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The pitfalls of having an ostomy are mostly related to an ostomate’s tendency to look for shortcuts and finding sense in what they intend to do. Sometimes, it is due to the shortage of supplies. Sometimes they make mistakes by just being lazy with the process.

These pitfalls can have a lasting impact on an ostomate’s life by making the ostomy care more challenging. In this article, we will talk about those pitfalls.

Not wearing a seat belt in the car

The prospects of getting the car seat belt in the way of your stoma or ostomy bag might make you think of deciding not to wear an ostomy belt, but it can turn out to be a life-threatening decision. You can make a little adjustment with the seat belt to keep it away from your ostomy appliance. Even if your stoma comes under the seat belt, it will be far easier to repair than those injuries that you might get during an accident while you are wearing a seat belt.

Using alcohol to clean the peristomal skin

Alcohol has a remarkable ability to clean your skin, but it is a powerful drying agent. It can dry up the moisture in your skin very quickly, making it vulnerable to complications. You are going to have to be especially careful about your peristomal skin because any complications in this skin area will not only make ostomy care hard, but it will also impact your quality of life.

Ignoring peristomal skin issues

Just because peristomal skin issues occur more frequently doesn’t mean that these are normal. A peristomal skin issue can significantly reduce the wear-time of an ostomy pouch, giving way to the stomal output to seep through underneath the skin barrier. It will not only shorten the pouch’s wear-time further, but it will also worsen those skin complications. Ignoring peristomal skin issues pushes both the peristomal skin health and the pouch’s wear-time into a downward spiral.

Allowing the ostomy bag to become full

Allowing the ostomy bag to become full of waste content creates an unnecessary strain on the skin barrier, leading to a heightened risk of the ostomy appliance coming off. You will need to empty your ostomy pouch when it is one-third to half full.

Reusing ostomy pouches for months

Most people are cost-conscientious while using ostomy pouches. It is OK to be like that, but washing and reusing a pouch for months is a toxic approach. The plastic in the pouch can get saturated with waste content, affecting the ostomy care badly. You must change the pouch when you change the faceplate.

Trying every new ostomy appliance

It is OK to want to go for a better ostomy appliance, but trying every new pouch isn’t necessarily a good thing. Trying too many ostomy appliances in a short time will only cloud your judgment, making it hard to go for the right ostomy appliance. You can even use an ostomy appliance in different ways to figure out its true potential for you. The best approach is to contact your ostomy care nurse to help you find the right ostomy appliance.