Colostomy Bag Leaking Issues and Skin Pain

I cannot get my colostomy bag to stop leaking; my skin hurts so bad.

Ouch. That sucks. Since you are new, you must have support from your doctor or nurses. What do they suggest?

This topic has been addressed many times.

Many reasons could apply.

What have you done so far?

Have you replaced the appliance properly? Clean, dry area? Use a barrier ring? A mounting plate belt? Paste?

Name the appliance you are using. One or two pieces?

Your skin is irritated from poop. That has to be addressed first.

You will need help, and people here will advise. Sit tight. Call the doctor's office first.

If you have a colostomy, you should be able to go bag-free for a bit to allow air to get to your skin. Go shower with no bag on and wash your stoma skin area with a basic soap (no oils or lotion), and rinse well. I also use plain Head & Shoulders after the regular soap and let it sit on my skin for maybe 30 seconds. Rinse well. Let the area dry for as long as you feel comfortable being without a bag on; I've gone up to an hour before. If you have weepy skin from irritation, put stoma powder (blow off excess) over those areas. Take barrier wipes or spray and lightly moisten the powdered areas (probably not a horrible idea to do the whole skin area right now until you heal). Let it all dry well. Apply your bag/wafer. Hopefully, you use a barrier ring. Now, if your skin is irritated from the adhesive part of your setup, you're probably allergic to it to some extent, and you'll need to change products. I find it best to use a hair dryer on low to warm up all the adhesive area before applying so it basically melts right onto your skin, allowing the best adhesion I've found. Apply pressure to the adhesive part for a few minutes with your hand to allow everything to bond properly. Depending on what product you use, you can also add a belt to keep pressure around your wafer. Hope you get it figured out; irritated skin must suck.

Are you using a 1-piece or a 2-piece appliance? Are you using any accessories like a barrier ring, flange extenders, belt, barrier prep, etc.? Are there dips or uneven skin around your stoma? Does your stoma protrude above your skin, or is it recessed?

Know that leaks come from poor adhesion.

Hi ILTL,

The first thing you need to do is contact an ostomy nurse. Depending on where you live, that could be easy or very difficult. If there isn't one locally, you can try the wound nurse at your hospital... they either know something about ostomy care or know who does. If that doesn't get you quick results, you can call any of the big ostomy supply companies, as they each have ostomy nurses that can help you. Nu-Hope Labs is a smaller specialty ostomy supply supplier who has excellent ostomy nurses on their staff that will work with you whether you use their products or not.

Your primary concern is getting your wounded skin to heal. Without seeing what's going on, I won't recommend anything specific, as some remedies can do more damage than good depending on the situation. Keeping your skin clean, as Alex mentioned, is very important. Most soaps contain lots of ingredients you don't want on your skin. There are only a few that are recommended for use around your stoma, and I use regular unscented Dial soap. Avoid anything with lotions in it or anything scented. Hopefully, others will chime in with other good recommendations besides me and Alex. Head and Shoulders is another good one, like Alex said... just be careful to get the original version and not one of the newer ones that are full of additives. I'll see if I can dig up a bottle to tell you exactly what it's called, since it now comes in like a half dozen varieties.

Let us know what training you received when you got your ostomy in terms of how you install your barrier and what products you use. If you're doing something majorly wrong, we can help with that. I will look for your reply.

Regards,

Bob

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Hi, I think you need to go to your ostomy nurse quickly. All have given good advice, but you really need to get this taken care of immediately.

Hi,

I had those same issues in the beginning. My boyfriend started rinsing my belly with a domoro powder solution when changing my bag. It has made a big difference for me! I am not hurting as much, and the last few bag changes my boyfriend told me my belly was not looking as red as it was! We had thought about leaving the bag off for a while, but my stoma tends to erupt a lot when she knows we are changing the bag!