Assisting with Ostomy Care

One of the issues that you may have to deal with when working with home health care patients is the problem of caring for an ostomy. An ostomy is a medical device which is installed in the person’s abdomen to replace the basic functions usually handled by the genitals or the anus to evacuate waste from the body. In other words, if someone is unable to urinate, they may have had an ostomy installed to allow them to urinate and or defecate. A part of your job will involve helping to care for the ostomy and helping your patient to adjust to living with one.

Why a Patient May Have an Ostomy? The most common reason for a patient to have an ostomy is that they have some kind of injury which has either resulted in the removal of their genitals or their colon. It is also possible for the genitals or colon to cease to function normally and as a result, an ostomy will need to be installed.