WHAT’S NORMAL? ANSWERS FROM YOUR STOMA TO YOU

by Liz O’Connor, RN, ET Metro Maryland and Holy Cross Hospital

MY COLOR SHOULD BE A HEALTHY RED, I am the same color as the inside of your intestine. (Ed’s Note: ‘cause that’s what I am made from). If my color darkens, the blood supply might be pinched off. First make sure your pouch is not too tight. (It should fit 1/16 to 1/8 inch from base of stoma). If this is not a solution, call your ET Nurse or Physician.

If I should turn black (very unlikely, but it happens occasionally) seek treatment AT ONCE! Go to an emergency room if you cannot readily locate your doctor. (Be sure you remove your pouch for them to examine the stoma.) Take an extra pouch along...I might bleed a little when cleaned. This is to be expected. DO NOT BE ALARMED. Just be gentle please, when you handle me.

IF I AM A COLOSTOMY LOCATED IN THE DESCENDING OR SIGMOID COLON. ( lower left side of abdomen), I should function according to what your bowel habits were before surgery. (Daily, twice daily, three times weekly, etc.) I can be controlled, in some cases, with diet and/or irrigation. This is a personal choice. There is no right or wrong to it as long as I am working well. My stool will be fairly solid, according to what I have been fed.

IF I AM A COLOSTOMY IN THE TRANSVERSE COLON, (upper left to center of abdomen), I will have a more loose stool than a descending or sigmoid colostomy. There is more water in this part of the bowel. That accounts for consistency being different.

IF I AM A URINARY DIVERSION, I SHOULD WORK ALMOST CONSTANTLY, My urine should be yellow, adequate in amount and will contain some mucous. If my urine becomes too concentrate

IF I AM AN ILEOSTOMY, I WILL RUN INTERMITTENTLY AND STOOL WILL BE SEMI-SOLID. If you should notice that I am not functioning after several hours and if you develop pain, I might be slightly clogged. Try sipping warm tea and try getting in the knee-chest position on the bed or on the floor. (Have your shoulders on the floor and your hips in the air. rock back and forth in an attempt to dislodge and food that might be caught. If I do not begin to function after about an hour of this, call your physician) If you cannot locate him readily, go to an emergency room. In the meantime, I might have begun to swell. Remove tight pouch and replace with a flexible one, cut slightly larger.

If at anytime you doubt that your stoma is not functioning normally, please seek help. The cause needs to be evaluated. If your problem is a serious one, it needs evaluation and correction, if it is not, you will be relieved to know your stoma is alive and well.

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