DIY Ostomy Deodorant - Cheap & Effective Solution with Eucalyptus Oil

Not sure if this has been tried before but here is a simple and very cheap way to eliminate odor from a pouch. Buy a small bottle of eucalyptus oil (it usually comes with a drop dispenser on the top). All you need to do is add around 5 or more drops into the bag after emptying. I find this to be very effective and it also leaves a nice smell in the bathroom. Your pouch will also have a pleasant smell all day long as well. Why pay companies for expensive odor eliminator products when you can buy a bottle of this miracle stuff at any chemist, and it will last you a very long time. Also, you can buy a very small bottle to take with you anywhere you might go. Hope this will help people here.

Great idea. Will buy a bottle today. Thanks. Michael

I agree. Eucalyptus is the best for covering odor. I keep eucalyptus cough drops with me to put in my pouch as needed.

Thanks, Chess! I need to give that a try too.

Just a small point about adding eucalyptus oil to the pouch... Some pouches are not as strong as others, and the oil might slightly shrink the part of the pouch where oil meets plastic. If this is the case, then there are two alternatives... Firstly, add 5 or more drops to a small piece of toilet tissue and then scrunch this up tightly before putting it in the pouch. This will prevent any shrinkage. Secondly, and this is a great alternative if you use Morform sachets... Tear off the top section of the Morform sachet and then add at least 5 drops to the crystals inside. Twist the top well and then place it in the bag. The oil will soak into the Morform sachet and create a really nice odor. In case some people here do not know what Morform sachets are, I will explain... They contain a gel-like substance which, on contact with liquid, will form a thick paste. This is to prevent any liquid output from the stoma. There are equivalent products available in Britain and the USA as well. Hope this info will help anyone here.

My Ostomy Journey: April | Hollister

What smell! My bag smells like roses. I don't know what happened to you all.
Greg lol

Thank you. I have just tried this and it seems to be working. Cheers.

Yay BikerBoy does it work for ileostomy like in Australia? Don't know if we can buy drops, but don't quote me. Keep up with this great advice. Next, invisible pouch. LOL! Wish

So, do you just put a cough drop in each time you empty your pouch?

I was recently made aware of another odor-eliminator when in the hospital. A nurse ordered up a small bottle of Oil of Peppermint for me to use for my room. She placed a small piece of bandage fabric (sturdy kind) into the opened little bottle with the top of the fabric/bandage protruding from the mouth. She placed it in an inconspicuous spot on my night-table. It worked like a charm. Doctors, nurses, visitors, etc. all asked me where the wonderfully fresh and minty smell was coming from. I felt confident once again to let visitors into my prior "stinky" hospital room. I think this would work with other natural/elemental oils of one's choice (lavender, spruce, etc.) and is so cheap and effective. Hope someone out there gives it a try. I love it.

Yes, that's a great idea. I have tried it and it works well. As you say, bandage works well as a wick as does gauze. You could also sprinkle the peppermint essence or any other essence onto potpourri for a great lasting scent. How about also putting the oil into one of those clay-style oil holders that you can buy cheaply? Eucalyptus oil and lavender oil work very well, as well as peppermint. By the way, if you use peppermint essence that is used in food, you will find it a lot cheaper as well. I can get three bottles of peppermint food essence for only £1 in Britain. Let's hear some more comments on this. Thanks for the great tip and let's keep them coming.

Wonderful idea, I know I can find the oil here locally or online. There are other scents that I like. Sometimes I can smell an odor, and other people near do not or just do not comment. I wear perfumes, but it is not always enough. Have a great week.

Other than eucalyptus, what about patchouli?

I'm going to try this!

Those little bottles can be carried and last for months. Whoot! You may have just solved my next traveling problem.

Here in the US, if you have insurance, deodorant is covered, is odorless, and generally works really well.

I have found that the regular deodorant works better at fighting odor compared to a lubricating deodorant.

Lots of options on Edgepark, like:

Hollister M9 spray:

https://www.edgepark.com/ostomy/deodorants-and-cleansers/deodorants/room-deodorants/hollister-m9-odor-eliminator-spray-unscented-2-oz/p/507732

Hollister M9 drops:

https://www.edgepark.com/ostomy/deodorants-and-cleansers/deodorants/room-deodorants/hollister-m9-odor-eliminator-drops-unscented-8-oz/p/507717

Safe n' Simple's deodorant

http://www.amazon.com/Just-Drop-Natural-Toilet-Neutralizer/dp/B0019SPNQ8

Hollister makes a travel size, but I don't know how well this deodorant works:

http://www.parthenoninc.com/products/Adapt-Lubricating-Deodorant-Travel-Packet-78501.html

I have found the commercial products, such as the Hollister M9, etc., to be at best useless. I actually saved an empty Hollister M9 spray bottle and keep it filled with mouthwash. 2 or 3 "light" sprays after emptying trying not to reach the stoma. So excited to read about the eucalyptus oil! I will head out right now and try to find some. This seems to me to be safer than mouthwash.

Thank you so very much for posting this chess124!!! Like I stated in my previous post, commercial products did nothing for me. The mouthwash had so-so results. I could not find any eucalyptus oil locally so ended up buying some off the internet. I have been using it for over a week now. I put about 5 drops in a new bag before attaching it, and use up to 5 drops when emptying the bag. What a difference!!! This really works!!! I don't even have to add oil every time I empty. There still is residual oil left in the bag, and I use water to completely flush the bag upon emptying.

I do have one question: Can the oil do any harm if repeated coming in contact with the stoma? I am careful when adding the oil to make sure it doesn't get to the top area of my bag. My concern is when I flush with water. At that point, the oil may get "flushed" around and come in contact with the stoma.

This works so well chess124 and I really appreciate this tip! And since so little of the oil is used, it is very cheap compared to the useless commercial products!

Doug

You might try adding the oil drops to a square of toilet tissue and putting that in the pouch. That should keep the oil from migrating quite so much but still empty easily.

Greetings sweet Osty Family, hey I stumbled upon the weirdest but very successful odor eliminator trick I have found thus far..........just two days ago after eating a bunch of stuff I really shouldn't....for the sake of air quality, hehee.....I thought to myself 'oooooo jeeez, this Doe gonna part the sea if any odor seeps out of the pouch and people are going to drop left and right face to the floor, lol..........sorry.....but I bet we've all been guilty of that :D .........anyhoo, in my desperate attempt to think of something quick while in the Ladies Room of a nice Lodge, I frantically dug into my purse and snatched out my small travel toothpaste and squeezed a glob of that stuff on a square of toilet paper and put it into the end of my pouch before putting the clamp of the pouch on......I swear I walked around catching the occasional very light minty scent LOL ..........now of course that travel toothpaste has a new purpose.........I recall one of our Osty Brothers once offering us the great trick of putting Tick Tacs in our pouch and that works fantastic! But a glob of toothpaste used just for that purpose kept handy in pocket or purse works 100 times better.........amazing.................squirt some in a Kleenex or something and tuck that Kleenex in your pouch, whatever, but that last resort frantic grossed out moment I had turned out to be a gem of a remedy ;)

Love and Blessings to all...........oxoo

There is a cheap and easy way to stop odor - hydrogen peroxide - a dollar for a bottle that will last for a month or more - a capful in the bag after emptying and it will take care of most odors.

Isn't this dangerous for the stoma?

Not at all - I have used it for treating gum problems so it is safe for your mouth and safe for your stoma - besides the tiny amount will probably never even get to your stoma until already diluted by stool - there is no burning and I haven't noticed any reduction in wear time for the bag. Some people use cheap mouthwash - but I find the alcohol burns and the peroxide doesn't

Lots of good advice here.  I prefer to have no fragrance because it suggests I'm trying to cover up something.  I've had success with the M-9 or STOP stuff with, and sometimes, without a couple tic-tacs.  BUT, the results were not good when using the 4 to 12 drops as recommended.  20 drops work very well.  Maybe I'm just smellier than most.

Mike

Glad to hear this JudiA! I know the stoma has no nerve endings so you wouldn't feel any pain even if it was burning. I have tried Na 'Scent and Hollister deodorant lube without success. I am currently using a peppermint Altoid with each emptying.

Have you been doing this for long? I will have to try. Thanks for sharing!

Hi everyone, just wanted to comment about the deodorants. I like M-9 and Safe and Simple the best but they are blue in color which is a little weird. I feel like there is Tidy Bowl in my pouch....LOL. Na'scent is okay, not as effective as the other two mentioned, but it is clear in color. I hear OstoFresh is clear in color also but I never tried it. Has anyone? Is OstoFresh any good? The least effective products that I have tried are: Brava Coloplast lubricating deodorant and Hollister lubricating deodorant. Those products made matters much worse regarding smell. It seemed once I placed those lubricating products in my pouch, odor developed immediately. There was nothing in the pouch at the time to cause odor. I am curious to know if anyone likes those items. Plus, they did not help with the emptying process....nothing slid out of my pouch as advertised...emptying was the same. I never tried the tic tac or mouthwash in the pouch. Could it be harmful to the stoma? I would like to try the oil sometime but am not sure where to purchase a small bottle - maybe a health food store. LH

Thanks for your input, LadyHope.

As I mentioned in the above post, I too am searching for a product that works. I have used Na'Scent and M9 with less than satisfactory results. The Hollister Lubricant has no deodorizing effects for me - only the lubrication which mildly works. As far as Tic Tac safety goes, I used them for quite a while - maybe over a year - with no ill effects. I have since switched to Altoids because, as their motto says, they are "curiously strong." :-) So far, no safety issues with them either. Still, these are not what I would call the best solution.

Any input from others is welcomed! Thanks.

I use any combination of "Just a Drop," "Hollister M9," and "Coloplast Brava Lubricating Deodorant." Of the three, the single most effective one is "Just a Drop." You only need a few drops and it's very powerful and very expensive. One 8oz. bottle can last months. They also sell it in a very small bottle which you can put in your pocket. It is eucalyptus-based. Since I've been using these products, I have eliminated that disgusting odor.

So it would seem that eucalyptus oil might be good. There are more and more bottles of essential oils available in the big box stores unless you rather order online or have better access to them.

Be very careful with this and other essential oils. Some have to be diluted with a carrier oil because if you use them straight up, it can be very harsh on the skin. Some oils are only for dilution in a diffuser and not for the skin. If one of the wrong oils got into your stoma, it could burn you or possibly even poison you so read up on the oils and use organic ones that you can take internally. Consult a naturopathic physician or someone who has studied them extensively.