It's too bad this group is riddled with spam and does not seem to be
moderated. I am looking for the same answers for my father-in-law
who is close to coming home after his colostomy.

--- In colostomy@yahoogroups.com, meirman@... wrote:
>
> Hi!
>
> I'm a newbie who got a colostomy only 8 weeks ago.
>
> I probably have a bunch of questions, but the ones bothering me
right now are,
>
> 1) I'm scared each time I change a bag that I'm going to put the
> new one on wrong.
>
> For example, the instructions or what I was told at the hospital
said
> the hole in the part that touches the skin had to be A) big enough
> not to touch the stoma, but B) small enough not let my output touch
> my skin. I live alone and do this myself**. I don't see how I
can
> do them both perfectly. Which is more important, A or B? How
> much bigger than the stoma should the hole be? If it can be,
say,
> a quarter inch bigger all around, without my feces ruining that
> amount of my skin, why can't the hole be even bigger? **With the
> help of the mirror that was in the kit.
>
> 2) What determines how long I can wear one bag before I have to
> change it. They sent me home from the hospital with 2 boxes of
one
> piece bags. The visiting nurse said they had to be changed every
3
> to 5 days. The Hollister "product use advisor" said every 5 to 7
> days. And the surgeon said I could go up to 9 days.
>
> What is the determining factor? When do I know I have to change
> it? I get the feeling that it is mostly when the pink, cloth,
> outer adhesive ring starts to detach from my skin. I don't mean
when
> a millimeter or two is detached -- that can happen within a day --
> but when at some point on the circumference, the whole width of it
is
> detached, (all the way up to the "rubber" part***). I have to
change
> the bag before that happens, right? Or is there an earlier sign
that
> means it must be changed? Or is it based on time? ***which
> sticks pretty well.
>
> 3) The instructions from Hollister said that I could take a bath
> with the bag on!!! Really? A bath so deep the bag is under
> water? After reading that and thinking about it for a few days, I
> did let water get on the bag when I took a shower, and the result
> seemed to be that the pink cloth outer adhesive ring started coming
> unstuck from my skin earlier than usual. The same thing had
> happened with previous bags, even when I didn't get anything wet,
at
> and near my belly-button, even after I shaved the area near the
belly
> button. The pink cloth didn't and doesn't seem to stick well
where
> it has to bend or stretch to get into my belly button. Is it all
> right to use additional tape to tape the pink ring to my skin, so
> that the bag stays on until the 5 or 7 or 9 days are up? If so,
> what kind of tape works? I bought Nexcare "Absolute Waterproof
> Tape" and it worked at first, but in following weeks, it didn't
stick
> more than 6 hours.
>
>
> Thanks a lot for reading my post. I will really appreciate any
help
> you can give me.
>
> Mike
>