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8th Support Group Meeting

Support Group Meeting #8 was held on January 22, 2019, at 630PM. in the Board of Directors' meeting room of the University of Miami Hospital.

Our very own Board member vice president, Ana M. Restrepo, RN, BSN, CWON, was the speaker. Ana is a Registered Nurse, has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is a Certified Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse; a credential offered by the Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing Certification Board. Ana teaches the OCA course offered to nurses for credit toward their license, which is co-sponsored by WOCN and Miami Ostomy Aftercare.

Topic: “PERISTOMAL SKIN PROBLEMS - What You Need to Know to Heal Skin Breakdown Around The Stoma”.

  • These Injuries to the skin are within a 3‐4 inch radius of the stoma.
  • It is not uncommon for people with a stoma to encounter a peristomal skin complication.
  • Many people with an ostomy are unaware that they have a skin problem and some have pain and leakage.
  • Skin problems can reduce life satisfaction and can increase healthcare cost and hospital stays.

She said the following are signs of Peristomal Skin Complications:

  • Discomfort, itching, soreness and even pain around the stoma.
  • Recurrent leakage under pouching system or skin barrier.
  • Excessive bleeding of stoma.
  • Bulge in skin around stoma.
  • Skin color changes from normal to red, bluish or purple.
  • A rash around the stoma that is red or red with bumps.
  • Wart-like, Pimple-like or Blister-like bumps under the skin barrier.
  • Any type of wound or scratch on the peristomal skin.

She also discussed the contributing factors to these irritations and talked about Irritant Contact Dermatitis, which is Inflammation or erosion of the peristomal skin resulting from contact with stool or urine, usually from leakage under the pouching system or other sources of moisture and gave the causes, symptoms and how to manage it. Then she demonstrated how to treat the infected area and the proper way to apply the stoma powder.

Other Peristomal Skin Problems discussed in detail were:

  • Peristomal Mechanical skin damage.
  • Folliculitis.
  • Peristomal Fungal Infection (candidiasis).
  • Allergic Contact Dermatitis.
  • Granulomas.
  • Peristomal Pressure Injury.
  • Peristomal Pyoderma Gangrenosum.
  • Pseudoverrucous Lesions (HYPERPLASIA)
  • Peristomal Varices (Caput Medusae)

She went through each problem explaining the definition, symptoms, cause, management and treatment.

We thank Ana for this excellent presentation and valuable information and for her generosity in allowing us to post her entire Power Point presentation on our website. We urge all ostomy patients and nurses to go to our website and familiarize yourselves with this valuable information. See the photos and learn the proper way to care for these irritations.

We are happy to see more new patients at each meeting and are trying to keep our meetings informative and make them enjoyable for all of our patients, caregivers and nurses.

Refreshments were provided by Miami Ostomy Aftercare.

We hope you will join us at our next meeting which will be on Tuesday, February 26th at 630PM, the University of Miami Hospital, Room 2026. The speaker will be Jessica Moya, M.S., RDN/LDN and her topic will be “Nutritional Care for Ostomates”.