What is Drainable Ostomy System?

The drainable ostomy pouch is a reusable system. A patient can drain, clean, wash, and reuse the ostomy bag. This is unlike the closed ostomy system. An ostomate can drain the accumulates waste on his own without taking any help. Moreover, it is easy to change and apply the drainable pouch. It is economical because you can use one bag for three to four days. You need to make it clean, but do not need to discard it after one use.

How to Use a Drainable Ostomy System?

The drainable ostomy bag is fully protected from leakage. A patient should not worry about the deliberate disclosure of liquid or stool. The system has secured through the tap closure, clip closure, Velcro, and a few other solutions to control the leaking of discharge.

Moreover, there is no complication in pasting the drainable bag. It is available in one-piece and two-piece systems. In the one-piece, you only have to take it out from the packing and apply it to the peristomal. In the two-piece, you need to put the adhesive on the edges of the stoma container separately. The patients who face frequent discharge or too much watery stool excretion must use the drainable bags. They will be more comfortable in these pouches. As you just need to empty and wash it. Changing the system, again and again, could be worrying.

The vital point to use a drainable ostomy system is to keep the peristomal healthy. Due to the frequent discharge or leakage (if not attached properly), the skin around the stoma can catch infection, irritation, redness, or swelling.

How to Maintain a Healthy Peristomal With the Use of a Drainable Ostomy System?

For new ostomates, it is not easy to take care of their stoma and peristomal skin. However, it is not difficult to keep it healthy and clean. In the initial few days, a patient feels complexities in emptying and cleaning the drainable bag again and again. But, by the time, he will manage the wellness of stoma.

To keep your peristomal skin healthy, the utmost important rule is to stop leakage of the container. If the drainable ostomy bag is not discharging the waste, the skin will be fine. The stool or urine can cause redness, irritation, and infection to the peristomal skin. Therefore, you need to make sure that the pouch is not leaking and attached to the stoma from all sides. Moreover, you should avoid the foods that can cause diarrhea or excretion of watery substances frequently.

For Whom Drainable Ostomy Bags are Best?

For every ostomy patient, it has the best and easy use. However, for a few ostomates, it has the easiest and comfortable use. Some patients can get the utmost benefits from the drainable ostomy systems. The patients who have gone through the resection of the upper colon, urostomy or the ostomates who practice the ostomy irrigation should use the drainable supplies.

Advantages of Drainable Ostomy System

Here a few advantages for the ostomates who are using or want to use the drainable ostomy bags.

·         Some patients have a high and frequent discharge of urine after the surgery. Because the natural system of excretion gets changed; thus, their digestive and bladder system face problems.

·         For the patients who suffer from the motion, diarrhea, or watery stool.

·         A patient will feel comfortable due to less frequency of changing the bag.

·         It is economical because you do not have to buy it again and again. You can reuse it after emptying and washing.

·         The draining system is comfortable for every type of patient. An elder ostomate can clean it without any help.

Disadvantages of Drainable Ostomy Pouches

The following are some disadvantages:

·         It is difficult to empty the drainable container for those who have solid discharge.

·         After the washing of it, some patients face difficulty with the re-attachment and closing supplies.

What to Pack when your on vacation with an Ostomy

The time has come. The weather is changing and vacation time is about to become a use it or lose it ordeal at work. The Stay at Home Orders across the nation have ended and life is getting back to normal.  You just packed your swimsuit and are thinking about, you guessed it Vacation.  Vacation is to some the best time of year.  It is the reason to keep working so hard and exploring new and fun or just old soothing places is relaxing.  So did your anxiety level just spike? How do you vacation with an Ostomy? So many questions come up and many wonder do I order extra from Convatec Ostomy Supplies before the trip? Well in short, that is not a bad Idea to have extras.

So take the time to get your preparations in place.  It can be a daunting thought to plan all your normal vacation and ostomy extras too. But it is not too bad to plan ahead and worth it every time.  So count out your pouches and skin barriers and make sure you have enough for the trip.  Remember if you are flying to add a few days in your carry on just incase your suitcase doesn't land when you do. You don’t want to be caught empty handed and even worse it can be time consuming and expensive to replace your ostomy supplies. Especially when you are used to say using a specific brand.  So order up some extra Ostomy Supplies before you go. 

Remember to stay hydrated.  Wow does this seem over simple, but it is really important to stay hydrated and drink enough water.  It is a step that always gets passed up when you are at the airport or driving and doing nothing but drinking truck stop coffee!

If you are traveling to a foreign country or  a country that has a second language that is not english.  It couldn’t hurt to write down some phrases that are necessary.  Like where is the bathroom! It is also a good idea to have some kind of translation device with you as well. Most people will simply use their phone and google translate is a big help these days. Just think about what you would like to have happen to you if someone came up to you with an ostomy and didn’t speak english and needed help. What would you want in their situation. Now there you go, just do that! Don’t worry too much, but be prepared and have a great vacation!

What to Expect with an Ostomy

The fear of the unknown is real.  Hearing for the first time that you are going to need an Ostomy is scary.  It's worse when you don’t know what it is and they start to explain it to you. Its truly disheartening and scary.  I truly feel that knowledge is power and some companies that are involved in ostomy care, really care for their patients.  For instance, ConvaTec OstomySupplies gives a wealth of knowledge on all aspects of before surgery and after.

They will walk you through the first steps which is pre-surgery.  It doesn’t matter why you are having the surgery.  It is prevalent in sme cancer cases or when the individual has digestive issues.  The best part of ostomy Supplies is they walk you through all the aspects.  They have an entire section that states the pre surgery sections should be lead first and foremost by the surgeon.  They will discuss which type of stoma is best and rather it's going to be long term or short term.  They also let you know that the ostomy nurse is going to be your best friend. It is extremely important to get to know your ostomy nurse and learn as much as you can.  The nurse and surgeon will be walking you through the basics and hard parts of having an ostomy and dealing with your future stoma. 

If you can meet your nurse beforehand that would be optimal.  They can inform you of all the important parts of your life to come and how to keep it as normal as possible.  You can walk through where the stoma should be placed on your body. This should be done with the surgeon and nurse because they can walk through, your body type, reach and skin folds that should be avoided.

Just so you have peace of mind make sure to ask lots of questions.  Ask questions like, will the pouch leak and will it smell. What do I do to prevent this? Ask about the obvious questions, like how it will affect your sex life.  You will want to be prepared and ready to take on life in all its ways. Ask about working and any changes they think you should make based on your job. Don’t also be afraid to get into how you are able to travel and what differences you should make or if any to accommodate.

Diets for ileostomies and Colostomies

For those who experienced either an ileostomy or a colostomy, you may wonder what your diet should be. 

There is definitely more fluid los because water is normally absorbed via your colon, so you may need to drink more than you did before, and also limit anything high in caffeine since that makes you dehydrated. You should also not limit your salt, since it is normally absorbed within the colon, and if you are actually at risk of dehydrating in some cases. 

Those who have ileostomies should have extra salt, and colostomies still should have a moderate amount, but not try to have excess. You should take supplements, specifically vitamins B12, D, A, E and K, and you should make sure to have this especially if you’ve had more than 100 cm of your terminal ileum removed, but that’s a question for your physician. 

It is common to have diarrhea, odor, constipation, gas, and blockage, but there are a few dietary changes to make for each. 

Constipation 

Constipation is common especially for those with colostomies. 

Minimally, have 10 cups of fluid a day, and eat foods high in fiber such as fruits, veggies, bran, and grains. Prunes along with prune juice also might help too. 

Diarrhea 

Diarrhea is another common one, and usually is considered as more than 1000 mL of loose stool that’s liquid each day.  Usually it tends to be more watery. 

The best way to help with this is to have up to 10 cups of fluid a day, and then have foods which thicken your stool including apple sauce, yogurt, bananas, oatmeal, and rice. You should also limit foods that aggravate this including prunes and prune juice, alcohol, cauliflower and broccoli, sprouts, and cabbage too. You should also eat saltier foods, and also have foods higher in potassium including bananas, tomatoes, oranges, meats, potatoes, and also fruits that are dried. 

Odor 

Odor is caused by foods that increase this. Limit it including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, turnips, garlic, onions, and legumes. You also should have more parsley, yogurt and buttermilk since that reduces the odor as well. 

Gas 

Gas is usually caused by high acidic foods, and those that are high fiber. If you still have gas after limiting this, then you might want to stop chewing gum or swallowing air since usually gas is caused by this. 

If you still have issues with this, you might want to talk to your doctor and see if there is anything that you can do to change this. Your diet might not be that different from what you’re normally used to, specially if you’ve done this sort of change to your dietary habits before. Which if that’s the case, you probably just need to do a little bit of adjustment. 

If you haven’t yet, you should make sure your drinking enough salt and fluid.  You should make sure that you’re careful with adding new foods too, since they can cause gasses and odors. If you do decide to add new foods that may cause problems, eat it, and hen see how you feel over time. If your body can handle it after a little bit of adjustment, then great. If you notice that it’s causing you a whole lot of problems, then you probably should make sure that you don’t’ eat a whole lot. The best thing for an ostomate to do is to become aware of the different types of foods, and the problems that they might cause down the line if you’re not careful so you can prevent them right away. 

Learn what you can about your ostomy

There is so much to really learn in the world that it can be mind-boggling.  In reality, we only know a tiny fraction of the information that exists.  But if you have an ostomy it is wise to understand as much as you can about your gear and body to help live a happy comfortable life.   I know that this year may be a little different being 2021 and the pandemic is over.  But the fact is that once you get past the basics and get into a regular routine, your own life will pretty much return to normal.  That is more of a gift of hope than anything.  It is crazy to think that so many people believe their joy in life will end when they get a stoma.  But a lot of people are actually living normally and not just because the pandemic is subsiding. 

My every day is pretty active and I really enjoy that part of my life.  I am not in the best of shape, but I enjoy being outside and enjoying nature.  For me, that means keeping in pretty good cardio shape and also learning to keep extra ostomy gear on me.  I am now a professional at keeping my gear dry and I know that it sounds like a weird thing to say.  But I love hiking and to me keeping my ostomy gear safe and secure is important because even though I live a pretty normal life, my gear makes me feel safe.  Honestly, you can go out and have a nice active life as long as you are smart about it.

But I didn't start at 100%.  I worked my body and my muscles back into shape after my surgery.  It is no great feat, but I spend a few months slowly working in the gym to make sure I was building muscle and doing it safely.  I was so afraid of hernias and getting injured, but I think starting slow as a good thing to do.  Being active and happy is part of what brings joy to my life.  I think they go hand in hand so I wanted to make sure I didn't ruin anything.  So I started to walk and walk inclined.  It was a bit hard to do that at first, but I learned to build muscle in my abs and worked on different cardio's to get my body back into a nice shape.

All of my work paid off and I was able to hike outside and be in the wild again. For that part of my journey, I simply started asking for help.  I talked to my local pharmacist who gave me all his knowledge on how to be active with a stoma and related many stories he had been told during his time of selling ostomy gear.  It was great to hear all of that information and then he told me to call big companies and ask them about gear made specifically for that task.  I was still a little afraid, but I decided to finally do it one day and learned of specialized gear and other ways to stay safe outside.  This was all pretty specific to me, so get out and study up on what will work best with your body.