Common Stoma Problems

A stoma is a surgically created opening that connects a tube like vessel to the outside. It comes from the Greek word meaning mouth or opening. There are many types of stoma, but we will only concentrate on those for the bowel and urinary system.

Try to change your pouch when your stoma is less active. It may take some time to get to know or recognise a pattern but it may help to make changing quicker and easier. Applying a pouch may be easier if the flange is warmed slightly, holding it between your hands for a short while will bring it to body temperature.

There is a huge variety of stoma products available in the UK, a choice so wide it can be confusing in itself. This situation is complicated by the fact that the same type of product may be referred to in different ways. We will guide you through the terminology of stoma appliances, so that you will know a one-piece from a two-piece, what a flange is and why you might hear it called a skin barrier.

Giving dietary advice is always difficult. What you can and cannot eat is very individual and foods that disagree with one person seem to have no effect on others.