Ostomy Support Belts: What Are Their Benefits?

A surgical opening in an organ mainly to put a diversion in the functional pathway is known as an ostomy. The three types of ostomies are colostomy, urostomy, and ileostomy. The most common are the intestinal ostomies that include a colostomy and ileostomy.

Your doctor may choose to give you an intestinal ostomy when your colon, rectum, or anus fails to perform the way it should due to injury or disease. Still, your bowel must get rid of waste materials. Your doctor will give you a stoma by creating a diversion on the healthy part of the bowel, bypassing the removed or rested part of the bowel. This stoma connects to that diversion to allow waste contents to leave the body without proceeding to the diseased part of the bowel.

Since a stoma doesn’t have any sphincter muscles, the primary way to manage waste evacuation is to wear an ostomy pouch over the stoma. This pouch has a flange that has an opening, which allows the stoma to open into the bag, and the adhesive surface, which has to go against the peristomal skin. Sometimes, the adhesion that an ostomy pouch’s skin barrier offers is not enough due to certain reasons. In such cases, additional support to the pouching system may be beneficial. One of the ways to get this support is to use ostomy belts, which wrap around the waist to keep the appliance snugly in place.

If you have to use an ostomy belt, you must wear it round the clock to secure your ostomy bag. These belts are available in different textures, forms, and styles. Finding one that fits your requirements will not be quite hard.

Some belts consist of breathable and flexible materials that adjust well to the shape and contours of the body. Such belts allow you to engage in your favorite physical activity.

The best ostomy belt is the one that expands as your ostomy pouch fills. This way, you will be able to prevent the buildup of pressure onto your ostomy pouch. Some people do not have a good experience with the use of ostomy belts. The only reason here is that they do not know well about the right way to wear an ostomy belt.

Here are some of the benefits that you get by wearing an ostomy belt.

• This belt can be typically beneficial if your ostomy appliance fails to adhere properly to the peristomal skin. An ostomy belt can work as an alternative to the adhesive.

• If you need to use a convex skin barrier, you will need to keep it adequately pressed against the skin. An ostomy belt can deliver the amount of pressure that you need.

• By keeping the ostomy appliance tight in place, an ostomy belt helps prevent the formation of the hernia defect.

• The use of an ostomy belt makes your stoma and pouching system more discreet, thus giving you more confidence.

• This support belt prevents the movement of feces inside the pouch, eliminating the chances of the bag coming off.

An ostomy belt is a great investment that can give you comfort and safety in return. You may want to discuss with your doctor regarding whether or not you are the right candidate for an ostomy belt.