Check out my new bag!
Hiya, I thought today I would do kind of a, step by step guide on how I change my bag - I get a lot of people asking me HOW my bag sticks on to me, what it looks like, how i change it yadda yadda yadda.
I took the opportunity earlier, seeing as my bag needed to be changed anyway; I thought why not, I'll take some pics.
Don't be too scared, you don't see any poop or my stoma at all haha. The reason being I feel a bit weird showing people my actual stoma, There's a select few who have seen it, but it makes me feel a bit squeamish. I can't even look at other peoples (I am on a 'bag group' on Facebook where a few just LOVE to show everyone, it makes me feel so faint, I can't handle it ahah!)
Okay so- This is my 'equipment' i guess-
l-r: nappy sack (lol), wipes, adhesive remover spray, scissors and the bag itself!
This is the back of my bag, it's quite a structured bag as you can see (those of you who don't have a bag probably have no fucking clue what I'm talking about, but the ones I have previously used were completely flat backed and had no structure whatsoever - resulting in leaks. a LOT of pooey leaks..)
All stomas are different shapes and sizes, fortunately I have a lovely round one which is about 25mm big, It makes cutting the bag a lot easier. Another thing about stomas in reference to sizing is how far out they protrude, I know of a few people whos don't stick out that much which can make it quite difficult for a comfortable bag fit. Mine sticks out quite nicely.. if that's even possible. So my bag sits comfortably on my body without it peeling off.
I have also seen a few that have been really long, and stick out a hella lot, the thought of mine doing that terrifies me, imagine catching that on something... ARGH. I feel faint at the thought.. I'm a big ol' wimp okay?
Oh oh also, gotta be careful with the cutting- one time i accidentally cut a hole on the other side of the plastic, so i was leaking poo everywhere, it was only until i noticed a vile smell that i realised.. oops.
(I know I have a few beauty blogs following me, so excuse my nails ladies)
This is my extremely handy adhesive remover spray, I could NOT live without this... I have removed a bag without this before (i stupidly forgot it) and fucking hell, the pain! It was like peeling off your skin, ouch.
Now I apply a damp wipe and clear myself up. I always use warm water, and clean around the stoma; making sure I get it all clean and lovely. It feels so refreshing too!
Oh heyyy bag - This is my bag with the hole cut out and the sticky bit showing. I place the circle around my stoma, making sure it fits nicely - Sometimes the size can change due to dehydration and a blockage.
When you have a blockage the stoma can expand, I always change the bag and make the bigger so it's more comfortable. Nothing worse than an ill fitting bag - much like clothes ha.
Once it's on me then I run my fingers around the base to make sure it will be stuck firmly. I hold my hand over it for about 5 minutes, just to be sure :)
So there we go, a fresh bag!
oh yeah, cya old bag...
I hope that was kind of informative for you guys? Like i said though, every bag is different - a lot of people don't even use the kinds I do, there's types where the base stays on your body and you just change the pouch, people also have internal bags.
I'm sure a few fellow bag buddies have different ways of changing theirs too, but I thought i'd throw my bit in there.
Hope you've all had a lovely weekend
xo
