We believe that the right bag for you should; ensure you have no leaks, your skin remains in good condition, and you feel confident in your normal life again. That said, sometimes, things may not go to plan, and you might experience a leak, this may be down to being in a rush, rather than the pouch, everyone gets it a little wrong sometimes!
You may not be aware of this but, there are 3 main stomp types*, Colostomy, Ileostomy and Urostomy and therefore, 3 basic types of pouches or bags that each stoma type might wear. So, a Colostomate can wear a closed bag or a drainable bag dependent on their stoma output, an Ileostomate must wear a drainable bag and a Urostomate must wear a urostomy bag.
What is probably more important to you as an individual is how wearing a stoma appliance might impact your life, right?
There is generally a lot of choices, and you will have initially been fitted with a suitable appliance by your Stoma Nurse after surgery. However, as you recover and begin to resume a normal life again you may find that this appliance does not meet your needs anymore and you want to look for something else to try.
The size of the pouch/bags is probably quite important to you, too big and it might be too visible to small and it may mean you are frequently having to empty or change it, all of which can have a negative effect on your quality of life.
Sometimes, the choice of appliance can be quite limited, that could be due to your stoma being difficult to manage or perhaps to surgical complications or possibly its siting, you may require a more specialized appliance to help prevent leakage or sore skin. It is important that you seek the advice of your stoma department who can offer you a suitable range of alternatives and arrange samples from different suppliers for you to “try before you buy” (well add to your prescription).
Everyone is different and though you might read or hear that so and so makes the perfect pouch, your needs may be very different, and your skin certainly is, so that is why seeking the advice of a trained healthcare professional is much better than taking the word of an advert or blogger as true for you, your NHS Stoma Nurse has all your medical history to hand and so can make an informed choice for or with you.
So, whether you have a Colostomy, an Ileostomy or Urostomy, there are different options from many different Ostomy suppliers–all products on NHS prescription can be ordered from your chemist or Delivery Service (Dispensing Appliance Contractor)–YOU DO NOT NEED TO CHANGE YOUR SERVICE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO, but, if you are not happy with the service you receive, there are lots of options for getting your products.
Understanding stoma speak
The bag you are given can also be called–a pouch or appliance, it can come as a one-piece, which means you take off the adhesive cover and stick it straight on, or a two-piece, which means you wear a separate flange that sticks to your tummy, and the bag is then attached to it.
Your stoma can also be known as an ostomy or colostomy, ileostomy or urostomy, and your bag can be named in the same way, Ostomy bag, colostomy bag/closed bag, ileostomy bag/drainable bag or urostomy bag.
*There are a number of other types of stomas; Jejunostomy, ileal conduit (aka urostomy)and then there are sub types of the main stomata such as Transverse loop Colostomy, Temporary loop ileostomy, loop colostomy, permanent or end colostomy/ileostomy.