Stoma Care for Our Patients

I wanted to bring this to people´s attention as our team of carers at Caring for You at Home have recently had an increase in patients needing stoma care and this can be very stressful for partners and family. Having health problems in Spain can be traumatic so knowing we have carers on hand who have years of experience with stoma care can put your mind at rest. Health care in Spain is excellent but unfortunately there is no home care in Spain, well certainly not in our areas of the Costa Blanca and Murcia which is where we come in. See all our Caring for You at home services here.

A stoma is an opening made during surgery where the colon, ileum or bladder is diverted through the abdominal wall, allowing faeces or urine to be collected in an external pouch. There are thousands of people in Spain who undergo stoma surgery each year as a result of a medical condition, like bladder or prostate cancer, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis) diverticulitis, or trauma to the abdomen.

A newly fitted stoma can take a few weeks to heal and reduce in size. It will also take a few days to start working as the bowel has been out of action it is common for wind to pass through first followed by a motion around 3 days later. Don´t be alarmed if the consistency seems more liquid as this usually becomes more solid quite soon.

Although the use of a stoma can able most patients to live a normal healthy life. Diet is a huge part of this as some suffer greatly if they don´t avoid foods that cause wind like beans, cabbage and highly spiced dishes.

Before a patient is discharged from hospital, a stoma nurse will explain to the patient or family how to change a stoma bag, yet this can be misunderstood especially if the patient has a form of Dementia and family are generally not trained adequately. 

A high-output stoma can occur for various reasons, such as:

A new formed stoma.

A damaged bowel or a bowel affected by Crohn´s disease.

Infection or medication.

It is essential to call us if this occurs so we can organise a carer immediately as we did just today!

After the initial call our Head Carer was with the couple within the hour.

So very proud of our team always putting our clients and patients first.

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