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Volume 27, Number 1 October, 1999
MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD - The Value of an Ostomy Visitor
Via: Metro MD& S. NV’s Town Karaya
There are times when a person can make a difference that no one else can make...so it is with the ostomy visitor! Your value is literally beyond measure. It’s like dropping a pebble into a pool. It may seem like a small thing to those of you who volunteer...yet the rippling effect is expansive. Who knows how far it might go. You help someone at a time when they are very vulnerable. They in turn might be the visitors of the future.
Do you remember your ostomy visitor? Just when you thought that you couldn’t possibly deal with this operation, a friendly face appeared at your hospital door (or home). This person assured you that he or she had once been the patient in the bed. They could also
emphasize with your aches and pains, your depression, your fear of the future. You can reflect back on your questions when you first had surgery. Am I still lovable? How will I ever wear clothes? Will there be an odor? Won’t the pouch leak at an embarrassing moment?
How well you probably remember these feelings. The visitor somehow made you feel lovable. The idea dawned that if he or she could make it, you would too. The possibility of participating in your own ostomy care didn’t seem quite so overwhelming. Perhaps you could begin learning...one small step at a time. Yes, you might be thinking, wasn’t that visit the beginning of a turning point? There was much to be done and perhaps miles to go but that was
the First Step. You are Living Proof that life goes on. You are out there doing the very thing that the new patient wonders about. You are indeed a Symbol of Hope in the midst of their pain, confusion and fear. Making a visit may seem like a small thing to you. It is like Lighting a Candle in the midst of darkness. It is Helping Them to Help Themselves. Your generosity of time and caring is indeed “More Precious Than Gold.” If you weren’t blessed with an ostomy visitor, then remember the struggle you had to find the answers to your questions before you could become one who was More Precious Than Gold to the person with a new ostomy.
THE ART OF VISITING By: Jean Moen, RN, MS (edited) Via: S. NV’s Town Karaya
The definition of “art” is a specific skill or it’s application. UOA visitors have the skill of making a person that feels really down about their circumstances feel better about themselves and their outlook on life.
People view ostomies three ways: As an inconvenience; As a crisis; and, As total devastation. The UOA visitor needs to be able to recognize how the person they are visiting views their ostomy.
Most patients have three major concerns, concerns that are inner directed, which consists of control issues, dependency, self image and self esteem. Concerns that are outer directed such as social relationships, work relationships, and intimacy. And, concerns which are skill directed. These are
concerns such as learning to take care of their ostomy and adapting to it emotionally. The UOA visitor must be aware of the main concern of the patient and focus on those needs that are important to the patient, not on their own needs.
The visitor must also be aware of whether or not the patient is at high risk – patients with family conflict, limited social support, or maybe they distrust the medical team.
There are benefits and detriments to being a visitor. The benefits are being a role model, self gratification in knowing you have helped someone
else and it helps you deal with your own experience.
The detriments are: Much responsibility, sometimes the patient will become too dependent on the visitor; Burnout and Stress occur.
The major role of the visitor is to provide emotional support, social support, education and information and to be a problem solver. If we do these four things, we have provided the “Art of Visiting” for that patient.
ODOR PROOF OR ODOR RESISTANT by: V. Alterescu, RN ET Metro MD
Many pouches are touted as being odor proof. What does this mean? I certainly have detected odor through many an odor-proof pouch, and, I have concluded that all pouches will allow some odor to permeate through them, over time. The important issue here, is time.
Certain pouches were just not designed to be worn for very long. The newer two-piece set-ups that are incredibly expensive, and ever popular, allow a person to change a pouch frequently while leaving the adhesive barrier on the skin. On the other hand, many other types of pouches will be odor-resistant for longer than the two-piece system. If it were up to me, no pouch would be called odor-proof. They are all odor-resistant. But they can only resist for so long.
There are essentially three ways that odor can permeate an ostomy pouch. First, the pouch could be leaking, a seam could split or the adhesive seal might not be intact. This would result in odor. Second, the pouch could actually be permeated with odor from the stool. Third, the tip of the pouch may not be clean.
Setting the first reason aside, let me concentrate on permeation of odor through the material. Most pouches will be odor resistant for one day. After that, there is a whole realm of pouch materials that will begin to exude odor. Rubber and vinyl pouches are less odor resistant than saran lined
pouches out a pouch. This could, in part, be the reason your pouch is not odor-resistant for longer. Rinsing a pouch out is primarily a waste of time. For one thing, it takes longer to empty the pouch and you need more materials around you. The water, especially, if it is warm, will open the pores of the pouch and, last, rinsing can affect the seal. The interior of your pouch may be clean, but it does not serve a functional purpose.
Frankly, it does not matter if the interior of your pouch is clean any more than it matters if the interior of your colon is clean. The most important portion of the pouch that should be cleansed very thoroughly is the tip of the drainable pouch. Rinsing the interior may actually increase odor permeation. Cleaning the tip will avoid any odor that may occur as a result of having any fecal residue on the tip of the pouch. Therefore, I often recommend that a person carry one of those little alcohol wipes (that are individually wrapped in foil) to clean the tip of the pouch.
MARSHMALLOWS AN ILEOSTOMATE'S BEST FRIEND
Excerpt from S NV’s Town Karaya
Eat a couple of marshmallows up to 30 minutes before changing. One ostomate says: “I eat a couple of marshmallows just as I go into the shower, which takes me 10 to 15 minutes to complete. I also skip a meal before changing my appliance. Combining the marshmallow, lack of food and a blast of cold water on my stoma in the shower for about 20 seconds does a pretty good job of shutting me down before the process of changing.”
Another tip is to put an ice cube in a thin washcloth, and circle the stoma for about 20 seconds. This will shock the stoma into delaying output for awhile
INFLUENZA Everything You’ve ever wanted to know About (“the flu”)
Via: OLD NATIONAL BANCORP "Healthy Choices” Oct. 1999
The flu is caused by a virus that spreads from infected people to the nose or throat of others. Symptoms usually appear within 2 to 4 days after being infected. A person is considered contagious for another 3 to 4 days after symptoms appear.
The U.S. “flu season” generally runs from November to March/April every
year. Flu symptoms are fever, chills, dry cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, headache and muscle aches. Complications can lead to hospitalization and death. Twice as many Americans die from the flu every year as die from AIDS, breast cancer, or prostate cancer.
Why do you need a flu shot every year? Because the flu virus changes, at least one of the vaccine’s viruses must be replaced with a newer one every year, so the shot only lasts about a year.
When does a shot start working? Protection develops one or two weeks after you get your flu shot.
Who should get a flu shot? Anyone over 6 months old who wants or needs to reduce their chance of getting the flu. Those over age 65 (a must!), everyone with a chronic medical condition, like heart disease or asthma (a must!), pregnant women, breast-feeding mothers, healthcare givers, students and everyone with special holiday plans as the flu season often hits the last week of December.
When is the best time to get a flu shot? Between September and mid-November.
Can you get the flu from the flu shot? Flu vaccines contain no live virus, so it’s impossible to get the flu from a flu shot.
How effective are flu shots? The shot is almost 90% effective in preventing type A and Type B influenza. If you do manage to get the flu, it will be a milder case if you’ve gotten the shot.
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