Hernia Belt Irritation and Slippage Issues

Hi all,

I have recently been given a hernia support belt which has given me great confidence. However, I have noticed that it presses on my stoma and irritates the area around it.

I have loosened the Velcro and given plenty of space around the area, but it still feels uncomfortable.

I have an issue with the belt moving down when walking. I have tried wearing two T-shirts to try and prevent movement of the belt and support it.

I love the way it supports but don't like the irritation.

Anyone have a similar experience and how do you deal with it?

Replies are greatly appreciated.

Hi there, I was fortunate to purchase a custom-made hernia belt out of Montreal, Canada. It is made specifically for your measurements and has a hole in it to accommodate your ostomy! I can send it if it was approximately 300.00 Canadian dollars.

Penny

I have a colostomy, for about 18 months. I had the same problem when I began wearing hernia support belts. The skin around my stoma would be irritated from being pushed down. I have a medium parastomal hernia.

I tried different belts, a looser belt fit. Finally settled on this:

I cut the hole in the wafer bigger than normal. I form a moldable barrier ring around the stoma, where the skin and stoma meet. Then I put on the wafer. This takes the compressive belt load away from the stoma/skin interface, and puts it on skin about 1/8 (.125) of an inch away from the stoma.

This works well for me. No irritation, even when I wear a belt all day, and get active: riding my bike or walking long distances.

After a week, when I take the used wafer off, my stoma base looks funny, like the side of a volcano. After several minutes, it flattens out. But my skin looks great.

I use 2-inch diameter, 1/16-inch thick Brava moldable rings and Nu-Hope 3 and 4-inch wide hernia support belts.

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Wafer with a larger than needed hole. And a barrier ring ready to be molded around the stoma base.

That doesn't seem like a fix. Do you have access to an ostomy nurse? I'd recommend you seek it out through your urologist!

Actually, it does work for me. Increasing the wafer hole diameter takes the pressure away from the stoma/skin area and puts it farther away on the skin. I can get away with it because I have a colostomy with thicker, well-formed output. So, I don't get any leaks around the stoma.

In the beginning, belt pressure was exerted right down on the base of my stoma because I cut the hole with minimal clearance.

Cutting the hole so I had generous clearance worked well. And my skin is happy.

Not for everyone... but it works for me. My Urologist deals with my prostate cancer. 😉

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Many thanks

Ebay offers many cheap options.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/225826689034?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0&ssspo=h8_km732tnq&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=k2KQVyscQBq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Thanks for your help. I have tried cutting the wafer hole wider, which did help and ease the irritation.

I will try to experiment with this option because I think you may be onto something.

Many thanks and sending you lots of thanks and good wishes.