Pediatric
Ask us about our pediatric education!
Pediatric FAQ
A quick tipsheet
with answers to
frequently asked
questions, like "what
do I do if friends and
family - or other kids
- have questions?"
and "what do I do if my child pulls
the pouch off?"
Caregivers can request this via our
Coloplast® Care program.
My Child Has An
Ostomy:
A Resource Sheet
for Caregivers
A fill-in-the-blank
sheet to help parents
communicate about
their child's needs to
day care providers, school nurses,
and other caregivers.
Caregivers can request this via our
Coloplast® Care program.
Life After Your
Child’s Ostomy
A high-level
overview of
anatomy, how to
change a pouch,
pouching system
options, where to get
supplies, dietary notes, and other
information in English or Spanish.
Caregivers can request this via our
Coloplast® Care program.
When I Met Tipster:
A coloring book
for children with
ostomies
A simple coloring
book to help kids
engage with their
ostomy surgery and
"new normal" - or learn more about
a sibling's ostomy.
Available to hospitals via Coloplast
sales representatives, or to caregivers
via our Coloplast® Care program.
Jake Gets a Stoma
A children's book
written by Jake's
mom, who wanted a
better way to explain
the surgery and stoma management
to her son and other kids going
through the same thing.
Available to hospitals via Coloplast
sales representatives, or to caregivers
via our Coloplast® Care program.
SenSura® Mio Bunny
Coloplast offers
a complimentary
training bunny for
product education
use with both
SenSura® Mio
Baby & Kids. Contact your sales
representative for more information.
Limitations apply. The SenSura®
Mio bunny is provided to healthcare
providers to offer to families
for teaching purposes only and
should only be used with Coloplast
products.
Teen Life with an
Ostomy
Navigating school,
what to wear, and
hanging out with
friends aren't covered
by the average adult-
oriented materials -
that's why we're so excited to feature
tips from Paige, a teen who's been
through it all!
Available to patients via our
Coloplast® Care program.
Caring for a child after any surgery can be a learning process.
But when children are recovering from surgery and getting
used to a pouching system, it can pose more challenges for
parents and caregivers.
It often takes adults with an ostomy many months to feel fully
comfortable with the change to the body. Depending on age,
personality and ability to adapt, the same may be true for
your child—and for you as well. In some cases both you and
the child may need to adapt to the changes, and practice
patience, until living with an ostomy becomes a perfectly
natural part of your daily routine.
What should I know about the skin
near the stoma?
It’s hard to overstate the importance of maintaining the
health of skin around the stoma. The skin under the ostomy
barrier should look a lot like the skin on the rest of the
abdomen. Skin that’s healthy is much less likely to become
irritated. The pouching system also attaches better to
healthy skin.
How do I keep my child’s skin healthy?
There are things you can do to prevent stool or urine from
coming into contact with skin around the stoma. And even if
the skin does become irritated, proper care should return
your child’s skin to good health.
• When cleaning the skin near the stoma, use water. If there
is any adhesive residue on the skin after cleansing, leave it
alone.
• Avoid using bath oils, or soaps with moisturizers and
perfumes, since they can make it harder for the barrier to
adhere to skin. Make sure not to apply lotion to the skin
near the stoma, as this can also make the barrier not stick.
• Before applying the barrier, make sure the skin is clean and
completely dry.
• Adjust the hole in the barrier so that it fits exactly to the
diameter of the stoma. Do not leave any skin exposed.
• Periodically check the size of the stoma. If there are any
changes in stoma size, be sure to adjust the hole size of the
barrier.
• Ensure tight contact between the skin and the barrier by
using your hand to put light pressure over the barrier for
two or three minutes.
• Change the barrier as soon as you can if you notice any
discomfort, itching or leaking.
• Your child can bathe with or without the pouching system
on. Just be sure to use a mild skin cleanser and rinse the
skin around the stoma thoroughly with water.
Wellness Education
Frequently asked questions for parents and caregivers
Wellness Education
A resource sheet for caregivers, teachers and school nurses
Note to caregivers
My child has an ostomy. This sheet tells you a little about
ostomy surgery, how to care for an ostomy and other
information that may be useful while my child is in your care.
An ostomy is the surgical creation of an opening in the
abdomen. This opening, also called a stoma, allows stool
(bowel movement) or urine to drain from the body.
There are many reasons why an infant or child may need an
ostomy, and quite often it is a life-saving operation. There are
three different types of ostomies. Both an ileostomy and a
colostomy are made from a portion of the intestine, and both
drain stool. An ileostomy is formed from the small intestine; the
stool is often somewhat liquid in nature. A colostomy is created
from the large intestine; the stool is usually more formed, or
solid. A urostomy, which is creates a new pipeline for urine to
exit the kidneys and ureters from the body, drains urine.
My child has a/an
A stoma is red and moist and looks and feels much like the
skin on the inside of the cheek. The stoma doesn’t hurt when
it is touched or cleansed. Because it has a rich blood supply,
a stoma may even bleed a little when touched during care.
Since someone with an ostomy cannot control when urine or
stool drains from the stoma, a plastic pouch will need to be
worn at all times. The pouch is held on the body with an
adhesive patch called a skin barrier. The barrier has a hole in
the middle just large enough for the stoma. It’s called a “skin
barrier” since it not only holds the pouch onto the body, it
also protects the skin around the stoma so that no stool or
urine touches the skin.
Ostomy care: Emptying the pouch
Some ostomy pouches have an opening at the end from
which the contents can be drained. This type of pouch must
be emptied periodically. As a general rule, a pouch should be
emptied when it is 1/3 full of gas, stool or urine. (A full pouch
is more difficult to empty. It can also become heavy and
cause the adhesive to pull loose from the skin.)
My child’s pouch needs to be emptied every
hours, at
approximately these times of day:
My child needs help emptying the pouch.
My child does not need help emptying the pouch.
Tips
• Empty the pouch before naptime and bedtime, or before
trips in the car.
• After emptying, wipe the bottom of the pouch with tissue or
a wet wipe before closing.
• If disposable diapers are worn, you can empty the pouch
content into the diaper when you are changing the diaper.
• Do not clean, rinse or flush out the inside of the pouch
when the child is wearing it. This may weaken the skin
barrier seal and cause urine or stool to seep under any
openings and onto the skin.
If my child’s pouch needs care, follow these steps /guidelines:
Child’s Name: Child’s Age:
Written by Kimberly LaRose
Illustrated by Sara J Weingartner
Tipster
When I met
A child’s story about
living with a stoma
Teen life with an ostomy 1
Teen life with
an ostomy
Paige,
Ileostomate
Information from Coloplast Care is for educational purposes only. It is not intended
to substitute for professional medical advice and should not be interpreted to
contain treatment recommendations. You should rely on the healthcare professional
who knows your individual history for personal medical advice and diagnosis.