urostomy | The Life Training

You may have several questions regarding how to care for a urostomy. Because the requirements of every person may vary, there is no one right answer. You may, however, find a few suggestions and ideas helpful in this regard.

Emptying and changing the urostomy pouch

During your hospital stay after urostomy surgery, an ostomy care nurse will teach you how to empty and change your ostomy pouch. You will also learn about how to take care of the stoma and the skin around it.

Emptying the pouch

Emptying a urostomy pouch is very easy, thanks to a valve at the bottom of the pouch. With a higher chance of the growth of bacteria in the pouch, you will need to empty it more often. Allowing too much urine to store in the ostomy pouch can result in it gaining weight, which can cause the seal to compromise. You will need to empty the pouch when it is one-third to half full.

You may need to empty the pouch 5-6 times a day, which could mean emptying it every 4 hours. If you drink a lot of fluids, the frequency of emptying the pouch will be even higher.

Changing the pouch

When to change a urostomy pouch depends on the type of pouch you use and the state of your peristomal skin health. The best approach is to change the pouch according to a set schedule to prevent any problems. The best time to change the pouch is the morning before eating or drinking anything. If it is not possible due to any reason, you may want to change the pouch 1 or 2 hours after drinking fluids. You don’t want your stoma to pass out urine while you change the pouch.

You can change your pouch in any position you are comfortable in, such as sitting, standing, or lying. The rule of thumb is to get into the position that allows you to see your stoma when you change the pouch. Most people prefer changing their urostomy pouches while standing because it allows them to prevent any spillage of urine on the floor. You can also sit on the toilet and make sure that urine falls in the toilet bowl without coming in contact with the body and clothes.

The reason you need to set a proper schedule to empty and change the urostomy pouch is that it allows you to keep the pouch clean. A pouch with leftover urine can cause bacteria to travel up into the kidneys through ureters to cause kidney infections. Changing the pouch on a schedule will help prevent such infections.

Protect the skin around the stoma

The skin around your stoma should be just as the skin elsewhere on your abdomen. If any part of the skin comes in contact with urine regularly, it can develop irritation and other problems. It means that you are going to have to ensure a proper seal between the ostomy pouch’s skin barrier and the peristomal skin. For this purpose, you will need to change the ostomy pouch before it seal weakens. You will also need to use the right-sized ostomy pouch and skin barrier opening. For more information in this regard, you may want to meet or contact your ostomy care nurse.

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.

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Tips To Care For A Urostomy