skin protection before incontinence

[Amy2005]

How can the skin of the buttocks and thighs be protected, when a

heavy patient wearing Attends is frequently incontinent (feces) - before

the skin gets all red/irritated/etc (seriously)?

The patient isn't able to be very cooperative right now.

The skin is in terrible condition now, it must be painful.

For some protection - zinc cream has been started.

But it is very excoriated.

There must be ways to: (1) prevent this from happening when it is known

that the patient will be incontinent (2) prevent this from worsening?

Any ideas?

[shrimpchips, LPN]

I'm just a student, but we use these barrier cream wipes and then for additional protection we either put a barrier spray or some aloe cream around the area.

[lpnflorida]

zinc oxide with stoma powder has been used successfully on already excoriated skin in our facility

[NeosynephRN]

We start the creams before the butt gets bad...regular turning and shifting of weight...prompt cleaning when soiled...

[Maliffy]

Calmoseptine is one of the best products I have ever seen used. I'm not sure exactly what they put in that tube...but I'm pretty sure that "fairy dust" is one of the primary ingredients. I swear that stuff is magic.

[Midwest4me]

calmoseptine is one of the best products i have ever seen used. i'm not sure exactly what they put in that tube...but i'm pretty sure that "fairy dust" is one of the primary ingredients. i swear that stuff is magic.

we use calmoseptine in our hospital too. it seems to work very well.

[catshowlady]

I second the barrier cream with stoma powder. It comes as a pre-made product from Aloe-Vesta (#3 barrier cream - the blue tube). The stoma powder allows it to adhere to open/weeping skin. When you wipe the pt's skin, you do *not* wipe off all of the barrier cream - just the top layer to remove the soil.

Aloe-Vesta also makes a protective cream without the zinc & stoma powder - its the #3 barrier cream, the green tube. It works well to protect the skin once it's healed over.

Calmo-septine works nicely as a barrier cream for intact skin, if you don't have access to the Aloe-Vesta products.

[WalkieTalkie, RN]

We also use calmoseptine, and it does seem to work very well.

[cmawrule]

OK, I'm curious about the stoma powder. Is that an ingredient IN the cream, or are you putting it on the raw areas first?

We all have incontinent patients so always interested to learn something that works! thanks.

[lpnflorida]

We put the stoma powder on first on the excoriated areas then follow up with zinc oxide . We use two seperate products as it is cheaper than using the combination product.

[whipping girl in 07, RN]

I'm a huge fan of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. I think the tincture of Benzoin in it has a really good effect on the skin. I used it on all my kids when they were in diapers, and we had it in the hospital I worked at in Louisiana.