Stoma care - Dealing with poop buildup

How much poop sticks to your stoma and how long do you let it stay on the stoma? It's driving me nuts to see my stoma covered in poop and not being able to keep the poop in the bottom of the bag till I empty it. My question would be, does poop hurt the stoma being on it for long periods of time? I'm going through bags like every day or 2 so I can have a clean stoma!

Hi Jami,

No, it won't hurt having poop on your stoma... it was designed to be touching it! When they make your stoma, they stick your intestine through your abdominal wall and then fold the inside of your intestine over the outside of your intestine and stitch it to your abdominal skin. So the whole exposed stoma that you see is the inside of your intestine, which is totally fine having poop on it all the time. It's the skin adjacent to your stoma skin that can't deal with the acidity of your poop... which is why your barrier needs to be placed tight to your stoma. So don't fret having a dirty stoma... I won't tell anyone... promise. Just forget about it and enjoy life!

;O)

Bob

Thanks, I've been searching for an answer because I'm driving myself nuts. When I was introduced to my stoma, I had maybe an hour of being shown how to empty and change the appliance, then sent home. I have a home care nurse who has some expertise on ostomies, but most of my knowledge is coming from Google and now, this platform! I've seen my surgeon once since having the operation and will see him again Nov 11th. I may go sooner if they have an appointment open, so I can make sure the stoma is okay. My nurse said I have the biggest one she's ever seen, so I'd feel better seeing my surgeon's nurse! My nurse hasn't really proven to me how much experience she has with this procedure. I'm not trusting her like I should!

With your answer, I already feel at ease and not wanting to run to the bathroom to clean my stoma!! Thanks!!

Hello Jamibad.

It looks as though Bob has given you a fairly comprehensive answer to your question. So, I will simply add that it pays to relax, don't worry, and take all these stoma and shitty things in your stride. Pretty soon you will be an expert in your own field and will be able to pass on your well-earned wisdom to others.
I have found that it is much less stressful having poop on my stoma than it is having it spread around the bathroom or any of the other many places where it really should not be, but occasionally ends up.
Most of us have our stories of where our faeces has caused us a certain amount of anxiety. I tend to capture my experiences in verse so that the concept is captured for posterity.

I have chosen just one rhyme to give you the gist of how a story might sometimes pan out :

Best wishes

Bill

MISHAPS AT NIGHT.

Perhaps the worst mishaps are said
to happen when you go to bed.
You might feel safe when tucked up tight
right in the middle of the night.

But even if you’re in a coma
that won’t stop an active stoma.
For if you have an ostomy
it has its own autonomy.

There’s no way you can keep it still
it does just what it thinks it will.
It can erupt at any time
spewing out it’s grime and slime.

It is a must to wear a bag
that you can trust to catch this slag.
But sometimes this is not enough
to hold the volume of this stuff.

The best bags swell but what is worst
is mess and smell from bags that burst.
They blow much like old hand grenades
and throw faeces into cascades.

The bits of shit fly anywhere
here and there and everywhere.
And all that’s left for you to do
is be bereft at all that poo.

Then after the disaster’s done
and  --it has plastered everyone.
You start the mammoth job to clean 
everything that can be seen.

Then at some ungodly hour
when you get into the shower
of course, you’ve lost a good night’s sleep
because your stoma would not keep.

What might have been a bright new morn 
can leave you peeved that you were born.

                                                    B. Withers 2013
                   (In: My Ostomy World :Trilogy 2014.) 

Bill - Yep!

For me, I have been very lucky.

No bursting bag making bedding yucky.

The biggest distress I find at night

is stumbling in the dark - no light.

To make it to the porcelain God

as across the hallway I trod.

Then on the pot with eyes not wide

I struggle to get that spout untied.

And sure enough, I miss the tank

and end up cleaning all the stank.

By now, I find I'm quite awake

and mumble words I should not speak.

And when I'm done, enough said

I stumble back into my bed.

This stoma is such a curse

But then again, it could be worse.

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

If you're using a drainable bag, simply pour a little warm water in your bag, close it up, and swoosh it around a bit, and empty it. I do it almost every time I empty because I deal with pancaking a lot. Not cleaning it off can lead to leaks as your output can be pressed out under your wafer/ring if it either 1) doesn't fall to the bottom of the bag or 2) you rinse it off.

Hi Jami,

Your experience is pretty common. They sent me home from the hospital with a pamphlet and wishes of good luck. I never even changed my barrier while in the hospital, and really didn't want to have to look at that ugly thing sticking out of me, never mind touch it. But you do what you have to do. It's amazing how they can give us so little info on such a complex subject and expect everything to be fine. Very frustrating. I'm sure most on here can relate!

Make a list of your questions for your surgeon and then take notes when you meet. I start writing them down as I think of them a few weeks before my appointment, as it seems my memory left the building some time ago and forgot to tell me. If you're like me, when you meet you'll be scribbling notes and nodding your head.......and then by the time you get home you'll have forgotten almost everything your surgeon said and then find out your penmanship sucks. I actually went out a few weeks ago and bought a little digital voice recorder, and I keep that turned on and in my shirt pocket when I'm meeting with my Docs. It's tiny, about the size of two fingers, really sensitive and can record for hundreds of hours on a charge. You can get them cheap at Best Buy or anywhere they sell electronics. Should have bought one years ago........just couldn't remember to.

;O)

Bob

A much-appreciated rhyme. - Thanks THAT'S MADE MY MORNING.

Best wishes

Bill

Yes, only ostomates can really appreciate and relate to some potty humor. Thanks for the kind comment.

Hi Jami, I presume you have a colostomy. If you are having pancaking, then you could try using Johnson's Baby Oil (I use the pink label). Just a squirt into the bag when changing or after emptying to lubricate the sides of the bag to help your poop go down to the bottom of your bag, away from your stoma. Also, try to keep some air in your bag. Maybe try covering up the filter and see if that helps. Good luck. Patrick