Usually, most of us try our best to keep our bodies safe and sound even after an ostomy.But some people usually try to take shortcuts in certain things which ultimately lead to disappointment and bad results.
So, if you have recently gone through an ostomy procedure, you should avoid the most common mistakes mentioned below.
Forgetting to Wear a Seat Belt
Many people think that wearing an ostomy bag leaves you unable to wear your seatbelt in the car. However, this is not true at all. In fact, a properly placed seatbelt can keep you safe inside the car without doing any damage to your stoma.
While accidents can cause your stoma to get damaged with the seatbelt, not wearing it can have more serious consequences.
So, never forget to wear your seatbelt even after your ostomy procedure. You can read more about vertical vs horizontal ostomy bag and belt to see which one is better while driving.
Using Alcohol to Clean The Stoma
Using alcohol-based products to clean the skin around your stoma can prove to be damaging to your skin in the long run. For example, alcohol is a strong drying agent which can quickly suck all the moisture from your skin. Once you start using alcohol-based products regularly, they will make your skin increasingly dry, and will cause unnecessary discomfort.
So, use normal water to clean the skin around your stoma and avoid using alcohol at all costs.
Waiting For The Pouch to Completely Fill Before Emptying It
Whenever you go out, you must keep spare ostomy bags with you. As soon as your ostomy bag gets partially filled, you should replace it with a new bag.
You should always avoid waiting for the pouch to completely fill before emptying it. That is because a completely filled ostomy bag will put unnecessary strain on your stoma, and it can lead to further complications down the road.
