Ostomy Reflection

An ostomy diversion is created by a surgery that creates an opening called a stoma from an area inside of the body to the outside.  The main purpose of an ostomy is to allow bodily waste to pass through the stoma and into a bag/pouch that is attached to the outside of the body around the stoma.  There are different reasons a client may need an ostomy the most common reasons are to treat serious bowel problems or to allow a specific body part to heal after surgery (Hinkle & Cheever, 2022).  Some patients may need require an ostomy long term due to certain organs being diseased or having to be removed.  Prior to learning about ostomy care and wearing one I thought the client with the ostomy just had to empty the bag once it was mostly full.  However, I never thought about when they had to change the bag and clean around the stoma.

In my opinion the purpose of the assignment was to allow us as caregivers to realize the affect an ostomy has on a patient’s everyday life.  The assignment allows us to view the care and process of an ostomy from a different perspective by being the patient with the ostomy instead of just the caregiver.  After having the ostomy myself I think it changed the way I perceive them and will help me empathize and connect with the patient better.  The assignment will help me in the future take my time to educate the patient fully surrounding care and any other questions they may have and possibly give pointers from a different point of view.  This assignment also made me realize how important the cleaning because it can get messy and not smell the best.  Therefore, it helped me realize cleaning is a more important part to teach than I thought and stress to the patient that it is important as well especially when they are on their own.

When I first put my ostomy on, I noticed it was very sticky and when I sat down it pulled on my skin which was uncomfortable.  When I was sitting in the car driving my skin was rolling and all I could smell was beans which in my opinion is better than if it was feces but still wasn’t pleasant.  Also, I was going to go to the gym, and I didn’t because I had no clothes that were going to cover it that wouldn’t squish it and I physically couldn’t do crunches or anything due to the placement of the ostomy bag.  I also got it wet in the shower which it was hard to shower with it without getting it wet.  My shower caused the adhesive to unstick a bit which then led to a constant smell of beans which if it wasn’t beans would’ve been worse.  I also wasn’t able to lay on my side in bed without worrying that I was going to squish the bag or that it was going to open and spill.  The ostomy bag overall was uncomfortable physically, but I did get more used to it after a few hours.

The ostomy did make me more self-conscious especially when it came to picking out clothes because I wanted to make sure they would cover it without being too tight on it.  I found it easy to show my friends because they were supportive and thought it was a cool assignment.  However, I would not want to show people I was not as close with because I was self-conscious of it.  I wore sweatpants and a sweatshirt to work so that nobody could see it and to prevent it from possibly squeezing open.  I was anxious while wearing the ostomy bag because I was constantly nervous it was going to open and spill or that others could smell the beans.  I also was anxious because I felt as though the bag was going to fall off due to the adhesive starting to unstick. 

My stoma was not real however I feel as though if it was it would be hard to look at, at least at first it would.  This would make it hard for someone to clean around it and to take care of it.  Learning to clean, empty and change the ostomy bag cannot start until the client can look at the area which can be hard.  As a caregiver guiding the client in this can be difficult but also, I feel as though now I would understand better and be more patient and helpful.  I feel as though the process of learning to clean the stoma and empty the bag can be frustrating and have it’s ups and downs.  Overall, I think it would be hard to take care of the ostomy and to prevent complications especially at first.

The experience of wearing an ostomy made me realize it can be uncomfortable not just physically but also emotionally to have an ostomy bag attached to your skin.  After getting to wear an ostomy bag it changed how I perceived teaching a patient about it and caring for a patient that has one.  Now having a different perspective, I would be sure the patient felt comfortable enough to talk about how to take care of the stoma and ostomy but to also demonstrate care of it a few times because it is easier said than done.  I would be sure to educate them on keeping the area clean because the contents got onto my skin while sleeping and you want to prevent infection.  Due to the adhesive pulling at my skin, I would also be sure to teach them to hold the skin and take the skin off of the adhesive rather than pulling the adhesive off the skin and possibly tearing the skin also possibly using adhesive remover of needed.  Also, I would be sure to make sure they are doing well not just physically but emotionally as well because it can take a toll on a person in many ways not just physically.

Overall, this experience has changed my view on ostomy care and helped me learn more about them by having a hands-on experience.  This experience will help me care for clients with a better understanding of some obstacles not all but more than I knew of before this experience.  I also think it will allow me to have more empathy for them and have more patience when helping them with it because it was difficult and mine wasn’t real so I can’t imagine how it is for them.  For example, my ostomy bag started to fall off and was pulling at my skin because of it which was frustrating but it taught me that people with these could experience this often and it could make them irritable like it made me so I should be patient and empathetic toward them.  This experience was hard because it does affect daily living activities such as working out, showering, and sleeping.  However, I think it was a great experience and definitely an important teaching and learning experience.  Some advice for other students in the future would be to have an open mind and to do daily activities that you normally would even though it will be altered and could be difficult.

 

References:

Hinkle, J.L. & Cheever, K.H. (2022). Brunner & Suddarth’s Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 15th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer/ Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins