Peristomal skin complications are a common stoma problem but can be avoided and treated with the right knowledge, routine and products. In this blog, we will explore how to protect your peristomal skin.
What is peristomal skin?
Peristomal skin is the area of skin around your stoma and underneath the baseplate of your pouch.
Keeping peristomal skin healthy is very important because it provides a natural barrier to moisture, stoma output and irritants. Unfortunately, most people living with stomas will experience sore peristomal skin and skin problems at some point, but there are many things you can do to prevent peristomal skin irritation from becoming an issue and to treat the problem quickly if it arises.
What should peristomal skin look like?
Peristomal skin should look like the skin on any other part of your body. You can compare it to the skin on the other side of your abdomen to help you notice anything out of the ordinary.
A healthy stoma is pink or red in colour and moist to touch. It is round or oval-shaped and sticks out slightly from the skin. The skin around it should be smooth, dry and not irritated.
The skin around your stoma may become red when you remove your stoma bag – this is normal. However, if it stays red, this could be a sign of a problem.
What does an unhealthy stoma look like?
Unhealthy peristomal skin may be:
- Red, grey or purple
- Itchy
- Painful
- Bleeding
- Weeping
- Thick or wart-like
- Gritty
- Bumpy
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, they could be a sign of a peristomal skin infection. However, it can be hard to spot. Seek medical advice for treatment for any peristomal skin problems, even if it’s just feeling a little irritated, as it can rapidly escalate.
Read more: Managing peristomal skin issues
Tips for peristomal skin protection
Wondering how to protect the skin around your stoma to avoid peristomal skin conditions, or want to know how to heal skin around a stoma? These are our top tips:
Prepare peristomal skin for stoma bag changes
- Make sure your peristomal skin is completely dry before replacing your pouch and skin barrier. Dry skin ensures a good adhesive seal and helps reduce the risk of fungal infection.
- Clean the skin gently with warm water. Do not scrub because this can damage delicate skin.
- Minimise any irritants you use on and around peristomal skin. Avoid perfumed soaps. Do not use lotions, creams, baby powder, baby wipes, or wipes containing alcohol. These products can irritate your skin and compromise the adhesion of your ostomy appliance which may lead to leaks.
- Remove any hairs from around your stoma to prevent the adhesive on the baseplate from pulling on body hairs and causing pain and inflammation.
Use the right products for protecting peristomal skin
- Make sure your stoma bag template is measured correctly and cut to the right size so that the base plate doesn’t rub or cause leakages because of poor fitting.
- Before applying your new pouch, use a barrier product such as StoCare Protect. This provides a protective film (like a second skin) to prevent damage from stoma output which may leak under your baseplate and cause peristomal skin irritation. It also prevents damage from repeated medical adhesive removal and allows better adhesion of the next appliance.
- Ask your stoma nurse for advice. They can recommend different or new products if you are experiencing peristomal skin problems, such as a different type of bag or adding a stoma seal.
Read more about preventing stoma leakages
Remove your stoma bag safely
- Change your bag immediately if it has leaked. Stoma output causes skin irritation.
- Remove your adhesive appliances from top to bottom gently and slowly.
- A medical adhesive remover such as StoCare Remove is designed to make this easier. Adhesive removers can be used as a spray or a remover wipe and should be used for each bag change to protect your skin from MARSI (medical adhesive-related skin injury).
Conclusion
It is not normal to suffer repeated peristomal skin issues. If you are experiencing any pain or discomfort, speak to your stoma nurse about a solution as soon as possible before it gets worse.
If you are a medical professional and are interested in finding out more about how StoCare products can help your patients or requesting a repeat sample order, please email info@rhodespharma.co.uk.
This information is for guidance and does not replace advice given by your healthcare professional.
