Lots of meetings are going online now:

  • Saturday, July 11, 1:00 pm, the Ostomy Association of Northern Oklahoma will have Randall Boord, from Hollister as a guest speaker.
  • Wednesday, July 15th, 5:00 pm, UCHealth, Anshutz Wound/Ostomy Group
  • Tuesday, July 28th, 7:00 pm, Denver Metro Ostomy Group, guest speaker will be me!

If you have an interest in any of these meetings, let me know and I’ll send the links.

4 Common Convex Ostomy Skin Barrier Myths

I thought this was an interesting article in the most recent Hollister SecureStart Newsletter. Flat wafers are almost always used when we’re in the hospital after surgery, but there are a lot of good reasons for using a convex wafer. The four myths discussed here are:

  • All convexity is the same (it’s not)
  • A convex skin barrier is uncomfortable or even painful (not at all!)
  • I have to wait to use convexity
  • If my stoma is level with my skin, I need a convex skin barrier

If you’re having skin issues, it never hurts to try a convex wafer, and you can get some free samples to check them out.

New Products from ConvaTec

The June 13th meeting of the Ostomy Association of Northern Oklahoma had a presentation by Tom Dingler and Lauren Brown from ConvaTec. Tom and Lauren pointed out that ConvaTec has enhanced the technology in many of their products, including updated pouch shapes, improved filters, roll-up clipless closures and peekaboo inspection windows. They highlighted ConvaTec’s line of EsteemTM+ (one-piece) convex pouches, which offer 3 types of convexity: Soft Convex, Flex Convex and Firm Convex. With reference to the following measurements:

Soft Convex and Flex Convex are both flexible but differ in convexity depth (4 mm and 7 mm respectively). Firm Convex has convexity depth 5 mm with a more rigid barrier. Soft Convex and Flex Convex both offer a range of plateau widths, which vary the distance from the stoma that the convex barrier pushes inward on the skin. If you’d like to try any samples of ConvaTec products, please contact Lauren Brown at Lauren.CVTconcierge@convatec.com or 877-585-0470, opt. 7. (credit to Bob Baumel of the Ostomy Assoc of Northern OK for this text)

It’s Hot Outside!

The temps this week are averaging 95-100 degrees every day. We’re lucky that our climate is temperate, but 100 is still 100. Even though we’re all staying inside more than ever this summer, it a good idea to remember to stay hydrated. Hope everyone is staying safe!