Alternative to Irrigation Bag

A forum devoted to "Irrigation" - a procedure that may be helpful for some people with left-sided colostomies.
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ns47
Posts: 677
Joined: 2009-02-08 23:57:47

Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by ns47 »

Hi,

I haven’t been on here on the discussion board in a very long time. But I wanted to ask a couple things and to tell you about something I invented last night. Maybe it would be useful to somebody here who irrigates.

The first thing is a question. If you travel and you are an irrigator, do you find it difficult when you are not home to find a way to hang the irrigation bag to have it up high enough for the pressure you need for an infusion of water?

The second thing is another question. Do you ever just become annoyed at the weight of the irrigation bag with all that water in it?

The third thing is something I want to tell you about. The answers to the two questions above are yes to the first and the second, for me. To the first, when I go somewhere there never seems to be anywhere to hang the bag, especially in hotel rooms. Further, if you are staying at the home of a relative or friend, hanging something like that in their bathroom is sometimes a precarious thing because either they dont have something in the bathroom that will hold it securely or there is no place to hang it at all. For the second, once you fill it up (I use a Hollister irrigation bag), it weighs a lot, which makes the answer to the first question what it is.

So, here is what I wanted to tell you. I invented a thing to replace or to be an alternative to the irrigation bag. Dont laugh, OK? This actually works. I cut the plastic tubing off the bottom of the bag. Then, I bought one of those picnic style clear mustard or ketchup bottles with the very thin end. I put the end of the tubing on the narrow end of the picnic condiment bottle and friction holds it on - you just push the plastic tubing over the end of the nozzle, fill the bottle up with water (about 8 ounces), use the cone end just like always, hold the bottle up a little over your head, and it works exactly the same way as the irrigation bag.

The downside is that you have to keep filling up the bottle, where you wouldn’t have to fill up the bag as often, but you do not have the problem with weight of the water, it is quick and easy, and you do not have to worry about where to store any of it when you are not home. You can just clean off the cone end like you would normally do, roll up the plastic tubing, and put the bottle and the tubing in a little plastic bag. You can even fit it in a backpack or suitcase. If the bottle wears out, you just spend 50 cents at a grocery store or dollar store and get a new one. The tubing, as you know, is very sturdy and rarely is problematic at all, so if you need to replace the bottle, no problem.

I remember years ago a person on the discussion board, a young man I believe, made a comment one time that he wished there was something smaller and easier to work with for irrigation. This is it.

I hope this is helpful to someone. When I am home, for the most part I will just use the irrigation bag. But I am hoping to go on vacation soon and will be staying at two different houses, one of which has only one bathroom. I would rather not have all sorts of contraptions hanging around the bathroom of someone else or having to worry about the irrigation bag falling off of something I might hang it on and make a mess. This really does work.

Nancy
Diverticulitis '03-'08
Sigm. colectomy & colostomy from volvulus, 12/08
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ot dave
Posts: 2119
Joined: 2010-03-04 19:26:19

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by ot dave »

That's a good idea. That would have been helpful when I was irrigating in a tent at 10000 feet in Colorado!
stage III rectal CA 12/08 - colostomy 3/09
"Gatoring since 2010"
Psalms 91:2
Majorkahuna
Posts: 75
Joined: 2005-10-09 12:31:16

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by Majorkahuna »

In a hotel you can always modify a coat hanger and hang it on the shower curtain.

As an alternative I carry those little plastic suction cups with a hook on them. They lock to almost any surface.
kitmcc
Posts: 214
Joined: 2005-10-02 06:40:41

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by kitmcc »

:wink: Great idea!

Necessity is a mother, and all that. I found myself away in Mexico having forgotten a sleeve and invented one by trimming the top off a drainable one piece, and attaching its belt tabs with a couple of shoelaces from room service. It worked, messily, but worked. The hydrocollodal face melted a bit after 3 goes. Nb- don’t have someone ship you sleeves internationally, unless you call them documents or something. My care package got to the hotel but was taken back by customs as ‘medical supplies.’ Probably a casualty of war on drugs.

Kit
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Mikem
Posts: 573
Joined: 2007-01-05 22:18:52

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by Mikem »

Great Idea Nancy,
As Dave commented possibly the perfect solution for camping.
Maybe I will go camping again in the future.
Thank you,
MikeM
Colostomy, A/P Feb 2006 for Stage 1 CRC
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darick
Posts: 230
Joined: 2011-08-04 22:45:12

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by darick »

Most of the time, I can use a clothes hanger from the closet on the shower/door near the toilet. But some hotels also have those weird hangers with a small ball instead of hook, so doesn't always work.

I did this hack once, when the accessible room had a hand rail ;)
Image

I also carry one of these in my supply bag: https://myheroclip.com/
It gets used the most on my travels. Big hooks that hook onto almost anything.
Ewings Sarcoma: 1996; G-tube: 1997; Cecostomy: 1998-99; Colostomy: ~2000; Irrigator: 2013-
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darick
Posts: 230
Joined: 2011-08-04 22:45:12

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by darick »

ns47 wrote: 2021-09-25 22:20:02I remember years ago a person on the discussion board, a young man I believe, made a comment one time that he wished there was something smaller and easier to work with for irrigation. This is it.
I think that was me, hah. I started irrigating around 2013, and wanted a better travel option.

I wrote about a squeeze bottle here back in 2013: viewtopic.php?p=200029#p200029
Ewings Sarcoma: 1996; G-tube: 1997; Cecostomy: 1998-99; Colostomy: ~2000; Irrigator: 2013-
VaAnne
Posts: 6
Joined: 2019-07-22 09:39:00

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by VaAnne »

What a great idea! I am going to try this on vacation this summer.
Sometimes the bathroom has a toilet off in a little alcove with no place at all nearby to hang a bag.
This would be great for those places. Thank you!
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steiconi
Posts: 1114
Joined: 2015-05-18 03:12:03

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by steiconi »

I'm halfway through a two-month road trip, and have irrigated in about 5 hotels, 3 AirBnBs, and a friend's house. I would really like to go home, where I have the nice little hook in the wall, the hand-held shower head, my comfy bench, and the sprayer hose at the toilet. But we've got stuff to do, so I soldier on.

I have discovered that I can skip irrigating one or two days a week if needed. I get some output the next day, but not a lot. It takes 2-3 irrigating days to get back to normal, but it's good to have options.

Most places have a shower curtain rod or door frame that's sturdy enough; sometimes I hang my bag from the shower head itself. Finding a close enough place to sit is sometimes an issue; I rolled a desk chair into one bathroom.

Every time I see an ironing board in a hotel, I think of darek's hack.

I tried using a squeeze ketchup bottle last year when traveling in a camper, but the sink was too small and I couldn't fill the bottle. Hotels should work better.
Lee

I am not my disease.
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darick
Posts: 230
Joined: 2011-08-04 22:45:12

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by darick »

I just completed a two month two country road trip over 9000 miles. So I got to irrigate in a lot of random hotels and such.

I still always ask for an accessible room, which typically has a walk in shower. I've got a bad leg, so this saves me from possibly slipping and falling (not fun when that happens out of wet tub). Most of those rooms will have some kind of railing or hooks in a decent area for gator usage. I've done the ironing board trick a few more times, even on this most recent trip. I also have a large carabiner that I can hang off a railing, door, etc to put the bag on it.
Ewings Sarcoma: 1996; G-tube: 1997; Cecostomy: 1998-99; Colostomy: ~2000; Irrigator: 2013-
Majorkahuna
Posts: 75
Joined: 2005-10-09 12:31:16

Re: Alternative to Irrigation Bag

Post by Majorkahuna »

I carry a plastic suction cup hanger and a shower curtain hanger. Never had an issue.
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