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It may seem hard at first, but having an ileostomy doesn’t mean that you cannot live a healthy and active life.

Many people said that their quality of life had improved after ileostomy surgery because they no longer had to deal with the painful symptoms.

An ileostomy indeed brings an undesirable change in the body, so adjusting to life after surgery remains a real challenge for most of the people. With the correct information, you will find it easy to adapt to this change sooner than later.

Here is what you may want to know about to ensure effective ileostomy care.

Ileostomy equipment

Before and after the surgical procedure, you will see a nurse who is specialized in helping people with an ostomy. The nurse will first give you information about the ostomy equipment you will be using.

The main component of ostomy care equipment is the ostomy appliance. This appliance consists of a pouch and a skin barrier. The pouch collects waste that passes out through the stoma, while the skin barrier keeps the ostomy appliance attached to the skin around the stoma. The skin barrier has a hole that fits the size and shape of the stoma. This way, the stoma opens into the pouch.

Generally, it is best to choose a drainable pouch for an ileostomy. Whether to choose a two-piece ostomy bag or a one-piece system depends on your preferences and requirements. The stomal output from an ileostomy is more frequent, which means that you are going to have to empty your pouch more often. Make sure that you are not letting your ostomy bag to collect waste more than one-third of its internal space.

An ostomy pouch and the skin barrier are the mandatory products that you must use to manage your ileostomy. There are other products too that makes it convenient to manage your ileostomy. These products are accessories, which are generally not crucial, but these might become necessary in specific circumstances. These products include:

Support belts
Deodorizers to reduce odor
Protective skin wipes
Adhesive removers
Protective stoma guards

Stoma care

Stoma care is all about caring for the skin around the stoma. The stomal output can be highly toxic for the peristomal skin. It can cause irritation, which is not only painful, but it can also compromise the seal between the skin barrier and the peristomal skin.

To prevent irritation, clean your peristomal skin well. Use plain water for cleaning, but if you want to use soap, make sure that it is free of perfumes and oils.

The stoma doesn’t have any nerve ending, which means that you will not feel any pain on it, but it does have a lot of blood vessels that can release blood when the stoma is rubbed. Make sure that you pat with a piece of soft cloth to clean the stoma. There may be bleeding in the stoma in the first few days after surgery. It is nothing to worry about. However, you may need to consult your doctor if there is excessive bleeding.

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