Healing a Persistent Wound Under My Ostomy Pouch

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Rockin
Mar 06, 2014 1:48 pm
I have A wound underneath my pouch that will not heal.I use a convex pouch that might put some pressure on my skin. I Have tried anything from band aids to powders with little success. Any tips to heal this sore would be greatly appreciated!  Rod Tyson
Past Member
Mar 06, 2014 5:11 pm

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  I'm soooo sorry friend. They are very aggrevating and painful. Mine usually start with an itch from hell and heaven forbid I scratch as immediately the would begins..... I've found that the best thing is plain old "isopropryl alcohol". I keep a bottle and cotton balls available ALWAYS..... I always use it to clean my skin when I change appliances. Just rub your skin gently with it and blow dry before applying coloplaste protective skin barriers. You'll find that your skin stays much healthier.

If the wound is already there, just dab your alcohol cotton ball on it or right on top of your flange until it's pretty soaked, directly over the wound. It will burn a little sometimes, but even then....it feels better. I use a thin "clean" bath cloth around my damp bag,  to keep my skin dry. Do this several times a day or until the flange needs changing, then blot ALL of your skin around your stoma and under where your new flange will be and double blot the wound area. I wave my hand to start the drying before applying the skin barried, blow or fan that as well then use a "Eakin Ostomy Barrier Seal" (they are a must)!!! They help tremendously with protecting you from leakage, especially if your skin around your stoma is no longer flat and smooth.

I know that with a history of blockages, my stoma and the skin around it has changed and would allow for leakage and causing an accessive need to change my appliance frequently. Not only is that too expensive, but reallt harmful to your skin. I promise if you use the alcohol, you'll begin to feel and see (if your wound is wet) a difference in very short order.

I hope this helps and you're pain free quickly. If you use other appliances and would simply like to try the skin barrier wipes and ostomy seal I'm speaken of....send me a private message with your mailing address, and I'll send you a sample, okay?

BEG
Posted by: freedancer

In both of my cases, I had no choice. It was surgery or be put 6 feet under! I thank God that He has been with me all these times. Without Him, I never would have known what to do and might not have gone to the hospital when I did. I don't know if you have had your surgery or not yet but I hope you will hang out on this website when you are done. I have learned a great deal through the people here and it is so great having others who have had the same thing done and been through what you are about to or have gone through. The only thing I have turned down is a reversal of the ileostomy. When the doctors did the emergency rebuilding of my original ileostomy this last February, I told them I did not want to go through this again. My doctor told me at that time that I was no longer a candidate for the reversal. In a way, I was very relieved. The last three years of my life have been a nightmare for me. I do not want to go through any of it again. If you wish to be rehooked up and they say you are a good choice for that, research it carefully. Every surgery I have ever had except for Old and New Maxine and the emergency surgery on my broken foot, I have spent weeks researching. I recently had my C5 C6 disk in my neck replaced with an artificial one. I went to my pre-op with 2 pages of questions for the doctor. I knew everything that they were going to do and could talk intelligently with them. I always try to research my adversaries! Don't cancel your surgery. It is nice not to have to suffer any longer with horrible pain. We all had to change a few things around when we had our surgeries but in the long run, most of us are glad we did it. I know I am. Good luck to you!

vikinga
Mar 08, 2014 3:09 am
Hi Rod,
I too have problems with open wounds/sores under my convex pouch. I found that I had to use the deep convex because the skin around my stoma was so uneven that I couldn't get a decent seal or wear time otherwise.
Well, my latest sore was in a different place and becoming so much of a bother that I went back to see the WOCN. I saw a different one this time who took the time to analyze the issue. He said that he thought the stiff deep convex was causing the problem.What he came back with was a moldable convex one piece by the same company (Marlen) that I used. He also cut the opening slightly larger and used the new Coloplast Brava paste around the opening edge. On the wound itself which had open flesh, he used Promogran which promotes collagen building for new skin to form. Covered that with a bit of dressing by Coloplast but you could use others. Heated the bag with a hairdryer to make it mold better and held it in place for around a minute. I am slowly healing. I also sometimes use Aquacel AG under the dressing. It protects against bacteria and absorbs exudite. I hope this helps. If you have any other questions I can help with...just ask. I know this is frustrating!
vikinga
Rockin
Mar 09, 2014 2:40 pm
Thank You for your suggestions. I will look into some of the products you have mentioned. Rod Tyson