I can say personally, that from doing a fair amount of travelling by air, I have experienced my bag "ballooning". Whether my bag ‘balloons' up due to something that I ate or didn't eat; being stressed about my travel plans; or some other reason, this situation does occur for me - an ileostomate, and for the nurse to say it was an "old wives tale" gave me great concern. I did not take pen in hand as obviously the other reader did, but it made me think that we ostomates must do more to share what works and doesn't work for us, as we're the only ones who actually experience it.
So I'm off to the races to share a few of the things (including the one above) that I have found out in my nine years as an ostomate; from my own experiences, from questions or concerns raised by other ostomates at meetings or by asking my ET nurse.
When showering without your appliance, make sure you don't use a soap or body wash that contains a lot of moisturizers. The moisturizer will interfere with a good seal when you go to put on a new appliance. Use all the moisturized soap or body wash you wish IF you are showering with the appliance on as the seal has already been created.
In some instances tomatoes, oranges, juices, and spices can break down the adhesive on your wafer. If you're having trouble with leakages, try cutting back on these things to see if there is a difference. Gradually re-introduce these things back into your diet until you find what works best for you. I can't consume a lot of oranges or spices but I can enjoy them in moderation.
I have found that wearing too tight clothing can create leakages at times, especially when you want to be at your best. It probably has to do with the fact that your effluent has nowhere to go except sideways and the pressure could break the seal. If this occurs often, you would probably be experiencing skin breakdown as well. We don't have to wear baggy clothing but maybe skin tight is not advisable.
Rinsing out your bag: I know there are two camps out there about rinsing - for and against. The ones that are against rinsing have some compelling arguments, such as; rinsing breaks down the seal; you could injure the stoma if water is too hot or cold; our colons didn't need rinsing out before we had surgery; and so on. Well, as an ileostomate, I have tried the alternate ways suggested to empty my appliance and it doesn't work. I use way more toilet paper, spend far more time attempting to clean things up (as if I want to spend more time in the washroom) and I never feel fresh and clean. So I thank my ET nurse who showed me how to rinse and flush when I was in hospital and I will happily continue to do so.
We are all different. And what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. But we're the ones who have been through it so we're the ones who should be speaking up. Most of you may be aware of the things that I speak of, but if I have passed on something useful to at least one person that helps them, then I say good for me.
