So here’s the thing – not a lot of people are very familiar with the term ostomy. It is safe to assume that the majority of people have no idea what an ostomy is or even what a stoma is. So I am going to start off this article with a quick introduction to ostomy for you. So to put it in the simplest terms that even you could understand, an ostomy is a hole made by a surgeon that allows for output to leave your body. And by output, I mean stool and urine. There are lots of people who end up getting ostomies that you will probably never even know about as you pass by them on the street or in a store somewhere. Basically, the surgery to have a stoma put in is needed for a lot of different reasons, but it usually has something to do with the body not functioning properly and thus is in need of a recalibration so to speak. Isn’t it strange that the modern medical world has become so advanced that our species is able to perform strange and bizarre surgeries like an ostomy? Sometimes I just sit back and think about things like that and it just blows my mind. The real reason I wanted to talk about ostomies today is because I think there are a lot of people out there who are not properly taking care of their stoma like they should be.

So like anything else in life, there can be a lot of problems and issues that come up with the addition of a stoma in a person’s body. However, I do not want you to think that there is nothing you can do about preventing or identifying these problems before they become too big of a deal. In fact, if you are reading this and you have a stoma, then I want you to go ahead and pay real close attention for the rest of this article. I am going to write about a few telltale signs in which something might be wrong with your stoma, and what you need to do after you’ve noticed the problem.

So if you are just coming out of surgery and had your stoma put in very recently, then there should be a decent amount of swelling coming from that area. It makes sense, afterall, because surgery can be extremely hard on the body. However, it is important that the swelling of the stoma and the area around it starts to decrease in the weeks following the surgery. If that does not end up being the case, and you find that the swelling sticks around or even gets worse after a few weeks, then you may have a problem and should talk to your doctor.

Another thing to keep in mind is that stomas have a very specific color and texture. I really hate writing about this because it really grosses me out, but a stoma should appear a beefy reddish pink in color. In addition to this, the stoma should appear shiny and moist pretty much all of the time. If your stoma is pale in appearance or dry, then it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor and see if something is wrong. Hope this is helpful for you!

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