The Best Supplies For Your Stoma

Have you had an ostomy in the last few months? If so, welcome to the club. You have now involuntarily joined a community of thousands of other ostomates or hate their lives just as much as you do. All joking aside, I know exactly what you are going through and can remember back to my first few months with a stoma. It was a very stressful and confusing time and I wish I had someone like me back in the day to help with the transition period and give some tips and tricks to help with adjusting to my new life. That’s why I am here - to help you learn a thing or two about taking care of your stoma, and enlightening you on some ostomy products and accessories that you may not have known about. I am well aware that the doctors probably sent you home with a decent amount of ostomy supplies, but I also know that they left out some of the important ones that will make your life a lot easier. So in this short article, I will be telling you about some of my favorite stoma products that have made my life a whole lot easier as time has gone on. 

The first product I am going to tell you about is an absolute game changer. If you have had a stoma for any amount of time, you are well aware of that foul odor that can be produced if you are changing your ostomy pouch or simply have a leakage in your pouch or skin barrier. Nothing is more of a mood killer than having the disgusting odor of your literal insides seeping out into the open air of your studio apartment. That’s why the great minds of the medical community have come up with great odor deodorizing products made just for you and your ostomy pouch.

It is better to invest in deodorizers that are specifically made for ostomy pouches, because trying to mask the smell of your stoma output with regular deodorant, cologne, or perfumes can be damaging to your skin, your stoma, and your ostomy pouch system. That’s why ostomy pouch deodorizers come in a lot of different forms like drops, tablets, liquids, and even sprays! Honestly, your ostomy odor can be a thing of the past and you don’t have to worry about your friends wanting to ditch you at the movie theater anymore.

Other products that can be extremely helpful are stoma powders, pastes, and wipes. Now that you have part of your insides coming out of your body, it is easy to imagine why that area is so sensitive. Keeping the area around your stoma nice and clean is super important for preventing any sort of complications with your stoma and with the seal of your skin barrier. That’s why there are specific products made for reducing irritation and making your stoma’s life more comfortable. Some powders and pastes are good for getting into the folds and crevices of the skin around your stoma and make it easier to get a tighter seal with your ostomy pouch, which will again, reduce the risk of smelling bad. All in all, what I hope you get from this article is that there are different ways you can treat your stoma to help with a lot of different things.