Ostomy patient care

Everyone is familiar with stoma, especially those who have had major surgery at home. In the hospital, you can often see bags used to collect feces and urine in patients after major surgery. After undergoing a major surgery, this will avoid random movements that may cause harm to the wound. The sleeping posture of a stoma patient will definitely be different from before, and the food they eat generally has to be liquid food. What other care is there for stoma patients? Let’s take a look.

How to care for stoma patients in daily life

Generally, after the stoma patient is able to take care of the stoma by himself, he can be given daily life guidance, the main contents of which include:

①Clothing. The clothes can be the same as before the operation or slightly looser to avoid the belt pressing on the stoma.

②Diet. When gastrointestinal function is restored, the patient can resume preoperative eating patterns and habits, but try to eat less spicy, irritating, gas-producing, and irritating foods and drinks.

③Bathing. Patients can shower with the ostomy bag on, and try not to soak in the bathtub; when the ostomy bag needs to be replaced, the patient can take it off and shower directly, and then put on a new ostomy bag after the shower.

④ Work: When their physical condition recovers, people with colostomy can return to work, but they should avoid heavy physical work to prevent the formation of parastomal hernia or stoma prolapse. ⑤Exercise. You can participate in some physical exercise at ordinary times, but avoid strenuous exercise and sports that involve physical contact, such as Yiquandao; you can participate in activities such as Tai Chi.

⑥Going out or traveling. Encourage ostomates to go out or travel, but make sure to prepare sufficient ostomy supplies before leaving; guide ostomates on how to find local ostomy institutions for help when they urgently need ostomy treatment or ostomy supplies while in other places. ⑦Sex life. Instruct ostomates to resume sexual life after physical recovery. However, before sexual intercourse, both parties should be mentally prepared and the ostomate should also check to ensure that the ostomy bag is secure and leak-free; or use a mini-type ostomy bag.

⑧Social activities. Encourage ostomates to participate in various social activities. Some scholars have found that strengthening health education for ostomates in the recovery period and encouraging them to join ostomate associations and participate in various organized group activities can improve their quality of life.

⑨Excretion and odor processing. Instruct the person with ostomy to discharge excrement and clean the ostomy bag regularly. If the odor is strong, use an ostomy bag with a carbon sheet; or put a suitable air freshener in the ostomy bag to remove the odor.