Cleaner solutions for emptying colostomy bag?

Hi all,
I have a colostomy and am wondering if there is a cleaner way to empty my bag. I use a one-piece drainable pouch and sit on the toilet to empty. Sometimes splashing gets messy. Any inventions that might help? I bought a sink sprayer that attaches to the toilet valve which makes things a little easier on eBay.
Thanks

Hello BigE8817,

I tried all sorts of things to try to make life easier with bags - when I 'had' to use them.    I really couldn't find a satisfactory solution to what you describe.   However, I now irrigate and have no such problems.    Incidentally, I wear the coloplast irridrain plastic sleeve, folded up, so that it becomes a 'bag' whilst I wait to see if there is anything else to eject from the stoma.   I prefer to wear this all night as it allows me to bath in the mornings without a bag (or plug) and without fear of any mess.     I sometimes wear it for considerable periods during the day when I'm just around the house and I can wear a comfortable overall rather than trousers etc.     The irridrain sleeve is as near to what you are looking for as I could invent. It goes right into the toilet and is easy to flush through.  However, it would be cumbersome to wear all the time and has none of the niceties of bags which have linings and vents.

Personally I love to see this quite large bag fill up with wind as it shows me just how much of the stuff I am passing through in the normal course of the day. (sad to think that this interests me!)

If you have a colostomy you might be a suitable candidate for irrigation and I would encourage you to look into this with your ET nurse as it would probably resolve all those sorts of problems for you.  



Best wishes     

Bill

Do you think that irrigation is a great improvement on the norm? I am due to see my stoma nurse to talk about giving it a trial. I spend a lot of my time out of range of public toilets, etc.

If splashing is your main issue, put a good amount of toilet paper on the landing site before you release your cargo. It works wonders. Also, sometimes flushing while you are dumping minimizes the splashes.

Hi there, you can always try rinsing the bag out with just plain water. Just fill a styrofoam cup so you can bend it, and rinse away. Put some toilet paper in the bowl before you empty. This will reduce splashing. I keep a cup at every toilet in my house, and carry one in my medical bag when on the go... Huge difference. Hope this helps.
xoxo

Isn't there a spray unit you can have hooked up to your toilet? I have seen it advertised in Phoenix magazine. You can flush out the bag on the toilet.

I'm with Primeboy, I put some toilet paper down and it acts like a catcher mitt with no splashback....

Sharry

Yes, much easier way. Do not use drainable. Use throw away. Use rubber gloves. Remove pouch, dump waste in commode. Holding bag, one flush will clean bag. Dispose of bag in plastic bags furnished (i.e. Hollister). I use about one tbsp agricultural limestone in waste bag and spray with Pine-Sol before closing. Controls odor.

Hi, as a solution to your problem, I have a 'perch' stool which I use to sit on, facing the toilet when emptying my pouch. Inserting toilet paper down the hole also helps. Regards, S.

Hello; Joeweld here.
I installed a spray unit on my bathroom sink just like there is on the kitchen sink.
I just open the pouch at the bottom, dump, and insert the hose with the desired temperature water and flush out the waste.
After all, it is just chewed food.
After I am finished, I run hot water down the overflow in the front of the sink so what waste has entered that area is flushed out and no smell lingers.
I have had this on me for over 12 years, and there are a few tricks that no one told me about, so we learn as we try.
Take care.
Jw

As a former wife and primary toilet bowl cleaner, do you clean the sink? That would be important to me if I used the sink for other usual sink purposes. Do you brush your teeth or wash your face in the same sink? Those would be considerations for me.

Otherwise - Great idea. It would seem to work better with an ileostomy than colostomy - due to the amount of solids (flush needs) but would be preferable to squatting, stool sitting, and sitting on the back of the toilet. I had previously wondered if anyone had installed a different sort of higher placed flush unit.

I had also thought of something like a bidet with hose hook up. As I age, comfort and ability is important.

I am perplexed why anybody has a problem emptying a bag. I have mine for 5.5 years now and developed a great technique. I use a two-piece unit.

I simply put the end of the bag on the sink spout. Carefully fill it with water so that it fills about 3/4 of the bag. (If the bag is fully loaded it gets tougher.) Shake it up and break it up if the output is hard. Sit on the toilet and let it drain, water and all, while simultaneously flushing. No smell, no splatter. I repeat this about 2 - 3 times until the water in the bag is nearly clear. I also trace around the stoma with my finger to remove anything lodged there before the 2nd fill.

No hoses, no mess, no leakage, minimal smell. And the best part is that because of this method, I get no residue when I change the wafer and no skin irritation from the residue either.

I change the bag every other day and wafer every week.

When I can't find a sink with a suitable spout, I use an empty soda bottle 1/2 liter or so instead. It's good for 2 fills and rinses.

I usually wipe the spout afterwards, but there is generally no residue there unless I have very soft stool.

Hope this helps someone.

I'm with Bill -- Doing irrigations has changed my life. It makes you feel so much cleaner. You don't have to walk around wearing your "bag of poop".
There are different ways of emptying the bag. I have my own way. I've never been a bath person - I always used to like to say that I hadn't had a bath for years!!!
I believe the majority of people do theirs in the morning. I was told it only took about an hour. Well, I always found mine took longer than that --AND-- I'm not a morning person!!!
Sooooooo - I do mine at night in the bathtub. I fill the tub and my bag, and have a magazine beside the tub. After I feel I'm relaxed, I do my irrigation. Sometimes the water goes in fast. Sometimes it is stop - and - start. If my stoma isn't behaving, it won't let me put in the device (can't remember the correct name!) -- I use a device that is actually, formerly the end of an enema bag!! It has nice rounded ends that inserts easily. Not like the end on the irrigation bag.

When I feel the irrigation discharge sleeve has enough liquid in it -- I scoot to the drain end of the tub, pull the plug, pull off the 'lock' on the end of the sleeve, keeping it closed until I push the end into the drain and let it drain away. As long as your stool is reasonably soft and 'thins' out in the liquid in the sleeve, you shouldn't have a problem with clogging the drain. If the drain gets clogged, carefully lift up the end of the bag, and using a long metal skewer (or something similar) unplug the drain -- then continue. If you lose too much water, just add more warm water -- this way your tub stays the temperature you like!!!!!

If time allows, I use 2 bags of water. I saw one guy mention that he irrigates every night. I was told to do it every other night. So -- whichever way is correct, I don't know!!!!

Good luck!

Hi - after I posted my other reply - I remembered something else.
Are you aware of Colo-Majic Liners? It is a small "baggie" that gets inserted into your bag -- so when it comes to emptying your bag..... you can just remove the baggie either dump the contents or throw the bag away (the bag is compostable). I love them.

Do any of you use bag liners?????
Are you aware of Colo-Majic Liners?? It is a small "baggie" that gets inserted into your bag -- so when it comes to emptying your bag..... you can just remove the baggie either dump the contents or throw the bag away (the bag is compostable). I love them.

Good morning, dawneagle;
I have a spray bottle of diluted 'Awesome' from the $-store under the sink with a microfiber cloth on a towel hanger and I clean the sink every time. [I sit down to pee too.]
The sink is the usual pottery and like most, the surface is glass, so each time it is used, it is
as clean as new. Yes, I did have a total ileostomy.
By using the hose and spray and the fact that I have no insurance to buy my supplies, I am
able to change the pouch and wafer only once a week with no odor or residue present.
I have no need to ever separate the pouch and wafer between changes. Just hose it out!
Works for me!
TTYL Jw.

I have had my ileostomy for 3 years now and I find the easiest way to empty my pouch is to stand up facing the toilet bowl. I put a couple of sheets of toilet tissue into the bowl to minimize "splash back".

I have tried that also, but it just did not 'flush' the pouch especially after a trip to 'Tac-Bell'.
If I have been working outside, I have a two-into-one hose connection on the laundry sink in the walk-in basement. That works well also.
After all, once it clears the sink, it all goes down the same drain as the commode.
TTYL Jw