January/February 2003
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What's Normal For Your Stoma?
What is normal for my stoma? This is a frequently asked question. Here are some answers from your stoma to you. My color should be a healthy red. I am the same color as the inside of your intestine. If my color darkens, the blood supply might be pinched off. First make sure your pouch is not too tight. It should fit 1/ 16 to 1/8 inch from the base of the stoma. If I should turn black (very unlikely - but it happens occasionally) seek treatment AT ONCE. Go to an Emergency Room if you cannot readily locate your doctor. Be sure YOU remove the pouch for them to examine the stoma. TAKE AN EXTRA POUCH ALONG. I might bleed a little when cleaned. This is to be expected. Do not be alarmed. Just be gentle, please when you handle me. If I am an ileostomy, I will run intermittently and stool will be semi-solid If you should notice that I am not functioning after several hours and if you develop pain, I might be clogged. Try sipping warm tea and try getting in a knee chest position on the floor. (Have your shoulders on the floor and your hips in the air. Rock back and forth in an attempt to dislodge any food that might be caught. If I do not begin to function after about an hour of this, call your physician.) If you cannot locate him, go to an emergency room. In the meantime, I might have begun to swell. Remove tight pouch and replace it with a flexible one cut slightly larger. If I am a colostomy located in the descending or sigmoid colon, I should function according to what your bowel habits were before surgery. (Daily, twice daily, three times weekly, etc.) I can be controlled in most cases with diet and/or irrigation. This is a personal choice. There is no right or wrong to it, as long as I am working well, my stool will be fairly solid. If I am a urinary diversion, I should work almost constantly. My urine should be yellow, adequate in amount and will contain some mucous. If my mucous is very much more excessive than usual, I might have an infection. I will probably also have an odor and possibly a fever. Consult your physician if that is the case. If at any time, you doubt that your stoma is functioning normally, please seek help. The cause needs to be evaluated. If your problem is a serious one, it needs correction. If it is not, you will be relieved to know your stoma is alive and well.
Via Coos Bay and Evansville Re-Route, July 98, via Inside Out On-line January/February 2003
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