Can you swim colostomy

We felt so bad. Thank you! Hi Tracy! Thanks for asking. Thank You so much. I have been struggling to gain enough confidence to both swim and exercise. I have a fear that I will clog my stoma when I exercise. Should this be a concern, or just an unnecessary fear? Hi Dawn. Thank you for your question! I would suggest asking your doctor when you can go back to exercising after surgery, but there is no reason your stoma would clog when you exercise.

I would suggest avoiding odd positions in yoga that may cause pain, and also to start slow and build your strength back up in order to help with endurance and decrease the risk of a hernia, but other than that, I would seek permission from your doctor, then enjoy exercising! Thanks for your question, Cathy! Hope you have a great time in the pool! All Rights Reserved. Careers Careers at Shield. Contact Contact Shield Locations Newsletter. Learn More. Customer Rights Customer Rights. OstomyLife Home.

Laura Cox, LPC. Click on the button below to watch my video about swimming with an ostomy: Watch Video. Living with an Ostomy. Dear Laura, I wear a two piece ostomy bag. I need help with concealing an ostomy bag. I ordered about twenty so that I could try every style, type, pattern and this is what I found worked. Patterned — the funkier the better, as the pattern makes it so much harder to identify lumps and bumps and movement under a pattern.

Ruched — especially if it is on the same side as your stoma, this will hide all manner of sins. Ruched is also incredibly slimming, in fact most shops sell their ruched swimsuits as their 'Miracle Swimwear' as it gives the illusion of a smaller waist. Once I had found a swimsuit that worked, it alleviated most of my fears and I had even decided I was going to give swimming a go.

I took two swimsuits and about fifty-three ostomy bags — just to be sure. My thinking behind the two swimsuits was that I wouldn't want to put a wet swimsuit over a fresh bag. When we got to the spa, I slipped into the disabled toilet to change into my swimsuit, so no embarrassing moments there. My friend, not even thinking, said she loved my swimsuit and when I asked if she could see my ostomy bag, her face was a picture as she said she had forgotten I had one because you definitely couldn't see it.

More importantly, how was swimming? It was fine! As I often find with anything ostomy related, the thought of it was immeasurably worse than the reality. It felt amazing after all that surgery, treatment and time in bed to feel my muscles stretch and move again with the support of the water. When I had finished I did rush to the bathroom to check, but the bag was still stuck down, no problem, so I didn't even change as I knew that I wanted to go back in the water again, which I did.

Again - no problems. Water will not harm or enter your stoma. Check your pouch seal. Prior to swimming, make sure your seal is secure.

Empty your pouch before swimming. Also, ensure your wafer has been on for at least an hour prior to getting wet. If you are nervous about output, eat a few hours before jumping in. Use a filtered pouch? Use a filter cover sticker on your deodorizing filter to prevent water from entering the pouch.

You can remove the cover once you are dry. What to wear? Wear what makes you feel the most comfortable. Swimming with an ostomy should be fun and worry-free regardless of what you're wearing. Shop with confidence knowing there are so many options that could work for you. Ostomy swimwear and accessories are available here. Always carry extra supplies in case you are somewhere where supplies may not be available.

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