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Volume 33, Number 8 May, 2006
TRAVELING AND CRUISING WITH AN OSTOMY
BY Mel Fishman, Via Broward, FL
Just because you happen to have an ostomy, you should not let that stop you from enjoying traveling. I have had a colostomy for the past 35 years and that has never stopped me from grabbing my hat and taking off to parts unknown. My wife and I have been blessed to take 32 cruises lasting from only one-night jaunts to up to seventeen-day vacations. We’ve also taken approximately ten land tours ranging from seven to fourteen days.
To be on the safe side, I always take more than enough ostomy supplies with me for the length of the trip. I make sure that the tour buses are restroom equipped and that all the airplanes I’m aboard have enough restrooms available so I can change my appliance if necessary.
On cruises, I always make sure that I have a chair that fits into the bathroom, so that I can irrigate my colostomy. Also, I ask the Cabin Steward for extra towels.
We have been approximately three-fourth’s of the way around the world, from Israel on the East to Bangkok on the West, Alaska on the North and to Chile in the South. We enjoyed every trip and made lots of new friends.
I’m always available at our meetings to answer any travel questions you may have. Don’t allow your surgery or unnecessary fears keep you at home. Just go for it and enjoy yourself. I am sure that you will have a great time.
SOOOO—HOW DO I CLEAN THIS POUCH?
Via: Hemet-San Jacinto, CA
If you are cleaning a drainable two-piece pouch for reuse, use warm, rather than hot or cold water. Cold water doesn’t lift stool or urine as readily from the plastic and the pouch is less pliable. Hot water will cause the pouch to wear out faster and may increase the likelihood of odor. If you want to rinse the pouch while you’re still wearing it, use a small squirt bottle to get the water in it, slosh’ it around by holding the end and let things empty into the toilet.
Unless you have no option, it’s best to remove the pouch entirely for cleaning. A bit of ordinary dish detergent with warm water, or, if bacteria is a concern, a bit of white vinegar mixed with water will do the trick. Fill the pouch with the warm water/soap/vinegar solution and slosh it by hand over the toilet, drain and repeat as necessary. It’s not recommended that you wash these things in the sink- - the drains are usually too small to handle this sort of waste and the result will not be hygienic. Once you have things reasonably clean, you can hold the pouch under the bathtub faucet and let it rinse. Tub drains are larger and so long as you let a good flush of water follow, and scrub the bathtub on a regular basis (which you do anyway, right?) your bathroom will not smell. Baking soda in the wash water and down the drain is an excellent deodorizer.
You can hang the wet pouch by the ring on a hook to dry or just leave it flat on a towel and it will be ready for use the next day. The inside doesn’t have to be bone dry for use, but the outside and ring should be. A lot of products have a thin fabric covering on them—nice against the skin when dry but very uncomfortable if damp. Make sure that part is dry before putting it back on.
PILLOW TALK
by E. McConnel, RNET, Snohomish Co. WA & The Greater Cincinnati Ostomy Association
Ever try to get into a comfortable position in bed only to find that your tummy flab or appliance seems to pull when you are on your side? Don’t let it cramp your style. Happiness could just turn out to be a pillow.
Try tucking one across your front and lean into it for firm support. If the pillow is too soft, first roll it like a bolster. A flat pillow placed between the legs in such a way that one end is brought up high enough to support the lower abdomen also helps to relieve or prevent any strain.
If on your back, try a pillow under the knees for added comfort. If your feet get cold during the night, remember that pillows are not just for heads anymore. A soft pillow on the foot of the bed is perfect for tootsies to snuggle under. Try placing a pillow on top of you, under the sheet if you get stuck in a motel where bed clothing is inadequate for lowered temperatures—it will warm you up in a hurry. Even placing a pillow alongside your body helps.
You know there are soft pillows, firm pillows, goose downs, satin jobs, king size, crib size, wedges, rings, triangles—anything your little heart desires. Movie queens surround themselves with heaps of pillows. Turks perch atop them with their legs crossed, tough guys slam their fists into them, kids have pillow fights and dogs and cats curl up and sleep on them.
As ostomates, we started out as pillow people, one pressed firmly into our back to keep us on our sides, one under the arm with the IV in it, one clenched tightly in our arms across the incision when we were made to cough, and even one under our bottoms when we painfully tried to sit up.
If you have forgotten about pillows, just remember—they are a natural for ostomates. Try them, you might like them.
“WITH APOLOGIES TO EDGAR ALLEN POE”
A poem by Marjorie Kaufman, Hemet-San Jacinto, CA
Once upon a midnight dreary,
While I fretted tired and weary,
Feeling just a little leery, yet
reluctant to explore;
While I lay there barely
napping, I was conscious of a
gapping
Twixt the hooklet and the
strapping of the face-plate
That I wore.
“Tis but loose”, I mused in
silence, Only this and nothing
more.”
Yet into the darkness peering,
While I lay there wondering,
fearing, doubting, with that
certain feeling I was scorning,
but I’d wait until the morning;
“So, I pushed aside the
warning, and the omen that it
bore.
“It will last until the morrow,
getting up is such a chore. This
it is and nothing more.”
Then into the pillow sinking;
With my sleepy eyes a-blinking.
I’ll forget it, I was thinking,
And to dreamland I would soar;
But I knew I was pretending
That no danger was impending,
And although it needed
tending,
Not before the night was o’er.
“It will last”, I kept repeating,
“It will last, it has before”.
So to sleep and nothing more.
With a start, I woke up
knowing, Twas a puddle neath
me growing, As I felt the
moisture flowing, from the
face-plate that I wore;
Bolt upright, I cursed my
daring, out of bed I leaped
declaring, vowing, arduously
swearing, ner’er again would I
ignore,
Not those certain signs of
warning would I ne’er again
ignore- - Quote me, raving,
“Nevermore”.
HAPPINESS IS—A COMFORTABLE APPLIANCE
Via: L.A. Ostomy News & Cheers & Tears, Whittier, CA
There is nothing more irritating than having to change your appliance before you normally do, when the faceplate loosens or springs a leak. The first thing to do is look for the reason. Sounds easy doesn’t it? We should be so lucky! About the first thing to look for is the change in texture of the skin. Several things can cause that, medication, vitamin pills or menopause. Excessively oily skin can affect adhesion. Wiping the skin around the stoma with alcohol is helpful, but be careful the alcohol does not contain glycerin, as this kind of alcohol will hinder adhesion. Also some soaps contain oil or hexachlorophene (soaps with baby oil to soften skin); these must be rinsed off if you hope to attain adhesion. With hot, humid climate, excessive perspiration will undermine the adhesive. A cotton appliance cover is great for soaking up perspiration. Also, loose clothing will help if you know you are going to be doing work that will cause excess perspiration. Be careful about using anti-perspirant, they cause skin irritation.
A skin rash (contact dermatitis) is a common happening for many ostomates at one time or another. The rash may be caused by an allergy to the adhesives, the tape, skin barrier, or any other product used. A change to different products helps to determine if the problem is an allergic one. Be sure to dry the area. A blow dryer, set on cool, is very quick and a light bulb placed about a foot away is also useful in drying the area. If you can’t get rid of the rash or any disturbed area within a reasonable length of time, contact your doctor. A change in weight (either gain or loss) can cause a change in the contour of the abdomen, which will affect adhesion. Try to stay at the same weight. Ideally, no more than ten pounds either way. Where the faceplate was once flat against the abdomen, it may now have creases or valleys under it. Stomahesive works well to fill in these valleys. There are also some pastes on the market. Karaya tends to break down when exposed to liquid over a period of time. Redistribution of weight will often necessitate refitting. This may mean entirely different appliance will be necessary. A person with an ileostomy may notice that diet affects the length of time an appliance stays on. If the stool is of a watery consistency rather than paste-like, it may lesson the length of time the appliance stays secure. Change the appliance regularly before leaking; you may detect an itching or burning sensation beneath it. Ignoring these symptoms can lead to skin irritation. Illness, inactivity, and lying in bed can also lessen the seal security because the discharge pools around the stoma and seal longer than if you were up and around. If you have checked all these possibilities and still have a leaky faceplate, you had better see your ET at once.
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