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Maxi bags and plastic gloves - more trials and samples

I've been trying samples of different bags for my ileostomy: I find it much easier to change my bag than to empty it. I even find it faster, I've gotten very good at whipping one bag off, wiping the stoma and skin clean and sticking a new bag on. Sometimes I shower with the bag off and give it a longer clean, but a quick change I can do in about a minute, and my skin isn't bothered by frequent changes, so I've been changing every day.

The only problem is the environmental cost of using a bag a day. But I'm not sure it's all that much worse than emptying, as when I empty a bag, it takes me several sheets of toilet paper and a couple of wet wipes to get the outlet clean. But I've been trying maxi bags to extend the time one bag will last without filling up. I've found that usually I can put a maxi bag on first thing in the morning, and leave it until the evening of the following day without emptying at all; at that point the bag's very full, and I change it.

The ones I'm using seem to withstand that very well and have no problem dealing with being completely full. I have no problem taking a full bag off either, I just stand over the toilet and empty it as I take it off.

I know you can get things to put in the bags to absorb water - would these reduce the volume of output so a bag would fill up more slowly?

Incidentally, another thing I'm trying at the moment is disposable gloves. I have a cut hand and can't wash it too often as the dressing comes loose, and I don't want to scrub with soap with the cut. I also have a lot of problems with fine movements due to another medical condition, plus my right hand (which isn't the cut one) is apparently never going to recover from when my right side was paralysed last year, so basically when I do anything with my stoma it's messy! (I think this is partly why I find changing the bag easier than emptying. Taking everything off and wiping the whole area is less fussy than trying to open and close the outlet and get a wipe inside it.)

So at the moment I'm using disposable gloves instead of scrubbing my hands clean. They actually work very well; I've read a few threads where people mention getting mucky hands when managing their stoma, and I'd definitely recommend gloves to anyone who has that problem. I'm using ones from St. John's ambulance and they're cheap, they don't break and don't get in the way.
 
Personally I wouldn't like a full bag, I'd look like I was three months pregnant, and I wouldn't fancy all that weight, just to much of a chance of leaks for me.

I have disposable gloves for poo picking my hen house, which gets done every day, and I have included them in my emergency stoma car and bag kits.
Those gloves aren't very environmentally friendly either, I often come across escaped ones in my compost heap, and those suckers don't rot down.

I know what you mean though about the environmental impact, which is why I'm now ( trying ) going two days before I pouch change.

I sometimes use the motion solidifier things, I don't think they'd work if you had a full bag, there's only so much liquid they'll absorb, and I don't think they reduce the volume. There's also the impact they have too, which is why I only use them if I'm going out.
 

Nyx

Moderator
Do you use a one or two piece system? I use a two piece, and I reuse my bags (I just wash them out with soap and water and hang them to dry). I can get months of use out of just one bag...I only throw them out when they start looking raggedy...lol Or the filter starts letting the smell out.
 
I'm using a one-piece.

The gloves are just temporary, when my cut's healed I'll go back to washing my hands properly.

I've not had any leaks from allowing the bag to get full. It is a noticeable bulge, but when I'm just at home I don't care. I don't notice it being particularly heavy, I can feel the difference when I pay attention to it, but it's not uncomfortable or to the point that I'd be aware of it when I'm concentrating on other things. If you were exercising or something else involving physical activity it would probably be annoying though, but maybe a belt or something would help with that.
 
I wouldn't advise using the AbsorbaGel capsules to reduce the volume of output. They do turn the liquid into gel, but at the same time increase the volume! I fell foul to this early one morning when I thought my bag was full of air and went to let some out while still in bed....it wasn't air.
 
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