Having had a stoma on and off for the last 12 years and having it made permanent in 2018, I have been through the mill. It’s not very often that I moan about things but my peristomal skin health from 2009-2012 and then the brief period of 2016 was absolutely awful. If you’re suffering from burnt macerated skin then it can make the thought of living with a stoma absolutely daunting.
The first 4 weeks of my second stoma life were abysmal and I spent a lot of time crying and trying to get bags to stick. Due to my burnt skin, I was changing anything up to 6 times a day and my skin was absolutely wrecked.
I went to see my stoma nurse two days before Christmas and all I can say was that appointment and the products changed my life for the better!!
I was introduced to Pelican Healthcare products and I have never looked back, I have tried other products but for me, nothing else compares.
My journey with Pelican products
When I was at my wits end my stoma nurse introduced me to Pelican Platinum Contour, I didn’t think at the time with the state of my skin that they would help. It was my first Christmas post-op and I was genuinely amazed that within 3 days my skin had pretty much healed and cleared.
The next step with the bags was introducing barrier rings (the Eakin Cohesive Slim). I was changing my appliance daily as my output was eating away at the baseplate and still causing a little sore macerated area underneath my stoma.
My next issue was contact dermatitis. Daily changes were causing skin stripping and a really dry itchy stoma site. I had tried barrier creams but not with much success.
Vitamin E
Pelican brought out Vitamin E in 2018 and that changed my life. I went from daily changes to maybe changing twice a week at most. My contact dermatitis cleared up and my peristomal skin has never been healthier. I regularly post photos of my bare stoma and site and other ostomates always ask me about vitamin E and how it helps.
When the one-piece ModaVi was launched I jumped at the chance, with vast improvements to the bags material, outlet and the added bonus of added Vitamin E in the base to keep my stoma site nice and healthy.
Why I value my healthy stoma site
Having a healthy stoma site means I worry less about issues. I rarely leak unless it’s self-inflicted, I don’t have to worry about my base plate coming off. By having healthy skin and trusting in my appliance I don’t have to worry about my stoma impacting my life. Having a good routine means my stoma rarely impacts my life and has overall improved my quality of life and I forget I have a stoma half the time.
My tips for healthy peristomal skin
- I only change my appliance twice a wee – less stripping of the skin
- I use dry wipes with plain warm water to clean the site and dry wipes to dry
- I use a barrier ring – this barrier ring stops output from sitting on my skin
- Cut the baseplate to the correct size – the better the fit the less skin area for output to sit on
- I use adhesive remover to remove the bag and adhesive remover wipes to remove the barrier ring residue
Hoping this helps others.
As always
Many thanks for reading
Louise Xx