About

You may need an ostomy if your digestive or urinary tract fails to get rid of waste materials. It may be due to a disease or a medical procedure that compromises the function of the related excretory tract. An ostomy involves the creation of a stoma (opening) in the belly to allow the internal diversion to expel waste materials. It necessitates the person with an ostomy to wear an ostomy bag to collect those wastes.

Most people confuse stomas with ostomies, but these are different medical terminologies. A stoma is the opening that appears on the belly, while an ostomy is an internal diversion that passes the stool or urine to the stoma.

Types of ostomies

There are different types of ostomies. The most common type is the colostomy that is created on the large intestine. The surgeon gives you a colostomy when he opts to remove a part of the colon or rectum. He then pulls the active part of the colon through an incision in the abdominal wall to create a stoma. Colostomies can be permanent or temporary, depending on the type or severity of the underlying condition. There can be subtypes of colostomies, depending on the location of the stoma on the colon. These subtypes include ascending, descending, transverse, and sigmoid colostomy. The similar surgical procedure done on the ileum creates an ileostomy.

No matter what type of ostomy you have, you are going to have to wear an ostomy bag and a skin barrier to manage your stoma.

Challenges involved in an ostomy

Having an ostomy brings significant lifestyle changes. You are going to have to be careful about your health and hygiene more than ever. You may also have to deal with psychological and emotional challenges that occur as a result of losing control over one of the body functions.

As for the ostomy care, you will have to be vigilant regarding when to remove wastes from the pouch, and when to change your ostomy appliance. Your healthcare provider or nurse will run you through the process to teach you how to empty and change an ostomy pouch. You can divide the entire process into several steps to better understand how it is done. You can prevent embarrassment and ostomy-related complications by regularly removing wastes, cleaning, and maintaining your ostomy.

It may be a little hard to deal with the psychological impact of having an ostomy. It depends on your perception of the procedure. The right way is to think of this procedure as the treatment that saved your life. The grievance of the loss of control over the ability to respond to bowel movements is a real issue, but the sooner you embrace the change, the better it will be for your mental and physical health. It is crucial to stay positive and adapt to having to manage an ostomy bag the entire time. If you have any issues related to the management of your ostomy pouch, you can contact your healthcare provider or an ostomy care nurse. If it is becoming hard to cope with the change that your ostomy has brought in your body, you can join ostomy support groups to share your concerns and listen to others. It will be plenty helpful for you to adapt to life after ostomy surgery.