If you have a stoma, you are probably familiar with all the issues that plague ostomates. One of the most common problems amongst ostomates is skin irritation around the stoma.
10 Signs The Skin Around Your Stoma Is Not Okay
Here are 10 signs to identify if the skin around your stoma is unhealthy or abnormal. [1]
- Painful
- Itchy
- Sore
- Skin color changes, such as red, pink, purple, etc.
- Rashes
- Raised welts or bulges
- Blisters or pimples
- Bumpiness
- Moist, raw, or weepy skin around stomas
- Broken skin
When your peristomal skin is unhealthy, it can be damaging. Feeling uncomfortable and frustrated is just the tip of the iceberg to the problem. If left untreated, it could lead to problems such as infections and even difficulty attaching your stoma bag to your body, especially if the skin is raw or moist.
But don’t worry, there are simple steps you can take to prevent peristomal skin irritation and to ensure that you live your best ostomy life.
How To Prevent Peristomal Skin Irritation
1. Clean Around The Stoma Regularly
Maintaining a good hygiene of the skin around your stoma is the best way to prevent peristomal skin irritation.
Keeping your stoma and peristomal skin clean and healthy is easy and you can do it in the comfort of your home.
Whenever you change your stoma bag, use Remois Cleanse and gently rub the skin around your stoma in a circular motion to remove any impurities or remaining adhesive. As Remois Cleanse is rinse-free, all you need to do after that is to gently wipe it off with a tissue or soft towel.
2. Check Your Fit
Double check if your current stoma faceplate is fitting your stoma properly. If you’re experiencing leakage frequently, the leakage may be the source of your peristomal skin irritation. So, re-measure your stoma to make sure that you’ve got the right size of your stoma and adjust your stoma faceplate accordingly.
Besides that, check if you have creases or folds in the skin around your stoma while you are standing and sitting. You may have a need for additional stoma accessories such as a skin barrier or wafer to fill up these creases and folds to ensure that your stoma bag is attached firmly to your body.
3. Use Powder
In hot and humid countries like Malaysia, it can get sweaty and uncomfortable on some days. The constant sweating can affect your peristomal skin.
The Procare Powder can be used to absorb moisture and prevent skin excoriation. Read Charlene’s story about how using Procare Powder has improved her peristomal skin condition in just one week!
Ostomy and stoma care products are available at SM Health Care Sdn Bhd.
Have a specialist for consultation when you purchase any ostomy and stoma care product from us.
