UOAA Discussion Board

Thanks... goods to know!

Diane C wrote: ↑2021-05-29 20:54:06 I use tail clips because I find the velcro closures hard to clean. You may want to buy "Pearls" or "Diamonds." They are small sachets that you insert in your pouch and they form a gel that can absorb much of the liquid. I push them down to the clip area. You can get a sample of Pearls from Trio: https://trioostomycare.com/products/trio-pearls/. Convatec sells "Diamonds" which are similar but they have a charcoal ingredient that can stain so I prefer Pearls. I don't think Medicare or insurance will cover either but they do help with pouches that have much liquid, esp if you're an ileostomate. Ebay and Amazon sell them also. Why they're named after jewelry-like products -- I don't know!

Good luck!

This is really good advice Diane C! I recently looked up Pearls on Amazon and they were about $37 for 100.

Why do you have to clean the Velcro? I haven’t been an ostomate long(bout 7 months now), I use Hollister bags and have never gotten close to needing to clean the Velcro. The clips seem like more hassle to me since there’s no “rigid” end to the bag to help hold it open to clean, maybe I’m missing something?

I've been using Convatec straight clips with my Hollister pouches for 15 years. I replace them when I don't feel the 'click' any longer (usually after a couple of months). I turtleneck the tail, empty, quick wipe and clip back again. I'm in/out in around 30-60 seconds. Oh and never experienced a leak from the clip but I change pouches every 5-6 days. However, sometimes the clip 'slips' down a bit on the tail after a fresh change. So if I'm going out to play a sport, purely for insurance I'll double clip just for the one day. Once the tail gets turtlenecked a few times, it's not as smooth and there's no slippage.

I tried this unscientific experiment last month:
I took a new sur-fit drainable pouch (401934).
Cycle some water through the pouch (a pouch fresh out of the box WILL NOT leak. After the first time it has been ‘used’ is when the problem starts).
Attach the closure.
Pour a half cup of water into the pouch through the flange and hang it up.
After several hours the water will appear in the ‘tail’ of the pouch. The amount of leakage sometimes depends on where one places the closure on the pouch, so the ‘tail’ may be ½ to over 1 inch long.
I also tried this experiment with a Securi-T pouch (Ref: 7212134 sent to me for a trial). No leakage after 24 hours.
I would be interested if others have tried this little test. Would also be interested in this experiment with the velcro closure pouches.