4 Questions about Stoma and Colostomy Bags That You Could Not Ask
Life is never a bed of roses for anyone for a variety of reasons and for people living with a serious ailment like Crohn’s disease there are many. Most of the patients with this ailment have to live with a colostomy bag and that can generate more fear among them due to lack of proper awareness.
But you should keep it mind that almost 1 in every 300 to 400 people in India live with a urostomy, illeostomy or colostomy. But in spite of being such a common disease people have loads of misconceptions regarding living with a stoma.
So what is a stoma? A stoma is nothing but an opening created at the side of the abdomen for the passage of the bodily waste. In order to collect this waste, people with this condition wear a bag called the colostomy bag.
Here an attempt is made to clarify your doubts by answering some of the questions that you were afraid to ask in public. Just go through them to increase your awareness and be more confident in your life.
- What can the patient eat?
You can eat anything and everything that you want to when you are with a colostomy. Many people think that there must be a list of things that one should have and that one should avoid with this condition. But there isn’t any. In general, you just have to keep in mind that whatever used to cause bowel problems prior to getting a stoma will continuing doing the same even after you have it. So you should avoid having those.
- Does it hurt to have a stoma?
You may, at the most, feel a light sensation when the stoma is active but you never hurt. Since there is no nerve ending hence your stoma should never hurt. Apart from that, you will not be able to control when your stoma is active as there no muscle there. But you do not have to worry about that as the modern stoma bags are discreet enough and do not let anybody know when you are passing bodily waste.
- Why do you have to use toilets that are disabled?
Although there is no issue of mobility for people with stoma, they are recommended to use accessible loos. There can be some problem with the common toilets spread across the country. An increased surface area like a sink or a sanitary binin the cubicle can make changing the bag much simpler and easier. Apart from that, there can be situations of emergency where the bags have to be changed immediately to avoid spillage.
- How to change a stoma bag?
Just like a sticking plaster an old bag can be removed if you peel it from the stoma. Then you can clean around it with water. You can then apply a new bag. In fact, you can also shower with a shower gel or soap with the bag off as they do not hurt the region. How frequently one needs to change the bag depends from one person to the other. People with illeostomy may have to change more frequently than those with colostomy.
Now that you have a clear idea about the stoma and the colostomy bag you can be more confident about your life.
