Ileostomy Pouch

        An ileostomy pouch is part of the ileostomy surgical procedure. Basically, if you have any sort of serious digestive problem, from cases of Chron's disease and ulcerative colitis to colon and rectum cancer, ileostomy could be a life saver. The procedure is a rather complicated and dangerous one, but surgeon nowadays are well trained in this area, since ileostomy is no longer a novelty. Usually, it goes a little bit like this: after you have been diagnosed with any of the diseases that were mentioned above, your physician will offer you a treatment scheme. In most cases, this scheme includes the ileostomy as a last resort. However, if you do get there, you have to keep in mind that, no matter how much you think you will hate the ileostomy pouch, the procedure in itself is a miracle for some.

       After all is said and done and the operation is completed, the patient is left to deal with the pouch on his or her own. Of course, just like any other medical apparatus, it comes with an instruction manual. Before you get to the instruction manual, you should know that you can choose the ileostomy pouch that is placed over the stoma. Sure, the physician will give you some suggestions, but the patient has the power of decision. Most people look only at the price of the pouch (they do not come cheap), but that is not the right angle to consider when thinking about ileostomy pouches. The most important two criteria are whether the pouch has an odorizing system and whether the pouch is waterproof. In recent years, all pouches have been made from and waterproof material that allows the wearer to bathe or take a shower without removing the ileostomy pouch and causing any sort of damage to the stoma or the intestine.

Ileostomy pouch pictures

       The odorizing problem is an entirely different one: not many people can withstand the natural odor of the wastes eliminated by your body and into the pouch. Therefore, the odorizing ileostomy pouch contains a thin layer of material, soaked in perfume between the stoma and the outer layer of the pouch. Now, do not imagine that it is some sort of expensive fragrance. No, most of the time you will not even be able to tell that there is a smell. Which is good, considering the fact that you are trying to avoid odors. It mostly works like a sort of blockage for the smells, neutralizing them before they hit the outside world. Now, the following tips and tricks about how to take care of your ileostomy pouch are gathered from the experience of other ileostomy pouch wearers and could come in contradiction to what your attending physician has told you. You should consider as certified truth only what your doctor has told you and not what others have experienced.