Steps On Replacing Your Ostomy Appliance

By Arline Bradley


A person might have been on an ostomy previously. If you also had one, you should be wearing the appliance all the time. Sometimes, people who have it get so frustrated. Sometimes, it would make you want to scratch it as it gets itchy.

In this article, you would be guided on what to do. You will be guided on the steps on how to change your ostomy appliance. Doing this will also help maintain the skin around your stoma healthy.

The first procedure would be preparing the things you would be using. You should have some clean water, strips of gauze and some paper towels ready. You should also have your new bag ready. You should have it pre cut. Throw away the old one so you must have the necessary stuff ready.

Remove the shirt you are wearing. You have to place the paper towel in between your skin and underwear. It would make changing your bag in a much clean way. It will help avoid the dirt from being on the underwear and skin as you change.

As you get rid of the old one, hold down your skin with your hand. Pull it away so your stoma would be uncovered completely. Throw it away on your trash can. Be certain that there is a trash can near you when you replace it so throwing it away would only be one reach away. It is best to have the hair around shaved. This would aid in making your bag stick well. It will also lessen the pain when you are pealing it off.

Soak some gauze strips on the water and use that in wiping the skin. Pay close attention to the surrounding parts. Wipe your stoma until it becomes clean. Use a paper towel to dry that. Paper towels are the best ones to use since it could absorb better. It will also not stick on your skin.

You could use a lotion recommended for it. It would help lessen the sore. But, it would hinder the appliance from sticking well. Place the new one. Make sure it would stick well. You can use your palms to make sure of that.

It would be better if you will be changing it in the morning. This is the time that the stoma is the smallest although it is still active. Most people who have it do that as well. The number of times you are going to be changing your appliance will depend on your supply and its behavior. There would be circumstances that you could just do that every other day. There would also be circumstances that it should be done every day. If you think that is not budget friendly just have that done every morning.

A person could contact his doctor to help him in taking care of that. His doctor can suggest the best type of appliance for him. A doctor could also suggest stuff that will help to lessen pain when changing. Before doing all of those steps, see to it that your hands are clean. By making sure of that, you could avoid some infections.




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