Silicone Gel Solutions for Irritated Peristomal Skin: Seeking Advice

I recently had a peristomal hernia/prolapse repaired with mesh. My peristomal skin is very irritated, bleeding, ulcerated, and I may have candida—maybe, dunno. Nothing sticks. I was thinking about trying Cica-Care silicone gel sheets around the stoma behind the wafer to help heal the bad skin. Anyone have experience with silicone? Any reason I cannot use 100% silicone to help seal my wafer around my sunken stoma? Nothing else sticks. I am desperate. I am thinking silicone is silicone. $7.99 at Lowes.

Silicone is not silicone. Medical-grade silicone is tested for trace contaminants that could be extremely harmful to your health. The stuff from the hardware store is not at all pure. It is not tested for contaminants and could contain any amount of bad stuff.

Food-grade would be better, but the safest by far is medical grade.

No, you cannot use silicone from the hardware store around your stoma. They made advanced skin protectants such as Marathon or Calvion 3M advanced skin protectant.

Hi Blaze,

Not sure where silicone from a hardware store came from, as Cica-Care is medical-grade silicone, but while some people's skin does okay with silicone, many do not..........me being one of them. Try it on the other side of your abdomen first for a couple of days and see if your skin is okay with it. You'll know pretty quickly, as your skin will start to crawl under the silicone and itch like crazy if you're not compatible. But I hope it works for you!

;O)

I think the best thing you could do for yourself is to talk to your stoma nurse or doctor.
Whenever I have candida, my skin becomes extremely itchy, and I tend to have a white ring around my stoma; the best thing I have figured out that helps me is to use athlete's foot powder. I usually put a light coat around my stoma and add a little stoma powder over that.
But whenever my skin got really irritated, I'd stay away from anything that may have alcohol in it, as that made it a lot worse. And I'd change my bag more frequently. But having my stoma nurse assess my stoma was always the best thing for me. They will be able to help you with your irritated and sore skin.

Maybe this will help you;
https://www.coloplast.co.uk/stoma/people-with-a-stoma/living-with-a-stoma/irritated-sore-skin/

All the best,
Gracie

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

I'm there with you, Bob. Silicone literally burnt my skin horribly when I tried it. That triosotomy company does silicone, which I am sure you know since you just said you tried it.

Iodine? Didn't that burn like crazy?

If not, I may try it on the skin where my drain is leaking. That skin is getting very bad, and the nurse I have right now is useless. I can't wait until my old nurse recovers from surgery.

I thought iodine had alcohol in it. I have a lot of iodine swabs that come with my port needle change kits. The nurses never use them. So I may try it on the skin next to my drain.

I'm already an ostomy expert and an IV expert, so I may as well add wound care to my accomplishments, lol.