My stoma care routine | by Louise

The next biggest hurdle we face after stoma surgery is how to change our appliance and time it when our stomas are less active. I have my stoma care routine down to a two minute change. It’s a really small part of my daily/weekly routine.

My change routine

• Two dry wipes soaked with hot clean water that I wring out
• Two dry wipes, one for making sure my stoma site is completely dry and the other to apply my barrier cream
• Nappy sack for my soiled bag and dirty wipes
• I always cut my baseplate just before I change
• Adhesive remover and barrier cream on the sink 
• Bag and barrier ring always on the window ledge

My routine for changing

• Adhesive remover sprayed and soiled bag removed and placed into the nappy sack in the sink
• Two wet wipes to remove any adhesive remover and clean my stoma and site
• Dry wipe to dry my peristomal skin
• I check the site is dry and apply barrier cream on the skin around my stoma
• Apply my barrier ring which I mould to my stoma size
• Apply stoma bag, clear away the rubbish and wash my hands

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