How often to change ostomy bag

Ostomy is a surgical procedure which changes the way stool/urine exits the body which results from malfunctioning of the parts through they exit the body. Ostomy bag is a medical device/pouch which is used to collect waste resulting from ostomy surgery.

To the victims, this change of procedure of removing waste from the body instead of going to the bathroom becomes difficult to adapt. On the other hand, the frequency of pooping/peeing depends on various factors such as the type of surgery the victim underwent, the type of food they consume, use of antibiotics, food poisoning, medication such as Cancer treatment alongside many other factors such as side effects resulting from supplements.

Due to these factors, one has to adapt to the mechanism of changing the ostomy bag by understanding the patterns. When the body is less busy digesting food, that is when the digestive system is functioning normally, people tend to empty the pouch twice a day that is before breakfast and in the evening before going to sleep. With this, the bag is normally changed within every three to five days. Some people tend to change their Ostomy bag daily so as to maintain hygiene, but this should not be the case since the manufacturers normally recommend a maximum use of seven days beyond which the bag can break and the highly recommended interval of changing the bag is after four days.

There are factors that change the interval of changing the ostomy bag such as the nature of your stool, the liquid stool is more difficult to hold then the hard formed one, shape and mobility of the abdomen as well as mobility of the stoma. Symptoms such as itching or feeling pain around the stoma can mean that there is a partial blockage when this occurs, it is advisable to seek help from a doctor.