Thursday, May 12, 2011

What is the use of Standard Urostomy Pouch?

Urostomy pouches are used to dispose urine from the body. These pouches are attached to your skin. In normal cases the kidney disposes the waste and is stored in the bladder. Urine then is flushed out of the system through ureters. But in some cases the bladder may be damaged or removed by a surgical procedure called urostomy. For persons who have undergone urostomy surgery part of the bowel creates a path for the urine to travel from the kidney to the opening of the abdominal wall. It is here that a Urostomy Pouch comes handy. This opening in the abdominal wall is called stoma. A pouch is attached to the stoma to collect the urine right outside the body.

Education and personal care is very important for patients who have undergone urostomy surgery. While the patient is still at the hospital the nurses and doctors educate them on how to care for the stoma. Apart from urostomy pouches other medical supplies like adhesives, leak proof seals are also needed. With proper guidance it is easier to tackle the situation without the assistance of a third person. Another factor that patients who have undergone urostomy surgery should be careful of is stoma retraction. Sometimes the stoma may withdraw into the body, this happens due to weight gain. The patients need to be provided with expert advice on skin infection, redness of skin and pain in the stoma.

Urostomy pouches can be classified into reusable and pre-cut pouches. The urostomy pouches can be attached to the body using adhesives. The pouches should be placed in such a manner to prevent leakages. The pouches are flat, lightweight and watertight. There are one piece and two piece systems. In a one piece appliance wafers and pouch is fitted into one. On the contrary in a two piece system wafers stick to your skin and the pouch is attached to the top of the wafer. This help to protect the stoma from any kind of infection. With the help of urostomy pouches one can return to work. They can also regain their normal lifestyle without having to compromise on any activities.

The urostomy pouches are designed with anti-reflex valve to drain the urine to the pouch and reverse action is not possible. By no chance the urine in the pouch is left back into the body as it may cause deadly infection to the stoma as well as the kidneys. Valves are must for urostomy pouches.

Now, read next What are the different types of adhesives?

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