Home care

Gather the following supplies:

• Plastic bags

• Clean towel

• Toilet paper

• Extra skin protection

• Soft washcloth

• Scissors (if needed)

• New pouch

Remove the used pouch:

• Sit on or next to the toilet.

• Empty the used pouch into the toilet if necessary.

• Starting at the upper edge of the skin barrier, carefully push the skin away from the barrier with one hand. Slowly peel back the skin barrier with the other hand.

• Peel all the way around the skin barrier until the pouch comes off.

• Seal the pouch in a plastic bag. Then put it in a second plastic bag. Throw it away in a trash bin.

Clean around the stoma:

• Wipe any stool off the skin around the stoma with toilet paper.

• Clean the skin with warm water and a soft washcloth. Wash right up to the edge of the stoma. Pat the skin dry with a clean towel.

• If needed, put on extra skin protection, such as moisture barrier cream or powder.

Put on the new pouch:

• Peel the backing off the skin barrier.

• Place the precut skin barrier over the stoma. If you don’t use a pouch with a precut skin barrier, size and cut the opening (1/16 inch bigger than the stoma) and peel the backing off the skin barrier. Carefully place it over the stoma.

• The pouch opening should point toward your feet.

• If using a pouch with a clamp at the base, it may be easier to apply the clamp to the pouch first.

• Snap the pouch onto the barrier flange (if you use a 2-piece pouch).

• Press the barrier against your skin. Hold it in place for 45 seconds.

• Clamp the tail of the pouch (if drainable or reusable).

• Wash your hands with clean, running water for at least 20 seconds when you are done. (Hum Happy Birthday twice if you need a timer.) Or use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Handwashing is important if your hands are possibly soiled with stool.

When to call your healthcare provider

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have:

• Pus, foul-smelling drainage

• A stoma that separates from the skin or looks like it’s getting longer

• A stoma that is recessing (pulling back) into the belly

• Bulging skin around your stoma

• Blood in your stool. If there is a large amount, call 911immediately

• Change in the color of your stoma

• Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or as directed by your healthcare provider

• Chills

• Nausea or vomiting

• Increased pain in the belly or around the stoma

• No gas or stool made after 24 hours