Ostomy Smell: Solutions & Medicare Coverage

I am wondering if there is anyone else but me that feels this way. I find that it smells really bad when I empty my pouch in the bathroom. Now I do use M9 or other products to help with the smell, but they do not last 3 months. Medicare pays for 3 bottles every 3 months. I have to purchase a lot of others on my own to help

with the smell. If I go to the bathroom, and I did not put any deodorant in my bag on the previous occasion, I find I smell up the whole house. It is quite embarrassing

if you have company over. What can a person do to stop the smell and also to get Medicare to agree to pay for more.

There is a tablet you can chew before you eat that helps with odor, it's an over-the-counter product. I can't recall the exact name, but it's something you can Google. Some folks put a few Tic Tacs in the pouch, or a little mouthwash on a few squares of toilet tissue. What are you eating? Some food contributes to strong odor. Good luck, if any of this works, post your results for others.

I know this sounds crazy, but I got it from another site, tried it, it worked, told my surgeon about it and she said it was fine!

Put 1/2 to 1 cap of hydrogen peroxide into your pouch each time you empty it. Keep pouch tail low as you press out excess air (if that's your MO) and just fold your pouch like usual. Next time you empty your pouch there will be NO odor.

The only issue I've had twice was foaming when I first put the peroxide in my pouch. But after about 5 minutes all the bubbles and foam subsided, I burped my pouch, and everything was fine.

Just use a bit of caution so as not to "bathe" your stoma in peroxide, though a little won't hurt it. But with the slight amount of peroxide you're using, that really shouldn't be an issue. Start with 1/2 a cap at first.

Good luck

Hi there, I used to hate the smell of emptying my bag, but after 9 years, I guess I'm used to it. But what about others heading for the same bathroom as you? Well, firstly, I always put the bathroom fan on....the kind of fan that is in the ceiling to take humidity away, after a shower. Furthermore, I keep a small air freshener spray in both of my bathrooms. When I'm out at someone else's home or in a restaurant, I always carry a micro mini air freshener in my purse, so as to not freak out the next person after me, be it my friend or a stranger in a restaurant or mall. If you are a man, carrying around a small canister of air freshener may be more difficult....although mine is tiny -- like a lighter. I hope this helps. Take care, Julie

I have used Ecoz which helps a lot with the smell.

I also rinse out my bag every day which reduces some of the bag odor. I have tried Diamond sachets in the pouch which really absorbs the odor in the bag.

Good luck.

Ali

I use the disposable pouches, so instead of having a lingering odor in the pouch which builds up over time, there is only the (cleaner) odor of the waste itself. That's not to say my shit don't stink! But I have noticed that the longer a particular pouch is in service, it seems to impart a stronger odor to the waste inside. It seems like it wouldn't, but it does. I notice the same thing about a wafer, but not as bad - about the time I need to change the wafer, it is starting to smell rather strongly. Having said that, I have noticed the waste in the pouch I am disposing has different odors at different times. I can tell when I am starting to get sick because of strange odors in the waste. Usually, it's a plastic-y, organic-y smell, like a chemistry lab - not something that would come from something I would eat, but some reaction (a strange bacteria?) in (what's left of) my intestine. Weird.

I agree with Newbie Dana... if my pouch is over one day, it begins to hold the odor and smell. I do use ostomy deodorant every time that I empty and rinse my pouch with water when emptying, and it helps. Regarding smell, I don't want my pouch to smell nor do I want to smell, but all BMs smell. It is the fact of life. I can't do anything about it. I feel that ostomates are more aware of the odor because we are up close emptying from the front rather than the back. Also, if you have a pouch with a filter, and the filter clogs, it could capture odor and stink. This happened to me. Good luck! ;LH

I use hydrogen peroxide. I've used it for years and it works great. A good squirt in the bag after emptying and you're good to go.