Tag: ostomy bag

Learning to conceal your ostomy bag

Lee Hawkins

Times are changing and so is my own fashion.  Now most of us are living life a little bit differently than normal.  The pandemic has really worked a number on who we are allowed to be and I think that now more than ever hiding your medical issues is important. The majority of us are now staying at home due to local state-mandated stay at home laws.  We are getting outside less frequently but many states do allow individuals to go outside for exercise and to visit parks.  I myself try to visit a local park at the very least once a week.  When you go out and it is now a really big deal to go out, everyone wants to look their best.  In this case, if you are going to a local park then you will most likely be a little more active than your normal routine of staying at home or working from home.  So in order to keep your ostomy supplies on your body safe, you want to dress well and also be able to essentially hide it with your clothing.  

Now we are all allowed to think about how we want, but I am a fan of being mysterious. It is in no way needed to hide your ostomy bag.  There is literally nothing to be ashamed of or even self-conscious about. But it is nice to keep it out of sight and out of mind when you are going outside to enjoy the scenery.  The last thing you want to think about is what you are wearing.  Those thoughts are for self-conscious you in high school.  So instead just get the right clothing to keep your Ostomy gear tucked away.  I prefer to use the concealed carry way of living and follow the same steps as I would conceal my own Glock. 

A great tool you can use is a bag that has belt loops on it.  This is useful because you can get an ostomy belt that is meant to keep your bag close to your body.  I find there are many belts that are specifically designed to be comfortable and not cause any irritations with your body.  There is nothing worse than creating rashes or extra skin problems due to having an item not work well.  So I suggest trying several out to make sure they work with your body.  I have created lots of sores on my body due to being outside too long with the wrong product and that is not a very comfortable situation.  It takes my body a few weeks to heal a sore area that blistered and scabs over.  For me that is several weeks that I am not able to go outside and be as active as I would like and that is simply not acceptable.  

Don’t settle for a bad set up and make sure your gear is made of the best material.  This may mean researching on your own and even testing out multiple companies.   It is worth it to not only do this but to search social media for others doing the same thing to see their set up as well.  So go out, be safe and get the right gear for you to have fun outdoors!

Last beach run with my stoma

Lee Hawkins

The year is starting to come to an end and it is getting cold.  This is when it is time for a friends and family tradition.  This is not really a polar bear plunge, but it is the time of year when we do our final beach run.  I am a pretty big outdoor person, but not entirely a beach person.  But even though I have a stoma and go every single day with my ostomy bag I still enjoy the beach. The fact is that having my stoma has not really kept me from doing anything that I couldn’t do before the surgery. 

I have been reflecting a lot on my life lately and at one point in time, I thought I would end it because of my stoma.  I was simply too young to have one and it made me so angry to even think about it.  Going to the beach in my mind at that point was just as bad as walking through fire barefoot.  But things have changed and so have I.  Those initial fears and anger were totally understandable and in some cases justifiable, but totally unnecessary.  I have simply found out that with the incredible ostomy gear available in 2020 I am 100% fine with going to the beach and even looking good doing it.

There are a few things that I have done over the years to make my beach-going trips better and for keeping my own mental stability during my beach trips.  The biggest thing to me is to simply be able to go.  Getting in the mental right mind to be able to get out and know that it is going to be ok at the beach is key.  This means for me that I have to have the confidence to know my ostomy gear is going to work.  That is really the key and for me, I try really hard to keep up with what is going on in the industry and in my own mind I work hard to get the best gear for me.  I also work really hard at keeping up with people with stomas on social media as well to see how they go to the beach and how they live and look as well.  That is really important to me and keeping up with social media allows me to rock the beach because I am using what not only myself finds to be the best but what I see others use as well.  And I am definitely one of those social media nuts and post all the time and it helps others out.  We all learn from each other and we all look better and better doing it.

I also like to make sure that I take a great bag filled with all the emergency situations that I may get into.  Now I have never gotten into an emergency situation at the beach and all of my gear has worked perfectly for years, but having a waterproof bag and container to go with me really helps me get through the mental aspect of what could go wrong. It is key for me to feel comfortable and I think most people feel that way when taking clothes off at the beach too!