Need help with ostomy bag seal and barrier ring issues

I have trouble getting my bag to seal around my stoma. It always puffs up and stool goes in around it. The barrier rings do not seem to help. What am I doing wrong?

If it's puffing up with air, you have to let the air out once in awhile.

Try wearing an ostomy belt. It helps keep things in place.

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Morning rustykunk1949... For puffing issues, try this: if your pouch has a vent, put a sticker or tape over the vent. Empty it and tape the vent. This works wonders for me. Advice from my ostomy nurse, who has her own bag for over 20 years.

Two things if I may. First, make absolutely sure the area around the stoma is clean and devoid of any adhesive. Second, try heating the karaya seal of the wafer with a hair dryer for 10-15 seconds before applying.

Xerxes

Staying Hydrated with an Ostomy with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Hi Rusty, aside from the gas issue, which has been addressed here, it could be lots of things. Are you using a regular or convex flange? If your abdomen around your stoma isn't really flat, you may not be getting a good enough seal because of that. A convex flange can change everything. When you put a new pouch on, make sure the skin around your stoma isn't just really clean, but also really dry. When you attach the pouch, whether using a barrier ring or not (I don't need one), warming the flange with your blow dryer for about 30 seconds can also really help, but also make sure you apply a good amount of pressure once it's on you and cover the whole area with your hand and press for a good amount of time. I usually give it about a minute and a half. Hope this helps!

Terry

Mechanical solution that I've used. Get one of the ostomy belts with little hooks on each end, those hooks will catch on either side of the collar of the ostomy bag. Cinch the belt up to take the pressure off the adhesive. Works.

I have had that happen too. And then my skin gets tender, even bleeds. I'm one month in on my colostomy. Still trying to figure it all out. I am trying a belt with the hooks to see if that will make a difference. For me, it always leaks out of the bottom under the flange.

I have 2 stomas and a hernia, is there some kind of belt I could get?

Not sure about belts but the OstomySecrets wraps have 2 pouches built in, might work for you. &zwj

Thanks, AlexT! I'll check it out!

I have tried 2mm and 4mm rings, which either seems to help.

Do you measure your stoma and cut the opening yourself, or do you get pre-cut? I would get the ones you measure and cut it to your stoma size, as it does change in size. For me, sometimes my stoma is larger and sometimes it is smaller, but measuring and cutting to the size of your stoma helps a lot.

One thing I learned from the beginning is to do the changing of the bag is to do it in front of a large mirror, so you can see what you are doing and making sure everything is put where it is supposed to.

Hope this helps.

I've had similar issues (7 weeks post)… I apparently have a low spout and dip around the stoma. I'm using a convex baseplate and barrier ring - for a while was getting regular leaks. Solved that with tweaking hole size better, then was advised to apply the ring to the baseplate before applying to stoma (this helped massively as seemed to never get a good stick applying directly), then lastly tried warming baseplate and barrier ring by placing under waistband or using hairdryer as above - also helps adhesion. 

Fingers crossed no leaks for a while, but feel you on the occasional lifting (not gas, but baseplate loosening sometimes later in the day) with a little red itchy, sometimes bleedy area under the lift…

I am currently finding sometimes the barrier ring seems to expand into the stoma hole of the base plate (which I think is what you're finding too?) then output can find its way under, or sometimes both lose adhesion a bit when I move (normally at the bottom as you say, but for me I think it's due to my convex and the shape of my tummy settling still)… playing with how close I put the ring to the baseplate hole seems to be helping this (so far around a mm in, so when the ring expands from absorbing a little liquid it fills that gap rather than encroaching too much into the hole itself. Oh and the stoma shrank a little bit again last week so a new template hole size.

I'm waiting to receive and try a stoma belt to clip on to my convex… as above, it seems this might help keep him secure and stop/decrease unsticking when I'm active… we will see and I'll let you know!

Semi-related - I've tried a level 1 support waistband (Comfizz) with the same idea, but for me one stoma gets active it just seems to lead to pancaking and potential for output to squeeze to local skin (which resolves itself as soon as waistband removed). It helps to wear for 30 mins post change to keep secure but I don't get how some people can wear these all day… perhaps it's because of my “low spouter” or I'm wearing it wrong.

Guess we are always learning on this journey 

Pete 🤓

Dang, never saw this response until now, sorry. 🤷‍♂️ I cut my bags myself but I haven't measured my stoma size in quite a while. I do mine in front of a mirror but never really look in the mirror to do it, just place the bottom of the hole on the bottom of the stoma and press it on. I'm not that “exact” about any of it and very rarely have an issue.