Redness around colostomy site

[Blackcat99]

I have a resident who is c/o burning and itching around his colostomy site. I have faxed the doctor for advice and am waiting for a reply. There is redness around the colostomy site. The doctors sometimes ignore the faxes asking for advice. If this happens, can someone recommend products that may help him get rid of the redness,burning and itching around the site? I could then ask the doctor if we could try a certain product? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[annaedRN, RN]

Try microguard powder and non-sting barrier on irritated peristomal area then cover the whole area with extra thin Duoderm. Usually you can still get a good "seal" on the ostomy appliance over the duoderm and the skin underneath has a chance to heal. Good luck

[jmgrn65, RN]

Is it oozing or leaking anything. What is causing the redness?

[Blackcat99]

Is it oozing or leaking anything. What is causing the redness?

He does not complain of any oozing or leaking. He changes his bags a lot he says and he thinks that might be what is causing the problem. He would only allow me to look at it for a few seconds.

[nightmare, RN]

Could be a sensitivity to the 'glue' on the actual stoma bag.

[mandykal, ADN, RN]

why would he only let you see it for a few seconds??? maybe he's changing it constantly it may be irritating the skin. Is the colostomy a single appliance or is the wafer separated from the colostomy pouch.

I sometimes do find that stool sitting around the stoma site does create some redness pending on the consistency of the stool, morelikely, the loose stool. Sometimes I put alittle barrier cream around the stoma after I change the appliance.

A treatment that worked for me was cleaning the skin gentley, pat dry, skin prep (no-sting), Dimethicone to reddened then the wafer reinforced with tape. Sounds odd but it worked. Checking the pouch frequently or having staff do so.....to prevent the pouch from bloating out then having to change the whole thing appliance irritating the skin with frequent changing.

[WV_heart_RN]

Ask him why he is changing the appliance so often. Frequent changes can irritate the skin making it red. This can lead to the skin being a little 'weepy' and causing the appliance not to adhere to the skin as well. It can become a vicious cycle. So, we need to know a few things.

1. what type of stool does he have?

2. What kind of appliance does he use, 1 or 2 piece?

3. Where is he living? home, resident home?

4. What issues has he had with appliances in the past?

This is where to start fixing his problem.

[Blackcat99]

Thanks all. I don't know why he wouldn't really let me look at it. He is mentally retarded and lives in an assisted living facility. I don't know about his stools. He has a 2-piece colostomy. The doctor ordered that he be seen by an ostomy nurse. She came and saw it and was shocked. She said she had never ever seen one like his. She said it is protruded out about 2-4 inches. She said she is going to talk it over with the other ostomy nurses and see what they think.

[WV_heart_RN]

Please keep us informed. It sounds like he has a prolapsed stoma. That does happen sometimes. When there is a prolapse it is important to protect the stoma. He needs to be put into a one piece appliance. That will give a little extra protection.

There are other things to looke at but we will see what your stoma nurse says.