Ostomy and Bathing: Tips for Tub Baths and Swimming

Hello everyone! I just joined this group and am happy to be here. My ostomy journey started in March of 2022 when dx with stage 3 rectal cancer. I had an ileostomy at that time which was very challenging for the first several months! Convex wafers were the game changer for me! After 1 1/2 years of trying to have a reversal several times, I was able to have it done in Aug. of 2023. I then had an issue with LARS which was no picnic but I was doing my best until July of 2024 when I developed a rectovaginal fistula. Yup! It’s as bad as it sounds! Another surgery for permanent colostomy in August of 2024. When I had my ileostomy, I never took a tub bath which I love. Do you all take baths? How long can you stay in the water? Does your wafer lift on the edges? How warm can the water be? We also have a pool and want to start enjoying that again next summer! Any ideas and input appreciated!! Sorry for the long entry! It’s been a long 2 1/2 yrs!!! 😩

Yes, I love baths; couldn't live without one. They're so relaxing and good for relief from aches and pains at my age. I just had a nice long relaxing hot soak in the tub myself. There's no time limit, and it can be as hot as you like. I was in for around 60 minutes tonight, but I have been known to stay in for 2 hours and longer in hot tubs.

You will be able to enjoy your baths and hot tub. Welcome to the site.

How long does everything stay in if you're in a pool, and do you cover it with something before you get in? I guess a two-piece bag would work better for a pool.

Get in the damn water already and enjoy, taking a bubbly bath isn't going to hurt anything.

Stories of Living Life to the Fullest from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Unfortunately, I disagree with others' opinions on this subject.

Heat causes the skin to sweat and thus puts moisture under the adhesive, which causes it to leak. In fact, one of my tactics to remove that final film of paste or adhesive on a removed bag is to take a nice, hot, long shower. 😆

So, the thing to do instead is wait until bag change and take one's hot shower then. Thus, if spew occurs, it can be flushed down the drain instead of clogging one's hot tub. Gross.

Between then, I avoid water like the plague, using bird baths with a hot washcloth so as not to cause a sweat.

Pools, etc., are out. But swimming in the ocean with the bag removed works. Just wear a shirt. Rinse the bare stoma of salt and sand as it's sensitive.

Extra barrier strips can be used to better secure and protect a wafer from water intrusion, but it's the sweat that gets you.

I wear a one-piece and exercise in our pool for around an hour or so… When I say exercise, I actually play music and dance… so I keep moving… I have never had any issues (pool heated to 90 degrees) and I wear a one-piece bathing suit which is a snug fit, so the pouch is held tight to my body. jb

The average human body temperature is generally accepted as 98.6°F.

Your pool is 90°F, so perhaps not so much sweating going on as the pool water is chilling your body temps.

And this is your pool, not a public one, right? So in case of a blowout, it's your mess, not on everyone else's good time.

The ocean or even a river has so much water volume and movement that contamination of the water shouldn't occur.

Now, down in the Florida Keys, the water doesn't move much due to a huge barrier reef the Keys sit on. So they are always closing the beaches due to contamination.

What more experienced visitors or locals do instead is go beach their boats on a sandbar where the ocean flows over it better, not laying so stagnant near the shore.

Hello Sly.
Welcome and thanks for your post.
Like most people who have already replied, I take a hot bath every morning without anything to cover my stoma.
However, this is largely because I irrigate in the evenings and therefore have no worries about output during the day. 
For anyone with a colostomy, I will always recommend exploring the possibility of irrigation as a management technique because (for those who can) it is a game changer for the better.
There are plenty of videos on Youtube graphically explaining irrigation of stomas
and a prerequisite should be to discuss it with your stoma nurse, in case there are contra-indications.
Best wishes
Bill

Get some flange extenders for your confidence and jump right in, I've been in spa and bath no problems, just do it, you won't look back.

Hi Sly, welcome to the site. I just tape around the edges of my base plate and shower, swim, and used to use the hot tubs when my daughter played hockey and we would go on road trips for tournaments. Pretty much the whole team and parents would take over the pool and hot tub area with pizzas delivered and cold beer for adults and Gatorade for the kids.

Hi Sly,

I have not had any issues with swimming in my pool, going in my hot tub or sauna, and while on vacation I love the ocean. I do hope you give it a try and start enjoying yourself again. 

We lived in the Keys for 17 years…(Key Largo) just off Rattlesnake Key…good news - no ostomy then - I never got into the water that much, just spent hours kayaking…then a brief dip at the beach. In my “today world,” I believe, ostomy and all, I'd jump in that ocean…at least once to see if it was doable!!! Loved the Keys! jb

Thank you all for your encouraging words! 

Thank you all for your encouraging words! 

I often bath naked with bubbles or salts. I keep a dipper handy in case of any output. I shower after to remove any oils or stuff.

Hello Sly, yes, I too developed a rectovaginal fistula after reversal. I came out of surgery with another stoma and was told I'd never be able to have another reversal. I'm now waiting for an appointment again as I believe the fistula has come back 🫣. Sometimes I wish I'd just had the parastomal hernia repaired and not gone for the reversal. Sometimes I go in the bath without the bag, with toilet roll on hand; the heat of the bath usually makes the glue on the bag's plate stronger, so I stay in longer 😀

Hi, I was okay after all my wounds had healed. I went on a cruise and into the hot tub. Everything was fine for me.

Of course, you can use the tub, the hot tub, the pool, the sea, and the sauna.

Tip - change your bag in the shower.

I take my appliance off when I bathe or shower. No problems so far!

Thank you, and I hope your new issue resolves! Having this fistula was just so horrible for me!