Closed bag disposal at home?

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[WilmaWonka]
Posts: 5
Joined: 2021-07-04 13:02:45

Closed bag disposal at home?

Post by [WilmaWonka] »

Am scheduled for colostomy surgery in a few short weeks. Have searched so many sites in preperation that my brower's been over-heating! From deciding upon what elective surgical route I would take, to the emotional/physical aspect, I'm a wealth of knowledge that won't even ever apply to me. Have not been able though, to find much about dealing with a closed 2pc system in the home. I've felt that irrigation (if I have to adhere to a rather strick schedule) won't be an option for me. My skin is somewhat sensitive, so I'm leaning away from a 1pc. At this time, I can't imagine emptying a pouch especially in public, not that that option is out of the question. I seem to be leaning toward the closed, 2pc.

So, finally to the question. How do you discreetly discard your bag in your own home? I've seen a recommendation of cutting the bottom off and flushing, sounds a bit messy to me; think I'd then be better off with a drainable if I'm going to be messing around with the POO. :lol: Any personal suggestions as to how you deal with discarding your closed bag at home?
AlexT
Posts: 6
Joined: 2021-10-03 20:43:13

Re: Closed bag disposal at home?

Post by AlexT »

I have a 1 piece drainable bag but we all end up disposing of bags when we change them out. For me, I simply put it and the other trash created when changing my bag in a small(4 gallon) bathroom trash bag. Tie it up tight and throw it in the trash can that goes to the curb each week for the trash guy. No issues with smell.
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ot dave
Posts: 2119
Joined: 2010-03-04 19:26:19

Re: Closed bag disposal at home?

Post by ot dave »

I use a 2 piece drainable system, so I've never had the issue of disposing of a pouch in public. In fact, I don't really take any supplies with me when I leave home, unless I'm going more than a couple of hours away from home. But, when I discard used appliance pieces, I simply use the plastic bags that come in my boxes of pouches. They are small and can be tied up to hide the most odiferous contents!
Just as a side note, dealing with a drainable pouch is a lot like dealing with normal plumbing. You simply empty the contents into a toilet, wipe the tail clean, and flush it all away. When I do have a bowel movement, I do like to rinse out the pouch with some warm water. It helps to really get it good and empty, which makes it feel like a new pouch...for me anyway. Also, it I find that an output free pouch allows the filter to last a little longer as well.
I am an irrigator. Most days, I do it at the same time. It's just a part of my morning routine now, along with brushing my teeth and getting a shower. That said, I alter my irrigation based upon my needs/activities. This weekend for instance, I went deer hunting. I left the house really early, so can't really irrigate in that situation, so I irrigated the night before. I could have irrigated again Saturday night, but I didn't. I waited until Sunday morning as my commitments changed, and I was not able to go hunt Sunday morning. There is flexibility in irrigating. It just takes a bit to figure out how your system is going to work best and are the best times to irrigate for you. The control that comes with irrigation, for me, far outweighs the time spent irrigating.
Hope that helps some.

David
stage III rectal CA 12/08 - colostomy 3/09
"Gatoring since 2010"
Psalms 91:2
BillGK
Posts: 362
Joined: 2012-09-05 17:47:30

Re: Closed bag disposal at home?

Post by BillGK »

I have a colostomy.

I used a two piece closed pouch system for a number of years, not wanting to deal with the “mess”. Disposal wasn’t much of a problem, just put in a bag and throw it in the trash.

The real problem with the closed system, for me, was the supplies, as ot dave says. I had disposal bags and replacement pouches and wafers and cleaning supplies in my golf bag and my cars. I was always concerned about the pouch suddenly getting too full and not having my supplies nearby. I finally got fed up with the complexity and fear of being caught w/o supplies, and decided to change to an open pouch system.

What a simple, almost natural way of dealing with an ostomy. No supplies needed. I use a public restroom with nothing but toilet paper, no more complexity than before I had an ostomy.

Thinking back, what turned me off to a drainable bag was my experience with a drainable system in the hospital, when I had the surgery. I woke up with a drainable bag that closed with a clip. The tailpiece was formed by plastic film that had to be cleaned, rolled up, and clipped. The ostomy nurse taught me to clean the tailpiece by digging around in it with toilet paper. Ugh. I tried this and got my hands messed up, every time. Eventually I thought that there must be a better way, did some investigating, and discovered closed pouches, which I switched to.

When I finally got fed up with the closed system “supplies stashed everywhere” situation I found that there are open pouches with far easier and less messy tailpieces. What I use now is a Coloplast drainable pouch. The tailpiece doesn’t have the flimsy film. It has two semi-hard plastic pieces that oppose each other. Drain, squeeze together the two plastic pieces, wipe once with a single square of toilet paper, finish with a second square, done. Nothing touches my hands, it takes less than a New York minute. And no stashing and carrying of supplies and fear of being without them. I highly recommend this sort of system.
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