Signs That Your Stoma is Not Happy

If you have an ostomy, odds are you have experienced times where your stoma is not happy with you. If you are reading this article and you have no idea what an ostomy is, then I suggest you go ahead and log off because this information is not for you. However, it is true that an ostomy can cause a lot of changes for your life. I know from personal experience that stomas can be nasty business. Trying to keep everything clean, protected, and in good shape can be a difficult task at times. I am writing this article to help you identify when your stoma is experiencing some complications or problems that you may need to address with a phone call to the doctors or even a hospital visit. I am not trying to freak you out, but I just want to make sure that you are taking good care of yourself and your stoma. 

First off, you need to know that it is normal for your stoma to be a red or slightly pink color, kind of like uncooked beef. This is completely normal even if it is a little gross. After all, this is the inside of your body so it is going to be a little bit weird to see on the outside of your abdomen. The skin of your stoma should also be bright and shiny, kind of like the inside of your mouth or something like that. I am telling you these things so that you can better identify if there is something wrong, whether minor or serious, with your stoma and can seek proper treatment for it. After you are recovering from your ostomy, it is normal for the skin to be a bit swollen or inflamed, and may even produce some mucus here and there. I know that this might seem gross, but you are just going to have to accept it as part of your life now. Your stoma should appear bright and shiny, as well as a little moist, but the skin surrounding it should not be. If the skin around your stoma appears red or slimy, then you may have a problem with your stoma.

While you are trying different stoma appliances and ostomy pouches, it may be normal to see some irritation here and there around the skin of your stoma area due to different products or adhesives. This is no cause for concern, simply just find the ostomy products that work best for you and are sensitive to your skin. I have personally found that none of the adhesives I have tried were very irritating to my skin, but I also haven’t found ones that work very effectively over the course of the day.

Signs that you may need to seek professional input or medical attention with your stoma include a lot of swelling or discoloration. One day I woke up to find my stoma was a slightly purple color, and knew immediately that this was not good. I went to the hospital right away and they told me it was a good thing that I had come in because my stoma was infected or something like that. Anyways, just be careful when you clean your stoma and make sure you are taking good care of it.