Cath Lab Digest

  When patients wish to wear an ostomy pouch or wafer while showering, we encourage them to use “Press and Seal” plastic wrap, available in any grocery store to keep the shower water off the appliance. If the wafer is the only portion that is left on the skin, the plastic wrap can be removed so the effluent drains away.
— Mary Ann Mullaney, WCN, MS, CGNP, RN

  Patients with new ostomies have to learn new skills, a process that becomes more difficult if they have trouble with vision or hand dexterity. To allay patient unease about using a two-piece appliance system, I place the wafer and then squirt some surgical lubrication over the pouch rim. The pouch snaps easily and does not come apart. This simple tip has been a lifesaver for my patients.
— Dona L. Isaac, RN, CWON

  The following tip is something that I devised while teaching post op ostomy care to my patients when I first became a CWOCN 5 years ago. Because most people are apprehensive the first time they try performing any sort of care with their ostomy, I give them a teaching tool that I constructed so that they won't have to try it on themselves first. I remove a wafer from the packaging and turn it over so the flange side faces out. I tape the wafer to the plastic packaging and attach a pouch and clip. This allows me to leave the “tool” at the bedside for the patient to use for practice and can be left in isolation rooms. I generally try to construct the tool using the same type of equipment they will be using, and then I send it home. The tool works well when teaching emptying and clamping and removing and re-attaching a pouch. An additional benefit: I no longer have to keep track of my stoma models or collect and cleanse them for re-use.
— Suzanne Lumpkin, CWOCN