon sells Domeboro for 14 I think. Ends up costing 10 at CVS with the discounts. One box has 12 packets in it.

So there you go..........how to control red, weepy skin. Tell all your friends!Ok, just your ostomate friends!!

;O)

bob

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Thanks Bob. Good to know for future reference. Glad you found something that finally worked. Well done on the self-advocacy (and finding an ostomy nurse who knows her shit)!

Hollister
Skin Health Tips from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister
Posts:253
 

G'day Bob, I don't know what you're using on the skin before, but from day 1 all I have used is warm water and wiped all around my stoma, and I have never had a leak or skin problems. The main thing I like is the Welland washer around the stoma. So many people use creams and wipes, and they have lots of problems. Just keep to good old warm water.

Posts:2619
 
Reply to IGGIE

Hi Iggie,

Yup, I hear ya. I never used anything other than water either. And everything was fine for almost 7 years. And then one day my skin started getting irritated for no reason. In the past, I had instances where it got irritated temporarily for various reasons, but those were always easy to deal with. This time nothing would help, and it just got worse and worse. I never changed products, used water as you said, didn't do anything stupid... it just happened right out of the blue. Which is what I've learned allergic reactions do. Fine one day and bad the next. And remember I patch tested EVERYTHING for over a week on the other side of my navel on various occasions just to be sure. The last dermatologist I saw told me straight up... "your skin doesn't like something... and eventually it'll toughen up and accept it"... and I was like... but I don't think I want tough skin in that area... I need shit to stick to it!! So no creams or soaps or wipes... just plain water forever... but it happened anyway. Yeah, weird... I know. Thanks for the reply!

;O)

Bob

Posts:83
 

More good info from Bob! I've had no skin issues to date, but your tip is copied and pasted to a 'notes' file I keep for things like this. Now when it happens, I'll have the fix. Thank you.

Posts:1246
 

Good information. Thanks

Posts:1419
 

Great job, Bob.  Really missed ya.

Mike

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