Sizing Your Stoma For The Best Fit

Having an ostomy means you have to become familiar with your stoma. This familiarity is an essential step towards developing a robust ostomy care regimen. That way, you can make sure that you live a high-quality life. The first thing to do in this regard is to measure your stoma and use those measurements to create a leak-proof seal between your ostomy bag and the peristomal skin.

Since every ostomy is different, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for ostomy care. Measuring your stoma allows you to create the correct-sized opening in the skin barrier of an ostomy pouch. In this article, we will discuss how to size your stoma properly.

Understanding your stoma

A stoma is a surgically created opening in your abdomen to divert the flow of wastes away from the diseased part of the urinary or digestive tract. You may need a stoma for various reasons. Depending on your condition and its severity, your stoma can be permanent or temporary. After ostomy surgery, your health depends very much on a robust ostomy care regimen. That includes measuring your stoma regularly to make sure that your pouching system fits over it nicely.

During the first few weeks after surgery, you will have some swelling in the stoma. Due to this swelling, the stoma will appear larger. At this time, it is necessary to measure your stoma to create an appropriate-sized opening in the skin barrier. The size of your stoma will reduce as the swelling subsides. It will settle to a permanent or static shape six to eight weeks after surgery.

Some factors that contribute to the change in the size and shape of your stoma include weight gain, weight loss, pregnancy, prolapse, hernia, aging, or changes to your overall physical appearance. You can reach out to your doctor if you are concerned about these changes.

How to size your stoma properly

You may need to use a few supplies to size your stoma properly. You will learn how to use supplies necessary for ostomy care before leaving the hospital. Here are a few crucial steps involved in measuring your stoma.

• First off, gather your supplies that you will need. If you are using cut-to-fit ostomy barriers, you will have to gather all supplies necessary to create the correct-sized opening in the ostomy barrier. That mainly includes a measuring guide and a pair of scissors.
• Next, you will have to prepare your stoma. If you are wearing an ostomy bag, take it off and empty it. Wash your hands and clean the skin around the stoma. Get rid of hair around the stoma. Do not use any products containing oils or alcohol.
• A stoma measuring guide allows you to trace the exact size of your stoma. To use this guide, pass your stoma through an appropriately sized hole in the measuring guide. You will find the correct size of your stoma easily this way.
• After using the measuring guide, use derived measurements to create a hole in the skin barrier. For this purpose, you will have to use a pair of scissors. You can also use a flange cutter if you have dexterity issues.

If you notice any changes to your stoma, be sure to speak to your doctor as soon as you can. This consultation becomes more necessary when you have a static stoma, and you are not expecting any change in its size.