United Ostomy Association, Inc.
Evansville, Indiana Chapter
Re-Route

 
Contents:

ANTIBIOTIC SIDE EFFECTS
CHAPTER BRIEF
CHICKEN SOUP - INSTEAD OF PILLS
EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER
THE OPTIMIST
CALCIUM INTAKE AND KIDNEY STONES
STRESS & INTESTINAL GAS
FOR OUR LADY OSTOMATES
CARTOONSVILLE

Re-Route Archive

Volume 26, Number 5  February, 1999

ANTIBIOTIC SIDE EFFECTS
Via: Lorraine County Chapter
Many times, ostomates who must take powerful antibiotics for one reason or another, suddenly find they have itching and burning under their pouches and poor pouch adhesion. A side effect of antibiotics therapy can be a yeast infection on the skin around your stoma. At first, it may appear as tiny white pimples, but in a few days a fiery red rash may occur. This is caused by the antibiotic killing some normal bacteria in the body, as well as the bacteria causing infection or illness. At the same time, you may also notice sores in your mouth, diarrhea, vaginal irritation and a similar rash on the perianal area. Contact your doctor for a prescription of Mycostatin or Mystatin powder. Cleanse the skin around the stoma. Sprinkle the powder directly onto the irritation. Apply a coat of silicone skin barrier such as Skin Prep or Bard Protective Skin Barrier, etc. Let this dry and apply a pouch as usual. 

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CHAPTER BRIEF
Our chapter now has its own registered web page, thanks to Larry Trapp. For several months now, we have been displaying our internet address in the brief directory on this page, opposite this article. Our new URL is: www.ostomy.evansville.net. Our web site gets a lot of visitors and we feel it's very important in this information age to be accessible to those who may need our services. Often the person visiting our web site is not the ostomate, but a concerned family member who needs to learn more about ostomies, to help them care for the new ostomate. Recently I received a call from a local person seeking information relating to his father's recent emergency ostomy surgery. Our chapter was able to meet this request because we were accessible via the internet. As it turns out, we were able to pass along the name and location of the nearest ostomy chapter to the new ostomate who lived in Alabama. Hopefully, the information we helped to provide as a direct result of our being on the internet will ultimately be of great benefit to the new ostomate and his family.

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CHICKEN SOUP - INSTEAD OF PILLS
Ileostomy Association of N.Y., Ostomy Insight
Chicken soup is anti-inflammatory according to Dr. Stephen Rennard, MD, Chief of Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Rennard tested nineteen samples with his wife's grandmother's recipe and found the soup blocked the movement of inflammatory white cells (neutrophils) in lab tests. That's important because cold symptoms - coughs, congestion, malaise - often are due to inflammation produced when neutrophils migrate to the bronchia tubes and accumulate there. Chicken soup seems to prevent this. The soup worked even when diluted two hundred times. Irwin Ziment, MD. is a pulmonary specialist and professor at the UCLA School of Medicine. Cysteine, an amino acid released from chicken in cooking, chemically resembles the drug, acetylesysteine, prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems. Pungent ingredients, such as garlic, cayenne pepper and curry spices, often added to chicken soup all are ancient treatments for respiratory diseases. They work the same way as expectorant drugs and cough medicines, thinning mucus and making breathing easier. The more garlic and hot spices added to chicken soup, Ziment says, the better the soup will be at clearing your lungs. Ziment's bottom line: "Chicken soup is probably the best therapy there is for a cold." The easiest way to get to sleep is to count your blessings instead of your problem

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EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER
Via: Ostomy Newsnotes, Springfield, MA
Having an ileostomy does require some patience, I'm afraid. Even though as a person with an ostomy, I have a 100% better quality of life than I did when I had ulcerative colitis. There are, of course, some minor drawbacks. One of which are pouch leaks; infrequent, but not predictable. The best approach to these situations is to be calm and relaxed as best one can. I have had several accidents (pouch leaks) in the last three years and have dealt with them in various ways. In the beginning, I would get frantic and anxious and thought that this was the ultimate in disasters. I really did not have the coping skills to deal with a half-full or full pouch coming off or leaking. Almost always it was due to my not completely clicking the two-piece together or not closing the end of the pouch completely. My first reaction was horror "not what can I do?" Of course, the answers were obvious. I clean myself up, throw out the pouch that leaked or fell off, put on a new one and go about my business. However, in the early months after surgery, I was very apprehensive that an "accident" was going to occur and I really was not prepared as to how to deal with one. By now, I have experienced occasional leaks and know what to do. 

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THE OPTIMIST
From: More Sower's Seeds by: Brian Cavnaugh
There is a story of identical twins. One was a hope-filled optimist. "Everything is coming up roses!" he would say. The other was a sad and hopeless pessimist. He thought the Murphy, as in Murphy's Law, was an optimist. The worried parents of the boys brought them to the local psychologist. He suggested to the parents a plan to balance the twin's personalities. "On their next birthday, put them in separate rooms to open their gifts. Give the pessimist the best toys you can afford, and give the optimist a box of manure." The parents followed these instructions and carefully observed the results. When they peeked in on the pessimist, they heard him audibly complaining, "I don't like the color of this computer ... I'll bet this calculator will break ... I don't like this game ... I know someone who's got a bigger toy car than this..." Tiptoeing across the corridor, the parents peeked in and saw their little optimist gleefully throwing the manure up in the air. He was giggling. "You can't fool me! Where there's this much manure, there's got to be a pony!" 

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CALCIUM INTAKE AND KIDNEY STONES
Orange Oasis, Orange, CA
Calcium is a problem for people without a colon. Those who spent a long time on prednisone, as well as post menopausal women, need extra calcium to rebuild or maintain bone density; but if we get too much calcium, we increase an already high risk of developing kidney stones (which are formed of calcium and oxalates.) Calcium from food sources dairy products, tofu, deep green leafy vegetables and canned sardines and salmon (with the bones) - does double duty. Not only does it provide what we need for bone maintenance, it also binds with oxalates in the body to be excreted, thereby slowing kidney stone growth. Calcium supplements provide the mineral for bone growth, but do not accomplish the oxalate binding and so contribute to kidney stone development.

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STRESS & INTESTINAL GAS
Via: Metro Washinton By-Pass
Stress is the cause of one of the most common gastrointestinal complaints. Flatulence occurs in people during stressful situations. While under stress, breathing is deeper and one sighs more, encouraging a greater than normal intake of air. Dr. Richter, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, states that the average person belches about 14 times a day (GI Series Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 4). The person with a flatulence problem does not belch more often. However, they may experience the sensation of needing to belch and get little relief from doing so. Here are some ways to relieve gas. 1. Avoid heavy fatty meals, especially during stressful situations. 2. Reduce the quantity of food consumed at one sitting. Eat small low-fat meals about every three hours. 3. Avoid drinking beverages out of cans or bottles. Avoid drinking through a straw. 4. Avoid foods and beverages you personally cannot tolerate.5. Avoid any practice that causes intake of air, such as chewing gum, smoking, blended foods that contain a lot of air. 6. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. 7. With the advice of your doctor and ET nurse, experiment with foods in your diet to achieve adequate bowel regularity. 8. Avoid eating too many fiber foods in one meal. Gradually add fiber foods in your diet to prevent excessive intestinal gas. 9. Avoid skipping meals, an empty bowel encourages small and gassy stool. Poor digestion can often exaggerate the symptoms associated with flatulence. Digestion enzymes aid in food assimilation and chemical digestion. Enzyme supplements should always be taken immediately before or after eating. Food coats the stomach and helps prevent gastric juices and acids from destroying the enzyme action.

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FOR OUR LADY OSTOMATES
Via: The Beacon & S. NV's Town Karaya
Are you one of the many who take Premarin? If so, does it work as it should, with the smallest possible dosage? Are there side effects because you need to take quite a bit of medications? Watch the drainage from your ostomy. If you ever notice a little "bean-like" object, probably white, it may be your Premarin tablet with only the color coating dissolved. I found this happening to me and I have worked out a solution that might help others too. It involves some work, but if Premarin is needed, it is worth the work. I crush the tablet with a pill crusher, then grind it with a mortar and pestle. When it is crushed rather finely, I spoon it into a "oo" size gelatin capsule. It is easier to work up several tablets at a time. One capsule holds approximately the amount in one tablet, at least near enough so it works properly for me. I have read the medicine in gelatin capsules does not work as well for ileostomates. I believe whoever wrote that was referring to "time release" capsules, which do not work well for ileostomates, but I find they work very well for the pulverized Premarin. A druggist told me that Premarin has the hardest coating used on pills. That may or may not be the absolute truth, but I certainly have found that I don't get any good from Premarin in the form of tablets. I find it works as it should when it is put in the capsules.

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