Patient/caregiver was educated on caring for the ileostomy site and skin around as follows:
- Avoid performing bag changes when the bowels are highly active. After removing the bag, if the bowels are highly active, this can result in spillage of stool out of the stoma and on to the surrounding skin. This can result in irritation of skin and over a period of time can lead to severe inflammation and injury. Picking a time for bag changes when the gut is least active helps with avoiding spillage of stool and resultant irritation & injury. Individuals started on ileostomy can get an idea on when their bowels are active and when they are silent in due course of time.
- While performing the bag change, do not pull hard on the adhesive or skin barrier to detach them. Adhesives and skin barriers could be firmly adherent to the skin and pulling hard on them could pull on the skin too, leading to injury to the peristomal skin. If the adhesives or skin barriers are firmly adherent, using an adhesive remover spray can help with easier detachment.
- Avoid applying any lotions, powders, creams, and any alcohol containing products on the skin around the stoma. These products can irritate the skin around stoma, leading to inflammation and injury. Also, application of these products can make it difficult for the skin barrier to attach firmly to the skin around stoma. This can lead to the bag coming loose resulting in accidents. Early detachment of the ileostomy bag necessitates frequent bag changes contributing to early exhaustion of supplies and economic burden for individuals to order for replacement.
