The name of the stoma comes from the intestine that forms the opening. Here are some different stoma:
- colostomy, an opening from the large bowel, to allow feces to bypass the anus.
-ileostomy, an opening from the small bowel, to allow feces to leave the body without passing through the large bowel.
- urostomy,an artificial connection between the urinary tract (the kidneys, bladder and tubes that connect - them) and the abdominal wall.
- jejunostomy, an opening from the first part of the small bowel, also used for feeding.
- gastrostomy, an opening from the skin directly into the stomach, to allow feeding.
Stoma care is very important and there are a few problems that people having this condition may encounter.
The most important problem of having a stoma is the psychological one. Some people just find it very hard to know they have a stoma and get shy or just sad because they feel different or ugly in some way. That is a stupid*thing to even consider so do not act childish about this! There are specialists and special trained nurses that can take you throughout this entire process and you can find the best comfort in their professionalism. They do help a lot. A good idea is to surf the internet and find others who suffer from stoma and learn from them how to deal with your problem, and how to take care about your stoma.
Another problem when having stoma is the smell. This is the reason that you start changing you diet and start learning what is best to eat and what you should avoid. Fish and eggs and beer can cause excess wind and runny motions. Try to keep a healthy and rich diet every day because it is very important in your recovery. If you must travel by plain be sure not to consume fizzy drinks before you get on the plane. Due to the change in pressure in the aircraft cabin, this can cause the stoma bag to simply come off. This would be just terrible so if you can, avoid by all means traveling by air.
Another common problem is taking care of the skin around the stoma. It can easily become sore and broken so ask the doctor about ways of taking care of that or just go to a local pharmacy and ask the pharmacist. He or she most certainly can give you a lotion which has skin care properties, and will help you feel more comfortable. There*are also a rage of different bags and hypoallergenic protective skin barriers and creams that can help you. Here are some medicine that are related to helping with the treatment, but take then jut as a "heard about" matter and don't use these medication before asking a doctor about them.
How one lives with an ileostomy
They need an ostomy pouch that collects all intestinal waste. This is a dreinable pouch that is leakproffed at the bottom and it can be used to get rid of the waste any time. It is clearly better that a permanent pouch that needs to be replaced when it gets full. This kind of stoma implies that the pouch will be emptied 4-5 time a day, everyday. So simply it can be used whenever they find themselves near a bathroom. Every 3-6 days the pouch will become deteriorated and needs to be changed and it is rather hard to notice when worn under the clothes, unless it gets too full. To minimize your problems or a potential blockage one should chew the food very very good in order to help with the digestion process. Also some foods are not recommended like potatoes and some raw vegetables because they are harder to digest.
There is an alternative that needs no external pouch (because that can be for some very unpleasant) named ileo-anal pouch. An internal reservoir is connected to the anus made from the ileum after removing the colon and rectum. So there is no need for external "devices".
Urostomy
The 4 most commonly reasons when one needs a urostomy:
- bladder cancer.
- neurological dysfunction of the bladder (the bladder doesn't work as it should).
- birth defects.
- chronic inflammation of the bladder.
The urostomy is another form of stoma. It is used for the urinary system. When there are problems with the bladder or the urethra and urinating can not be done by natural ways there is need of a urestomy. The process is rather similar to the Ileostomy. An artificial bladder is made of a bowl that can be emptied whenever it is necessary. This process is not that complicated as an ileostomy and it is simply a procedure to detour urine away from the problem and the organs which suffered surgical procedures and need time to heal. Sometimes the bladder is removed making the urine pass through the stoma to get outside of the body. The surgery that is done to extract and get rid of the sickened bladder is named CYSTECTOMY.