With an uncontrollable stoma, establish a digestion routine.
KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
OSTOMY CARE
EVERYDAY LIFE WITH OSTOMY
Important elements of life are personal hygiene, social and professional relationships, intimacy and the activities we prefer. Apart from all this, an indispensable part of everyday life is our digestion, which cannot be controlled in the usual way with an ostomy. It is therefore understandable if you are wondering if and to what extent the stoma will affect the aspects of your life mentioned above. This is why we have answered important questions related to ostomy and everyday life.
DIGESTION WITH AN OSTOMY BAG
Since you are likely to use an ostomy system as an integral and final part of your digestive process, it is important to start by establishing a digestion routine, i.e. to determine where and when you need to empty your ostomy bag.
Since it is a matter of digestion, it is certainly advisable to empty the ostomy bag in the bathroom and into the toilet.
Apart from emptying the bag, you will also have to change it. How often this will take place depends on the type of your ostomy and the type of the ostomy system you use.
Depending on the specific case, this may mean changing the bag once a day or once every few days. You will find the best “rhythm” of changing the bag through your own experience and through consultation with a stoma nurse.
In any case, it is best to change the ostomy system/bag when your stoma is not active, i.e. when it does not produce a lot of stool or urine. Changing it before a meal is especially important if you have an ileostomy, in which case the digested food will get to the bag very quickly.
Although it seems obvious, it is good to mention the most significant change after an ostomy surgery, which is the use of ostomy systems and appliances as the final part of the digestion process. This is why you need to make sure that you always have all the necessary ostomy appliances at hand and in sufficient quantity.
