Some Stoma Tips and Tricks

Take my advice; from someone who had an ileostomy several years ago and has been living with a stoma ever since, I know a thing or two about stomas and ostomy care. While it can be a bit of a nightmare at first, it is pretty easy to take care of your stoma once you get a handle on things. I have accumulated a lot of knowledge on this topic since I have quite a few years of experience in dealing with these things myself. Consequently, I wanted to be able to hand down some advice to my fellow ostomites out there and help you come to terms with your new stoma in a more productive way. Now, without further ado, here are some tips and tricks about life with a stoma.

The first tip I have is to keep your stoma as clean as possible. Having an ostomy means you have to deal with your stoma for the rest of your life, so it is super important to keep it nice and clean to avoid further complications. You should have been given plenty of ostomy supplies from the hospital after your surgery that should help you with the initial cleaning during recovery, but there are a few important things to remember here. It is totally safe to shower or even bathe with an ostomy, but you are going to need to make sure to keep any type of soap or oil away from your stoma in the case of irritation. Make sure to properly clean the stoma and the surrounding stoma area, and don’t be afraid to really get in there either to keep things clean.

Another helpful tip is to shave the area around the stoma fairly regularly. If you have a decent amount of body hair wherever the stoma is, it might be important to shave it off because it could be harder for your ostomy pouch to stick to your body. It might also be annoying or irritating when trying to peel the thing off the skin barrier if you keep pulling all your little hairs with it. 

Something else I would highly suggest is that you keep active. This usually means that you can keep doing whatever physical activity you enjoyed before getting the surgery no problem! If you like running, then keep running. If you like to lift weights, then keep doing that! However, I would suggest you be careful with weights to not hurt yourself or cause any further complications with your stoma. There are special belts and wraps that are made for keeping your ostomy pouch close to your body during physical activity, so those can come in handy if you are planning on doing some serious workout or any other physical activity.

A final tip I have for you is to travel! Get out doors, go on a road trip, plan a flight overseas; honestly do whatever the heck you want this is your life. Just make sure to pack twice as much supplies as you think you’ll need in case of delays or emergencies. Remember, life is out to get you so you have to be prepared for anything that gets thrown your way, especially when it comes to taking care of your stoma and your ostomy stuff.

Online Shopping For Ostomy Gear

I did not have the easiest time adjusting to life after I had a stoma put in. After my ostomy was put in, I knew things were going to be different. One thing that has been a huge struggle for me was finding good places to shop for my ostomy gear and supplies. Not many people think about how hard it is to find some of these things in physical stores. Not many brick-and-mortar places carry all of the gear or supplies that I need, and this was super frustrating. I would have to go through all the trouble of going to different stores and searching through all the shelves to find the products I want. Then I would have to ask some of the store employees different questions to see if they had any ostomy gear or supplies in the back or in places I was not looking. All around, it just was not a good time and I feel sorry for anyone like me who would have to go through that embarrassing experience.

The good news is that we live in the most technologically advanced time in the history of the world. What I mean by this is that I can take full advantage of the internet when it comes to shopping for my stoma. Rather have to pack up all my emergency gear for leaving the house, change my stoma pouch, find my keys and wallet, get out to the car, and drive all the way to a Walgreens or something like that, I found that it is much easier to just chill on my soft, leather reclining chair with my laptop and browse the worldwide web for any of my ostomy or stoma related needs. I think more people need to take advantage of this really convenient way to shop for medical supplies online. I know that it can sometimes be embarrassing to go into different stores and ask people about stoma supplies; what’s even worse is that oftentimes the employees do not even know what they are talking about in some cases. This just adds to my level of frustration and makes for a terrible shopping experience when everything is said and done.

2020 was a wild year, and many people found themselves quarantined in their homes for a really extended period of time. In addition to this, the government forced the shutdown of a lot of local businesses and stores. While this was frustrating for a lot of people and destroyed business owners everywhere, it was actually pretty convenient for me and obtaining my ostomy supplies online. I was forced to sit on my butt for a long time and couldn’t go outside to get supplies, so I was able to spend a lot of time researching different ostomy products and brands to find some stuff that I really like!

Even when COVID becomes less of a problem and life returns to some kind of normalcy, I will probably never buy ostomy products in-person again. It is simply too much of a hassle to worry about and I have found a lot better ways to buy my stoma gear online. Take my advice and take care of your ostomy gear and supplies using the internet; buy stuff online, not in physical stores! I hope this article was helpful, good luck with your stoma journey!

Shopping For Ostomy Supplies

After my railcar accident in 2012 that caused me to undergo an ostomy, my life has changed quite a bit. Adjusting to life with a stoma was not an easy nor short process, and it took a lot of effort and patience with myself to get to where I am at today. I am really thankful for my family and friends who have been there for me during this whole ordeal and I am extremely grateful for the people in my life who have supported me. Finding the right ostomy supplies has been a huge part of the journey up to this point. I don’t like to just buy any old ostomy supplies from any old wholesaler or retailer; I want to make sure I am getting quality products from people who actually know what they are doing. This meant that I had to do a lot of research in regards to ostomy supplies and companies who produce these things. Luckily, there are a lot of resources available to help you find the right products. 

I used to look for most of my ostomy supplies in my local pharmacies and such. The town I live in has a Walgreens and a RiteAid, as well as a Walmart that carries a small amount of ostomy supplies. After first undergoing surgery, I went to these places to look for various supplies that the doctor recommended. It was hard at first to know what I was looking for and to choose products that would best suit my needs. The doctor recommended a few wraps, pouches, lubricants, and other supplies that would help me initially adjust to having a stoma and to get me through the recovery process. The only problem is that the supply was very limited at these stores, and I had a hard time finding the supplies that I needed. In addition to this, I was pretty embarrassed to be going in and shopping for ostomy supplies. It seems silly now, but looking back I always thought people would be able to smell my ostomy pouch and if they saw me shopping for said items, and that I would attract unwanted attention my way.

I resorted to shopping online for my ostomy supplies after a few weeks. Not only was it easier to find things for cheap online, there were lots of reviews and helpful articles written about ostomy and stoma supplies. The best thing to do was to read reviews and see what real people who actually bought the product had to say about it. This was extremely helpful in figuring out what kind of supplies would work well for me. It was also nice to do all the shopping from the comfort of my own home, rather than be at a physical store somewhere and worry about what people are thinking about me. With the beginning of COVID and the forced lockdown that the United States ended up going into, it became even more convenient to shop for my ostomy supplies online. Since I was already avoiding brick and mortar stores regularly due to COVID, it made even more sense to continue getting my ostomy supplies online.

I wish you all the best in finding the right ostomy supplies for your needs. It is a bit of a struggle at first, but be patient and know that there are many people like you that are struggling with the same things. We are in this together!