You may notice that there is a bit of reddish skin around your stoma after an ostomy, such as an ileostomy, and it may itch. If you’ve never had this beforehand, you may wonder what to do.
The answer is interesting, since you may not know what the reasoning being for this. Here, we’ll dive into what you can do to possibly help with skin irritations as an ostomate.
The Reason Why
Usually, if you experience redness around where your stoma is, there are a few reasons for this. Usually, it involves one of the following:
- stool irritating this area
- A sensitivity and allergy to the products used
- Yeast
Usually, if there is something that you’re using, it can actually cause itchiness over time.
The most common reasons for ostomates to have this, especially if it’s red skin along with itching and burning, is because you have stool that’s directly contacting the skin. Stool in ileostomies usually tend to be more corrosive than other surgeries, and it can actually damage your skin really quickly. A sign of damaged skin usually involves burning and itchiness, especially when your stoma is working fine. You also may notice bleeding if the irritation has been going on for an extended period of time.
Exposure to Stool
If your skin is irritated due to stool exposure, there’s a few reasons for this one to happen. usually, this is because the flange opening is too big, and you may have cut it too larger. If it’s too large, the peristomal skin does get exposed to the stool, and it isn’t protected by your barrier and paste. You should make sure that the opening is correct, and you properly measure this. You should make sure that you do this over the opening, checking the mirror to make sure that the gap is about 3-4 mm at most. You should ask the nurse to help you if needed.
Wrong Appliance
You may have the wrong appliance on your stoma, and those different characteristics do prevent you from getting the proper seal, which will cause this to leak. You may want to get a convex flange as needed if you’re looking to use this and getting a barrier ring as well if you struggle with exposure and leakage to help you protect your skin from irritation.
Product allergies
The irritation also may be due to irritation because of the reaction to a product. If you have a product that’s causing this, you will probably see a reaction in the area, and it might be due to certain chemicals or something in the product.
If you are using paste, it might be due to the paste, and the chemicals within it.
Yeast Infection
And finally, it might be due to a yeast infection. Usually, they’re bright red, and the color may change over a bit, have edges and borders that are irregular, and you may notice pink dots where the yeast is growing. This is because it grows in dark, moist, and warm places, which is pretty much the underside of an ostomy appliance.
It may happen after someone starts antibiotics, or if they start to soak in baths, hot tubs, and sweat a lot, such as due to hot weather or exercise. This is treated with a powder that’s silver-based, applied underneath the skin area, and the barrier will then be treated effectively as well. You should make sure that the powder is sealed. This is very common but knowing why it happens will help you take care of it better and treat the problem before it gets worse.
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