Stoma blockages happen when something is stopping your output from coming out. Often times it’s food related (see page 18 of the UOAA nutrition guide for a chart on foods most likely to cause a blockage).
Causes of Ostomy Blockage
A food-related ostomy blockage is usually caused by not chewing your food well enough and/or not drinking enough liquid or eating enough soluble fiber to help your food move along your digestive system.
How do you know what “well enough” means? My understanding is that the hole in your abdominal muscles that the intestine is pulled through doesn’t have as much flexibility as the intestine itself. What this means is, if a piece of food is too big, or smaller pieces bind together, sometimes they can’t get through the your abdominal muscles to come out of your stoma, resulting in a full or partial blockage. This is why chewing is SO important if you have a fecal ostomy.
When you eat something and you’re convinced that you’ve chewed it well enough, but then find yourself backed up, it could be because all of the little pieces are having a traffic jam.
Here’s an analogy that I keep in mind when I’m eating hard-to-break-down foods: Imagine 5 lanes of traffic flowing along smoothly, but suddenly all 5 lanes have to merge into one lane. It causes a traffic jam as each car is trying to take their turn to get into the one lane. In this situation, usually things work themselves out eventually, but it’s still not a pleasant experience. This happened to me while I was a couple months out of ostomy surgery, eating almond meal pancakes.
Blockages can also be caused due to surgery complications, adhesions, hernias and pregnancy.
How to Handle an Ostomy Blockage
- DRINK LOTS OF WATER, hot water, tea, coca cola, grape juice
- Take a warm bath or shower to relax your muscles
- Gently massage your abdomen around the stoma in hopes that a little pressure will help “pop” the blockage out”
- DON’T EAT SOLID FOODS.
- Take off your appliance if your stoma starts to swell up more than normal, as if it continues to swell your wafer could cut into it and cause it to bleed. If you put your appliance back on before the blockage has passed, cut it a little bigger to compensate for possible swelling.
- Hug your knees to your chest and roll back and forth on your back
- Don’t hesitate to call your WOCN or doctor for advice if you suspect you have a blockage.
- Call your WOCN and/or go to the hospital if you begin vomiting or have a complete blockage that doesn’t respond to your home treatment.
- The UOAA put together a PDF with instructions for what to do at home that also includes instructions for the ER to follow if you end up having to go to the hospital. I printed this out and keep it with me when I travel, just in case.