What Is An Ostomy
Sometimes treating diseases of the digestive or urinary systems involves removing all or part of your small intestine, colon, rectum or bladder. In these cases, there must be a new way for wastes to leave the body.
Ostomy is a general term to describe thuis procedure where an opening is created in the body. The opening, called a "stoma," allows stool (bowel movement) or urine to drain out of the body.
Stomas should be red like the inside of your mouth, and they should be moist
and soft. Stomas might bleed a little when rubbed or touched. This is normal
because stomas have a lot of blood vessels. They also don't hurt when touched
because there are no nerve endings.
Stomas:
- Stomas are red. They look a lot like the inside of your cheek.
- Sometimes they may bleed a little. This is normal.
- They are usually moist and soft.
- They have no feeling and will not hurt if touched.
Note: An ostomy may be a new type of surgery for you, but it is not an unusual
type of operation for infants and children, although it is more common in adults.
The type of ostomy you have will be determined by the reason for the
surgery. With a colostomy and ileostomy, the opening is made from a portion
of the intestine. For a urostomy, the opening is made somewhere along the
urinary tract.
A
colostomy is an
opening into the colon or large intestine. When undigested food enters the
colon, water is absorbed. The stool is stored in the colon until it is passed from
the body.
Stool (bowel movement) comes out of the colostomy. It may be liquid or
solid in consistency. Gas is common.
An
ileostomy is an opening into the ileum which is part of the small
intestine. The small intestine contains digestive enzymes which break down
food to help with digestion and absorption of nutrients.
The output from an ileostomy is stool - similar to the colostomy. One major
difference is that the output from the ileostomy also has the digestive enzymes.
Although normally present in the small intestine, they can damage the skin.
This will be discussed in more detail later in the booklet when we talk about
pouching.
A
urostomy is an opening into the urinary system. The urinary system is
made up of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. The kidneys filter and
produce urine. The urine travels from the kidneys down the ureters and into
the bladder for storage before it is eliminated from the body.
Urine comes out of the urostomy stoma. The urine may also contain
some mucus.
