Working out with a Stoma

This year has been a really interesting one.  It is 2020 and we just got out of the first lockdowns for the Pandemic.  I found that it had a really strange effect on my mental state as I was working from home with my wife and we were essentially trapped on house arrest for 2 months straight.  This wasn't a horrible experience but it was strange that we only worked out during the first part of it and completely stopped for at least 5 weeks in the end.  Now we are able to be outside and we are getting back on the wagon.  I am making sure that my ostomy care is a priority while working out and have been taking it a bit easy working back into it.

 

The main thing that we finally started getting back into was jogging again.  This is something that took me a while to work my way into when I first got my stoma. But with some really good ostomy care advice from local people in the same situation I was able to get into it without much trouble. 

 

This year my wife found a great app to help us get back into cardio shape and we tested it out last night and it worked great.  The App is called 5k and it is a preparation app that is set up to help us get the cardio conditioning to run a 5k.  Now for myself and my wife we like to be motivated to do something especially when it comes to working out.  So we signed ourselves up for a 5k run to do in a little over a month.  The excitement that pushes us to run well is the possibility of running with lots of other people and maybe not succeeding around them.  So we are now pushed to not embarrass ourselves on this new 5k. 

 

Plus as a great bonus this 5k run ends with wine.  It is a wine 5k and I am so pumped to be able to get my body in shape to run it and then celebrate afterwards with a nice glass of wine. A cool part of this is that every 5k my wife and I run she makes us T-shirts to celebrate what we have accomplished.  This year we are going to make a really fun one. So get out be active and enjoy the summer!

Closed-End Ostomy Pouching Systems

A closed-end ostomy pouching system utilizes a bag with no open end, which means that once this bag is full, you are going to have to discard it.

Now the question is, when should you consider using a closed-end ostomy pouching system. You can benefit from a closed-end ostomy system if you do not have an unpredictable or infrequent discharge of stomal output. Most typically, the stomal output is more firm with a colostomy. Such people can benefit from closed-end bags. Similarly, people with ileostomies or urostomies do not benefit from closed ostomy systems as they have to deal with the more watery and frequent stomal output.

The basics of closed-end ostomy systems

Closed ostomy pouching systems come in different sizes and styles. Manufacturing companies aim at producing closed bags that are more concealable. And since a patient needs this bag to wear once and throw away when it’s full, the bag usually consists of disposable materials. A closed-end bag may be a part of both a one-piece ostomy system and a two-piece ostomy system. If you wish to discard the entire system after a single use, you can use a one-piece ostomy system. And if you want the flange to remain connected to the stoma, you can use a two-piece system that allows detachment of the bag from the flange. You can choose any of these options depending on your requirements or recommendations from your ostomy care nurse.

Things to consider when choosing a closed-end ostomy bag

• Comfort
• Safety
• Ability to apply the bag
• Consistency of stomal output
• Stoma location
• Wearing time
• Peristomal skin health
• Shape of stoma
• Cost of ostomy supplies

Advantages of closed-end ostomy bags

• Changing closed-end bags is a quicker and convenient process.
• Many brands manufacture flushable bags that do not end up clogging the plumbing system when flushed.
• With a reduced risk of accidental leakage, patients remain confident while using closed-end bags.

Disadvantages of closed ostomy systems

Closed-end bags have many disadvantages to offer to the patients for whom this pouching system is not ideal. That said, some of the most common disadvantages of these bags are as under.

• These bags are not ideal for the patients who have to deal with a more watery stomal output.
• Using this bag might prove to be stressful at the places that do not have appropriate disposal facilities.
• You are going to have to change the bag more frequently. That can result in skin irritation and inflammation.

To avoid the disadvantages, it is necessary to ask your doctor if you can safely use this pouching system. And even if you are eligible, you need to use it in the right way, for which you are going to have to get instructions from experts.

Things To Consider About Colostomy Bags

A colostomy bag refers to a pouching system that collects stool from the digestive tract through a surgically created abdominal opening, called a stoma. After the surgery, patients receive information about the supplies they need to use to manage their ostomies. These supplies mainly comprise colostomy bags and skincare products. Hospitals provide initial ostomy kits to their patients as a part of the treatment procedure. A patient can choose to keep using that type of ostomy kit, or he can explore other options.

Switching over to a new kind of ostomy bag can be overwhelming. Since you might not have an idea about what type of ostomy kit may be ideal for you, you need to ask your doctor or ostomy care nurse in this regard.

The colostomy is a life-saving surgical process that results in diversion of the colon from its original pathway towards the abdominal opening. The doctor may choose to remove or bypass a part of or entire colon for one or multiple reasons. That said, a colostomy may be permanent or temporary, depending on the health condition that prompted the patient to undergo the surgical procedure.

After the surgery, your normal excretory pathway will not remain functional. Instead, the newly created colon diversion will let the feces pass out through the stoma, which is the ending of the intestine transporting the stomal output.

Choices for colostomy patients

• Consideration for colostomates, who do not have to do stoma irrigation, and ileostomates are the same. However, the stomal output moving out through a colostomy is more firm than an ileostomy. Therefore, colostomy patients find closed-end ostomy bags more useful.
• The odor is the real problem that occurs with colostomy patients. They can prevent this issue with the help of charcoal filters that tend to absorb the odor while allowing the gas to leave the bag. This way, they can avoid the ballooning effect, which results in the inflating of the bag.
• Patients who perform stoma irrigation can switch to using a stoma cap or a mini pouch instead of a big pouching system. The most significant advantage of stoma irrigation is that it makes evacuation more manageable.

Considerations when using a colostomy bag

• Not all stomas are equal in terms of shape and size. Therefore, it is essential to talk to your ostomy care nurse or doctor before you decide about using a particular ostomy pouching system.
• If you prefer using a one-piece ostomy pouching system, keep in mind that you are going to have to replace the entire system, including its wafer, when changing the bag. On the other hand, a two-piece ostomy system allows you to detach the bag from the barrier, which remains connected to the peristomal skin. The reason it’s called a two-piece ostomy bag is that it constitutes the bag and the wafer as two separate pieces.

No matter what type of pouching system you prefer, replace the wafer if it starts discomforting you. That’s where you also need to run a quick check to see if your peristomal skin is healthy. You can talk about it with your ostomy care nurse.