Gastrointestinal Health

 People who suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) have a chronic illness often managed with a combination of medications, lifestyle changes, and surgeries. Unfortunately, there is no “one cure” for Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, but specific treatments can help patients maintain their quality of life.

Prescriptions

 There are many classes of drugs that can treat IBD, but consistency is vital. Doctors want to keep IBD sufferers in remission, which means not suffering from diarrhea and abdominal pain every day. Immune-modulating drugs work to control patients’ immune systems, suppressing flare-ups and keeping them under control.

Aminosalicylates (5-ASA)

Approved for Crohn’s:

• Flagyl (metronidazole)

• Cipro (ciprofloxacin)

Approved for Ulcerative Colitis:

• Asacol

• Azulfidine (sulfasalazine)

• Apriso

• Delzicol (mesalamine)

• Pentasa

• Lialda

• Colazal (balsalazide)

• Canasa (mesalamine suppositories)

• Rowasa (mesalamine enemas)

• Dipentum (olsalazine)

Antibiotics

Approved for Crohn’s:

• Flagyl (metronidazole)

• Cimzia (certolizumab pegol)

Biologics

Approved for Crohn’s:

• Humira (adalimumab)

• Entyvio (vedolizumab)

• Remicade (infliximab)

• Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb) 

• Cimzia (certolizumab pegol)

• Tysabri (natalizumab)

• Stelara (ustekinumab) 

Approved for Ulcerative Colitis:

• Remicade (infliximab) 

• Entyvio (vedolizumab)

• Humira (adalimumab) 

• Simponi (golimumab) 

• Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb) 

• Tysabri (natalizumab) 

• Stelara (ustekinumab) 

Over-the-Counter (OTC) Therapies

Thankfully, there are over-the-counter therapies that IBD patients can turn to when they need relief from symptoms without worrying about side effects. They include:

• Acetaminophen

• Fiber supplements

• Iron

• Anti-diarrheal medications

• Vitamin D

• Calcium

IBD patients have a lot of options when it comes to treatment. The two most common treatments for IBD include pharmaceuticals and surgery. Unfortunately, pharmaceuticals often include steroids, which may make your symptoms worse in the long run. Surgery, too, has its risks and complications.

Lifestyle

Good nutrition is imperative for managing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, but it can be difficult to stick to a healthy diet when you’re in pain.

Low-Residue Diet

Doctors may recommend a low-residue diet for those who have experienced bowel obstruction, chronic indigestion, or frequent bloating. In addition, if you have a narrowed bowel, you will need to change how you eat: avoid foods like popcorn and other high-fiber foods and focus on carbohydrate and fat-rich meals that will help keep sticky food moving through your digestive tract.

Enteral or Parenteral Nutrition

Enteral or parenteral nutrition is the only choice for patients who cannot eat by mouth. Some patients may need to take specialized formulas through a feeding tube, while others may need to be administered the formula through an IV. Doctors suggest parenteral nutrition for patients who are unable to eat enough calories to maintain their weight. The formula bypasses the gastrointestinal tract to go directly into the bloodstream.

Intravenous nutrition is an important part of Crohn’s disease treatment. It allows for the delivery of all the calories, electrolytes, minerals, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and other nutrients that a person with Crohn’s disease needs to be healthy. This is possible via an intravenous catheter.

Surgeries

Patients can require surgeries to treat IBD — and different types of surgery are used to treat patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. In the case of Crohn’s, surgeons will often remove the diseased portions of the colon or rectum, while UC requires removal of intestines that the disease has damaged.

Procedures for Crohn’s Disease:

• Proctocolectomy (ileoanal anastomosis, straight pull-through)

• Resection

• Ostomy surgery

• Strictureplasty

Procedures for Ulcerative Colitis:

• Proctocolectomy with the creation of an ileostomy

• Proctocolectomy with the creation of pelvic pouch (ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, IPAA)

While these IBD surgeries are drastic measures, they dramatically improve a patient’s quality of life. While a partial or full ileostomy or colostomy is extreme, the newest therapies aim to minimize each surgery’s side effects and risks.

 Thank you for reading this guide on inflammatory bowel disease treatment. We hope it helps you decide on the right course for your health and gives you peace of mind about what you need to do next.

Is there anything better than going on vacation? Honestly, there is something magical about getting away to a far away place around the world and exploring something new for the first time. Not to mention, it is nice to have a break in the normal routines of everyday life. I for one have not been able to travel very much since I don’t have a lot of money, but I hope that I am able to travel more when I get older (if I live to be that long anyways). I am slightly worried that my life will be cut short due to some climate change related disaster, but we will see about what the next 30 years holds I suppose.

Anyways, I am sure that many of you out there love to travel as well. In fact, I am not sure if you knew this, but traveling is even possible for people with ostomies. If you do not know what an ostomy is, it is basically where a person’s internal organs are rerouted to the outside of their body and their feces and urine is redirected into a bag attached to the side of their abdomen called an ostomy pouch. There are many people all over the world who have this procedure done and it has become quite popular nowadays. It is even becoming the new hip thing with teens! Anyways, I wanted to talk a little bit about what it is like to travel with an ostomy and provide you with some traveling tips and tricks. 

The first thing that you need to know about traveling with an ostomy is that you always need to have your supplies on hand. Whether you are flying, driving, hiking, sightseeing, or chilling in a hotel room somewhere, you need to make sure that you always have enough ostomy supplies on hand. When you start packing for your trip, make sure that you order everything you need for your trip in advance. Having enough ostomy supplies on hand is crucial to not running into any stoa-related problems during your trip.

A visit to the hospital is sure to put a damper on your vacation, especially when it comes to ostomy related hospital visits. It is totally okay for people with ostomies to fly somewhere, but I would strongly advise you to bring more than enough ostomy supplies with you in your carry-on so that you have it ready to go when you need it. It definitely makes a lot of sense to pack more ostomy supplies than what you think you will need. After all, the old saying “it is better to be safe than to be sorry” definitely applies to this particular situation. 

Another thing to keep in mind when traveling with an ostomy is that you should not neglect taking care of your stoma just because you are too busy having fun on your vacation. I know that it can get easy to get carried away with the fun times that just keep on rolling your way when you’re on vacation, but it is really important to continue to clean your stoma and to change your ostomy pouch when necessary. I hope that these traveling tips have been helpful to all of you out there with ostomies, and I hope that you have a great trip to wherever life takes you next.

If you have had a stoma for any serious amount of time, then you know how important it is to keep it clean. A lot of people underestimate the power of giving your stoma a nice clean up job during each ostomy pouch change. While it is true that a lot of people can run into various problems while living with an ostomy, many complications can be avoided in that regard by simply keeping the stoma clean.

There are certain times that cleaning your stoma is very effective at preventing any sort of infection or irritation that can lead to further, more complicated problems down the road. The last thing you’d want is to end up in the hospital because your stoma is acting up. My hope for you is that you can read this article and find some helpful information regarding your stoma and how you take care of it on a daily basis. 

If you are looking for a perfect time to clean your stoma, then I may have some suggestions that I can throw your way. Firstly, it’s important to know that you should be cleaning your stoma pretty regularly. A pretty standard rule for cleaning your stoma, and one that is relatively easy to follow, is that you should clean your stoma after each change of an ostomy pouch. This can ensure that you are giving your stoma the proper amount of attention and care it needs, and will make the whole changing process go a lot more smoothly because it is easier to deal with a clean stoma and ostomy pouch system than dirty ones.

In addition to this, cleaning is fairly easy and convenient to do while you’re changing ostomy pouches, because you are likely already in a spot that is convenient for cleaning (since you are changing the ostomy pouch). Does that make any sense? I hope it does. Anyways, it is really important that you are not overcleaning your stoma as well, because this can no doubt cause some irritation on its own. If you are experiencing some irritation from your stoma after cleaning it, it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor or something like that.

A little blood here and there during cleaning is normal, so keep that in mind as well! Just because there is a little blood coming out of your stoma does not mean that you have to rush off to the hospital – you will be okay! As far as what you should use to clean your stoma, keep in mind that you want to avoid a lot of cleaning products or wipes. Certain products like these can actually do more harm than good to your stoma, and leave you in some serious discomfort. That’s why it is just recommended to use some warm, clean water to rinse out and clean your stoma.

Then you can simply dry it with a soft cloth or paper towel or something. What I hope you take away from this article is that cleaning your stoma does not have to be super complicated, but it does need to happen quite regularly. Hopefully this article gave you some good advice on cleaning your stoma, and that you can venture out into the world of ostomy knowing that you are full of stoma knowledge. 

So my life has been filled with misfortune from pretty much the day I was born. And to make matters worse, I was forced to get a life-changing surgery that was necessary in order to save my life about 6 months ago. Honestly, I was just about ready to let myself die and let my family collect the insurance money and buy a nice Mercedes, but apparently that was not an option for anyone else.

The thing about my surgery is that it wasn’t just the type of thing that you can recover from and then get back to normal life. I had to have an ostomy put in, which basically means that for the rest of my life all my stool and urine will be funnelled out my stomach through a stoma and collected in an ostomy pouch that it is connected to. Pretty gross huh? Well, I am here to tell you that it definitely is gross, and I am truly sorry for anyone that has ever had an ostomy before me, because it is just not a fun time.

To make things worse, I now am tasked with the eternal responsibility of buying myself ostomy supplies so that I don’t end up getting my stoma output all over the place and that sort of thing.

The annoying part about ostomy supplies is that the doctors are not all that helpful when it comes to getting you the supplies that you need. Of course, after my surgery, I was sent home with a decent amount of supplies like various ostomy pouches and accessories, but this was only supposed to last me for the first few weeks of the recovery process. Then, it was supposed to be up to me to find the right ostomy products that I would need to continue purchasing for the rest of my life. What an annoyance.

The other thing about ostomy supplies is that it doesn’t always work the same for everyone. What I mean by this is that not all ostomy pouches fit well or will fit your specific needs and preferences. It actually can take quite some time to find the ostomy products that you like before you can finally feel confident enough to order the same products again and again. And oh, did I mention that they barely have any type of ostomy products in most stores?

That’s right, the market of ostomy products exists almost exclusively online. You would think that there would at least be some random ostomy supplies in most superstores or pharmacies, but nope. I actually had to travel to at least 10 different stores before I realized that I just was not going to find the selection that I needed for my ostomy products. That is why I turned to the internet for the rest of my ostomy needs, because the doctors informed me that the internet may be my best bet for finding the supplies that I needed.

So if you have been in the market for ostomy supplies and accessories but have been having really bad luck at in-person stores trying to find the products that you need, my suggestion is to just start looking things up online. You would be surprised to know that you can pretty much find anything online these days, and usually it is very reasonably priced!

Keeping the peristomal skin clean is an important matter and should be handled with care. It is important to keep a watchful eye on the skin after having an ostomy. It is fairly uncommon to have any issues, but it’s important to know what to look for in the chance that issues arise. Keeping the skin clean and healthy is important. If there are any problems you should call your doctor immediately. Some common complications include inflammation, irritation, and discharges.

The peristomal skin is fragile and requires devout attention to be maintained in a healthy manner. The skin should look pinkish or reddish if it’s healthy and clean. Using a mirror can be helpful in checking the skin for any problems or concerns. If the skin becomes very red or irritated then call your doctor right away. If the skin becomes irritated by an irritant touching the skin, there may be bleeding or pain. This is called Irritant Contact Dermatitis. Another potential problem that may arise is Mechanical Irritation. This happens when the skin barrier is removed incorrectly or when cleaning too strongly.

Contact Dermatitis, also known as Allergic Dermatitis, occurs because of an allergic reaction to a certain product. Another potential problem is Folliculitis, which is when small red bumps appear because of an infection. The infection is due to hair follicles, so it is important to not shave your peristomal skin to avoid this from happening. A fungal infection may also arise and will result in a red rash, burning, and itching. It is very important to keep an eye on your peristomal skin and clean it with care to avoid the aforementioned problems from occurring. 

When cleaning the peristomal skin, avoiding certain products that may cause harm, irritation, or complications is important. Products with large amounts of oils, moisturizers, and any type of residue should be avoided when cleaning the peristomal skin. There are also some soaps that weaken the skin and cause problems as well. Some people only clean the skin with water because of the complications that may arise from using soap and other cleaning products. If you desire to use soap to clean the peristomal skin, it’s important to find a soap approved for ostomies. Do not use any products that have not been specifically approved for ostomies.

Cleaning the peristomal skin is a fairly simple and easy process. By just using water and a washcloth it can be done effectively. One thing to keep in mind is that the stoma area does not have any nerve endings, so washing with too much force can lead to problems. It is important to be gentle and careful. It is normal for there to be small amounts of blood during cleaning. Excessive bleeding is a cause for concern and your doctor should be notified immediately. Using the right skin barrier that suits your personal needs is important as well. There are also certain skin care accessories that may be suitable for your needs. You should consult your doctor when deciding which skin care accessories to use.

Keeping the peristomal skin clean and healthy is incredibly important. If any questions or concerns arise contact your doctor or nurse for further guidance on the issue. Proper and medical grade supplies will help ensure clean and healthy peristomal skin.

What is a Stoma?

A stoma is an open hollow organ in the body that is designed to receive a specific purpose. Stomas that resemble the gut, nose, mouth, and rectum, for example, are common designs. Any hollow internal organ may be shaped into an artificial stone if needed. This comprises the stomach, esophagus, duodenum, colon, pleura, urinary bladder, urethra, peritoneum, erythrocyte, pericardium, spleen, hepatic artery, vena cava, cervical ganglion, trachea, bronchial bronchiolar, tracheal bronchioles, gastrointestinal tract, vocal cords, cervical spine, sphenoid A stoma can be made up of various parts and serve several purposes.

Stoma design, location, and function differ considerably between endoscopic and conventional building procedures. In the case of the small intestine and colon, which are both anatomically parts of the large intestine, stoma design is based on the position and form of the stream using the equipment used in colonoscopy and small-bowel phlebectomy operations (axillary lines, stethoscopes). 

The doctor determines the placement of a stoma after taking the patient’s weight and measuring the distance between the lower esophageal sphincter and the stomach. The doctor next sews the skin flap together and puts pressure through it to maintain the stoma in place. The length of the tale will vary depending on the method and your specific circumstance. Stoma design and function can also vary considerably from individual to person. For example, some patients may have a large stock, whilst others may only have a little one.

What is Irrigation of the Stoma?

What is a colostomy? A colostomy is a surgical procedure used to remove stool in place of a large intestine. The procedure itself is relatively painless and is done by placing a ring or balloon-like inflatable ring around the abdomen. A tube leading to the bowel is then attached to this ring, and the resulting pouch is used to collect and substitute stool for ingestion. A colostomy is performed when the large intestine is damaged, or if the body cannot tolerate large amounts of stool, or if the intestine does not respond to bowel stimuli. Patients who cannot tolerate oral or anal cleansing procedures can also choose to undergo a surgical procedure to cleanse the colon, but most patients choose to do this after the introduction of a self-cleansing diet.

How is Colostomy Irrigation Used?

Colostomies are generally only used for one or two weeks at a time since it is a painful procedure. The duration of each visit will depend on the amount of stool removed through irrigations and may last anywhere from eight weeks to eighteen weeks. Irrigation is a bowel management method for colostomies in which you clean out the colon to induce a bowel movement. Your intestine will eventually develop this regular habit, and you should not generate waste in between irrigation treatments. Most doctors recommend that patients only undergo colon irrigations between eight to ten weeks since this gives the body time to settle back and recover from the procedure.

How are Colostomies Generally used? 

Colostomies are most commonly used for constipation but can be used for more serious problems as well. Patients suffering from serious intestinal diseases, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, can be treated with a similar procedure. After the patient completes the required number of treatments, a sigmoidoscopy may be performed to check for damage to the anus or any potential obstructions to the bowel movement.

If a blockage does occur, the doctor may perform surgery to physically remove the blockage, as well as use an imaging tool called an anoscope to look into the inside of the stoma pouch to determine which part of the intestine was damaged in the process. If surgery is necessary to remove the blockage, it may also be performed using a laparoscope, which is an extremely light and small surgical instrument that is used to make smaller incisions.

If you’re an ostomate, you’ve probably realized there’s a big learning curve to this, and if you’re dealing with the condition that you have, it can be a bit of a challenge for some people. 

Luckily though, we have tips and tricks that you can use to help you get the most out of your ostomy experience, and to properly take care of each and every part of this. 

Avoiding your Backsplash

If you are emptying into the toilet, you may want to be careful with backsplash, since it’s gross. 

Try to flush it as you empty this out, since it might help. 

You also can sit within the toilet to empty this, putting toilet paper over the contents and from there have it onto the seat part of the toilet. Empty it with it hitting the paper rather than the water. 

Removing Hair Around it 

A lot of people struggle with hair in this area, especially males with coarser and larger hair. There also may impact how the wafer sticks, and also may be irritating and hurting if you pull on this. 

Hair removal is important at this stage, and you should try to use electric shavers rather than blades for obvious reasons, since it’ll prevent stoma damage. 

If you do this in the shower, you want to gently shave the area with a razor and soap with no additives. Once is more than enough with this too. 

Changing on Empty Stomachs 

It’s best to change right when you first wake up, since it can impact the output. If you don’t eat for a bit right before you go to bed, change it then too.  If you do need to eat in the morning, try to have a nutrient-dense food that’ll impact the blood sugar but won’t cause an output immediately, so that you can change it. 

Changing After Showering 

Another time to consider changing is after you shower, since you can remove this while you’re in the tug, and then do your shower without a bag. This of course is easy to do, and then once you’re out, you just put the appliance back on, and it also is good for skin health, since it does expose that area to air, which offers health benefits. 

Rinsing that Appliance 

Some people actually will rinse out their appliances with water after they empty. Although this isn’t mandatory, it’s actually a convenient type of way to really take care of the appliance, especially if there’s solids on the inside. 

A bottle or syringe or dropper or a baster and squiring it into there will push water directly into the appliance itself. You can then swish this and try to do it again. 

Lumpy Bellies 

And finally, let’s talk about lumpy bellies. Not everyone has a flat tummy, and if you have a lumpy belly, especially if you’ve been through multiple surgeries, you’re not the only one. 

If you struggle with fitting the wafer over the lump or the bump, try to make a cut on the outside, towards the inner hole. This may seem strange, but it can help you as well improve the flexibility. 

It is important though that you do like 1-2 of these, since otherwise if there are too many cuts within this, there can be a lot of leaks as a result.

It’s hard to be an ostomate, and some people struggle with handling the bags and such. Luckily though, we get it, and hopefully this is helpful for you to use, so you can have a better experience as an ostomate down the line. 

When I was young, I had a passion for cars. My father worked on them almost every weekend. I liked to help him from time to time, changing breaks and oil on the cars he had. One of my first real jobs was as a car porter as the local dealers by our house. When I got in an accident, I thought my life was over. That was possibly a bit over-exaggerated. My life still went on. 

One day when I was working, a man came to pick up his Porsche gt3rs. It is a very vast car meant for the track and a little bit of road driving. When the man came to pick up his car, he saw me drooling over it, and to my surprise, he offered me a drive. Without any thought, I took him up on his offer. He drove it, of course. I was not even going to ask if I could because this car is very expensive. When we pulled up to a light, he said to me do you want to see what this car can really do. Obviously, I said yes. When the light turned green, he floored it and was flying through the gears. As we were approaching close to one hundred and twenty, we got cut off. He did not get on the breaks fast enough, and we rear-ended the car that cut us off. 

We both backed out and woke up in the hospital. My boss was there, and he was concerned for me. He told me he already called my parents as some big choices were going to be made. The doctor came in with my parents, and he began telling us the extent of our injuries. The driver had a concussion as well as a broken hand and foot. I had a broken leg, and there was a piece of shrapnel in my abdomen. I would need a temporary colostomy procedure so my colon and large intestine could take time to heal. When the surgery was over, I woke up in the recovery room where my parents were watching over me. 

After about four weeks of healing, I was able to walk around with some slight pain and could get back to work. My job was a bit more challenging with the ostomy bag. Getting in and out of the cars was more or less strenuous due to the bag restricting my movement. Additionally, crouching down and standing up did put a bit of strain on my stoma, but I was able to manage. After about a week of being back at work, I was able to get used to the movements and was not in as much pain as I initially was. 

I’m glad I got the opportunity to ride in such a fantastic Porsche but not happy with how it ended. I’m upset that I needed to get an ostomy procedure, but the good thing is that it was only temporary and was reverted a little bit after a year was up. I’m fortunate to still be alive to this day, considering the speed we were going and impacted the car that cut us off. I’m glad to have been able to work shortly after my procedure and only needed a little bit to heal and be able to walk again.