An ostomy surely tends to have an impact on your daily life but not when you are fully prepared for it. So your best shot at living a happy and healthy life even with your stoma is to know about it. This way, you will be able to adjust your routine right according to your requirements.

Important facts about stoma

As mentioned above, an ostomy changes things quite a bit in your life. The best way to control it effectively is to gain some knowledge about it. It is just a matter of accepting that you are going to have to live with something that has the tendency to affect your life. And then you have to be in a right state of mind to gain knowledge about it to manage it so that you could live an active and healthy life.

Signs of a healthy stoma

Right after the surgery, the stoma will be swollen. Its process of shrinking back to its permanent size may take a number of weeks or months. In this scenario, it is very important to know what a healthy stoma looks like. The signs of healthy stoma include:

• Pink or red in color
• Slightly moist
• Not painful
• Quick to bleed when rubbed or washed, but the bleeding should subside in a short amount of time

Other important facts

• Stoma drainage: The stomal output should be emptied into the pouch. And you have to make sure that that it is not leaking under the skin barrier. In case you have a urostomy and the urine coming out of your stoma has blood in it, you need to contact your stoma care nurse.
• Temporary stomas: Temporary stoma is a loop or double-barrel. This ostomy has a supporting device which is called rod or bridge. This stoma is removed after two weeks.
• Peristomal skin: Peristomal skin is the skin around stoma. Remember, this skin should not have any rash, irritation or redness, and it should be a normal skin just like anywhere else on your body. This skin can be protected from irritation, which is caused by drainage, with the help of a properly fitting barrier. To keep this skin healthy, you are going to have to develop a habit of cleaning it while changing barrier. Be cautious about the redness, swelling, rash, or irritation on this part of the skin.
• Types of pouching system: Remember, the type of pouch you need to use depends upon the type of surgery you had. There are different types of pouches from different manufacturers available for each kind of stoma.