An Overview Of Ostomy

Your intestine could have a disease or injury, which may result in it requiring resting and healing or removal. In either of these cases, you may need an ostomy. An ostomy is an intestinal diversion that allows bodily wastes to leave the body without proceeding to the diseased section of the bowel. Wastes will leave the body through an opening (stoma) in the belly.

The surgeon will remove or disconnect the part of your colon to create an ostomy. After disconnecting the healthy part of the GI tract from the diseased part of the colon, the surgeon will bring the end of the healthy part of the tract to the abdomen and pull it out through a small incision. The end sticking on the belly will form an opening to allow waste materials to leave the body. This bud-like end of the intestinal tract is known as the stoma.

There are two types of intestinal ostomies: colostomy and ileostomy.

If you have a colostomy, you will retain a part of the colon, which means that a majority of nutrients will absorb in your body. The stool passing out of a colostomy is thick.

If you have an ileostomy, you will no longer have a colon. The small intestine will still absorb nutrients, but the absence of the colon will cause a significant amount of water with electrolytes to leave the body. If you do not compensate for this loss of fluids and nutrients, you may run the risk of having dehydration and other issues.

Understanding your stoma

The stoma is the end of the intestine, sticking out on the abdominal skin. After pulling it out of the cut in the belly, the surgeon will turn the edges of the end of the intestine onto itself and suture them to skin of the belly. It forms a bud-like opening that allows bodily wastes to pass out of the body.

You may want to know a few characteristics of the stoma in this regard.

• It is red
• It may bleed easily when you rub it
• It remains moist
• It can move with bowel movements
• It has no nerve ending, meaning that you won’t feel anything on it
• With no sphincter muscles in the stoma, you will not be able to control when to move your bowels

Caring for an ostomy

At first, caring for an ostomy may seem like a daunting task, but it gets easier with time.

First of all, you will need to learn to manage your ostomy supplies, and also how to care for your ostomy. It will take some time, but you will have to figure out what products work best for you. You may also want to know where to buy your ostomy supplies.

Your ostomy care nurse should be the first point of contact in case you face any problem or you want to know something about caring for the stoma. Your nurse will also run you through the process of ostomy pouch management, which includes emptying and changing pouch. If the skin around your stoma is susceptible to infections, your nurse will suggest you the products that will help you prevent skin infections.

You might want to join an ostomy support group to prevent psychological impact of surgery from causing anxiety.