How to Care for a Colostomy

A colostomy is a surgical opening from the colon through the abdominal wall to the outside of the body. The purpose is for waste products (stool) to leave the body. A colostomy is performed for a variety of reasons including cancer, infections and certain diseases. Occasionally, the colostomy is only temporary until the colon heals and then it is reversed, but most of the time a colostomy is permanent.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Empty the colostomy drainage bag several times each day. It's best to empty the bag before it gets too full to prevent leaks and spills.

2. Remove the old colostomy bag by detaching it carefully from the skin every four to six days and discard it.

3. Thoroughly clean the skin around the stoma and dry thoroughly. The skin around the stoma where the bag is attached is very tender and must be kept clean and dry.

4. Apply antibiotic powder as directed to the skin around the stoma to help prevent irritation and yeast infection.

5. Replace the skin barrier disk or paste to the tender skin around the stoma.

6. Attach a new colostomy bag carefully over the stoma.

7. Order ostomy supplies to be delivered as needed.

Tips & Warnings

• The stoma is the surgical opening in the abdominal wall where the waste is passed outside the body into the colostomy bag.
• In about three to six days after surgery, the colostomy will start functioning. The nurse or enterostomal therapist (E.T.) will teach the patient and a close family member how to care for the colostomy.
• Order ostomy supplies as needed and directed by your physician.

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[delliott]

on 12/28/2008 Three months ago I had to have a colostomy due to a fistula. The bladder infection prior to surgery was not going away regardless of any and all antibotics. I don't remember hardly anything for the first month. After 17 days I was taken to a nursing home where I stayed for another 6 weeks...followed by 4 more weeks of Home Health Nurses and Therapists.. My blood pressure was difficult to maintain.. it was so low.. Well, anyway, at home I finally had to take care of the colostomy all by myself. I learned an awful lot just by trial and error... I did learn one good lesson though, and that was not to try to change the wafer and put on a new bag while the stoma is in a state of having diahhrea... no one had told me I could just release the clip at the bottom of the bag and simply let it drain out into the commode..then to clean the edge of the bag and put the clip back on... What an enlightm