The immediate steps to take if you have a stoma leak

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leaks

Hear from Sarah our Clinical Advisor

From A Bigger Life

One of the most common concerns of living with a stoma is that your pouch is going to leak. There are a few things you can do to prevent this:

1. Ensure you are wearing the right pouch
This includes your pouch being cut out to the right shape and size and it’s stuck down well to your skin. If you are experiencing leaks, we would encourage you to go back to your stoma care nurse to ensure you are on the right pouch. There are lots of different pouches out there and suppliers that are improving and enhancing stoma pouches all the time if you do need to look at changing your appliance.

2. Have an emergency kit
In the event you do experience a leak it’s important you have your emergency kit with you. We don’t encourage you to stick your pouch down because that is going to lead to further skin damage. It’s a good idea to always have an emergency kit with you, in your handbag or in your car with an extra pouch, adhesive remover spray, wipes and disposal bags.

3. Flange extenders
If you are going somewhere and you’ve had a leak in the past and you feel like you want that little bit of extra security, you can get flange extenders. These go on the outside of your pouch to help secure your pouch down.

4. A pouch with belt loops
If you are wearing a pouch with belt loops on the side, a belt that hooks around the back helps to secure your pouch down and will also add confidence, helping to prevent the leak to occur.

 

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