Parastomal Hernias: Things To Know

An abnormal protrusion of bowel through a weakened area in the abdominal wall is what we call a hernia. When we talk about hernia in the peristomal skin area, we refer to the skin area near the stoma. The slight or noticeable bulge of the abdominal area around the stoma is known as the parastomal hernia. You may need to know a few things to better understand what parastomal hernia is and how to manage it.

Parastomal hernias occur in 5-10% of people with colostomies, and 3-10% of people with ileostomies. Who will develop this condition is a difficult guess, but some factors may act as precursors to parastomal hernias. Those factors include the following.

• The site of the stoma matters a lot when it comes to preventing hernia. Ideally, the stoma must be created through an incision in an abdominal muscle called rectus abdominous. Bringing the stoma outside of muscle can increase the risk of parastomal hernia.

• People who are obese are more likely to develop these hernias than those who are not obese.

• You are going to have to pay attention to your nutrition around the time of stoma surgery. Poor nutrition can result in general weakness as well as weakness in the abdominal wall.

• Aging can affect the muscle tone, which can result in herniation.

• There can be several reasons for increased intra-abdominal pressure, which can increase the risk of parastomal herniation quite drastically. Those reasons include chronic coughing, frequent sneezing, and lifting heavy objects. This increased pressure can weaken the abdominal muscle around the stoma.

• Another reason for the weakening of peristomal muscles is an infection around the stoma after ostomy surgery.

Parastomal hernias can develop soon after surgery, or it might take a few years. About 80% of the people with parastomal hernias do not face any difficulty, and, so, they do not need any intervention. The remaining 20%, however, will require some help with their hernias. In some cases, hernias occur only when you get into a particular position. In some cases, hernias may remain noticeable regardless of your position.

The most noticeable impact of parastomal hernias is abdominal discomfort. This discomfort is quite related to a feeling of abdominal fullness or tightness. You may be able to get rid of this feeling with the help of a special elastic hernia belt. You are going to have to measure the belt to fit the size of your abdomen. If you are experiencing extreme pain due to these hernias, you should call your doctor or ostomy care nurse immediately to acquire immediate medical attention.

Where To Get Ostomy Supplies

So if you have had questions in the past about some of the best places to go to get ostomy supplies, then you are definitely not alone. The thing is, a lot of people are not sure at first about what kind of ostomy supplies they should be buying on a regular basis and where they should be going to get it. If it were up to me, ostomy supplies would be available for every person in the United States at no cost to them, sort of like a Medicaid type system but it actually is effective. If the government was able to get everyone the ostomy supplies that they needed, that would be absolutely amazing. Instead, many people are forced to go out and try to find the ostomy supplies that they need to survive. Imagine putting a price tag on something like surviving! For some people, finding the right medical supplies is not an option. Whenever this issue is brought up, most people just think about different types of medical products like insulin or chemo-therapy. However, the real healthcare crime comes into play in the world of ostomy.