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Ileostomy - what to ask your doctor

Show Alternative Names
Ostomy - what to ask your doctor
What to ask your doctor about ileostomy or colostomy
Colostomy - what to ask your doctor
Stoma - what to ask your doctor

You have had an operation to create an ileostomy or colostomy. Your ileostomy or colostomy changes the way your body gets rid of waste (stool, feces, or "poop").

You now have an opening in your belly called a stoma. Waste will pass through the stoma into a pouch that collects it. You will need to take care of your stoma and empty the pouch.

If the surgery connects the pouch to the end of the small intestine (ileum) it is called an ileostomy . If it connects the pouch to somewhere in the large intestine, it is called a colostomy.

Below are some questions you may want to ask your health care provider to help you take care of your ileostomy or colostomy.

Questions

Will I be able to wear the same clothes as before?

What will the stool look like that comes from the ileostomy or colostomy? How many times a day will I need to empty it? Should I expect an odor or smell?

Will I be able to travel?

How do I change the pouch?

  • How often do I need to change the pouch?
  • What supplies do I need, and where can I get them? How much do they cost?
  • What is the best way to empty the pouch?
  • How do I clean the bag afterward?

Can I take showers? Can I take a bath? Can I swim? Do I need to wear the pouch when I bathe?

Can I still play sports? Can I go back to work?

Can I still have sex?

Do I need to change the medicines I am taking? Will birth control pills still work?

What changes do I need to make in my diet?

What can I do if my stools are too loose? Are there foods that will make my stools more firm?

What can I do if my stools are too hard? Are there foods that will make my stools looser or more watery? Do I need to drink more liquids?

What should I do if nothing is coming out of the stoma into the pouch?

  • How long is too long?
  • Are there foods that may cause blockage of the stoma or opening?
  • How can I change my diet to prevent this problem?

What should my stoma look like when it is healthy?

  • How should I care for the stoma every day? How often should I clean it? What types of tape, creams, or paste can I use on the stoma?
  • Does insurance cover the cost of ostomy supplies?
  • What should I do if there is bleeding from the stoma, if it appears red or swollen, or if there is a sore on the stoma?
  • What happens if the stoma starts to leak?

When should I contact my provider?

How do I get more information on this (such as using a wound care and ostomy nurse or organizations that connect me to other people with an ostomy)?

Review Date: 2/3/2025

Reviewed By

Jenifer K. Lehrer, MD, Gastroenterologist, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

References

American Cancer Society website. Ileostomy guide. www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/treatment-types/surgery/ostomies/ileostomy.html. Updated October 16, 2019. Accessed April 6, 2025.

Raza A, Araghizadeh F. Ileostomies, colostomies, pouches, and anastomoses. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 117.

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Large intestine anatomy - Illustration Thumbnail

Large intestine anatomy

One of the important jobs of the large intestine is to absorb the remaining water from the food residue passing through the intestines. The residue that is left remains in a semisolid state and is propelled toward the rectum by peristalsis. Through reflexes which are triggered by a full colon, feces is eliminated from the body.

Illustration

Large intestine anatomy - Illustration Thumbnail

Large intestine anatomy

One of the important jobs of the large intestine is to absorb the remaining water from the food residue passing through the intestines. The residue that is left remains in a semisolid state and is propelled toward the rectum by peristalsis. Through reflexes which are triggered by a full colon, feces is eliminated from the body.

Illustration

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language.

© 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

All content on this site including text, images, graphics, audio, video, data, metadata, and compilations is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may view the content for personal, noncommercial use. Any other use requires prior written consent from Ebix. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, publish, reverse-engineer, adapt, modify, store beyond ordinary browser caching, index, mine, scrape, or create derivative works from this content. You may not use automated tools to access or extract content, including to create embeddings, vectors, datasets, or indexes for retrieval systems. Use of any content for training, fine-tuning, calibrating, testing, evaluating, or improving AI systems of any kind is prohibited without express written consent. This includes large language models, machine learning models, neural networks, generative systems, retrieval-augmented systems, and any software that ingests content to produce outputs. Any unauthorized use of the content including AI-related use is a violation of our rights and may result in legal action, damages, and statutory penalties to the fullest extent permitted by law. Ebix reserves the right to enforce its rights through legal, technological, and contractual measures.
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