Urostomy- How to Treat Urinary Crystals?

A Urostomy is a surgical opening in the abdominal region to redirect urine from the body. The small opening made for this purpose is called a stoma. Urostomy surgery is usually performed after an injury, disease such as bladder cancer or a birth defect leading to bladder damage. A small portion of the small bowel (intestine) is used to create the stoma. The ureters from each kidney are attached to the stoma, allowing urine to safely drain from the body. A urostomy pouch is then placed over the stoma and worn outside the body. The pouch will need to be emptied when full.

Whenever urine is alkaline, urinary crystals can form on the stoma and the surrounding skin. These crystals would feel granular and gritty like sand. They appear as white particles. Urinary crystals lead to stoma irritation that may result in unwanted bleeding. To keep urinary crystals to a minimum it is best to maintain acidic urine.

Ways To Maintain Urine Acidity

There are certain ways to reduce the urine’s alkaline nature and increase the acidic quality. Some of those are:

• Drink plenty of water (8 to 10 glasses a day).
• Drink more water if the temperature is hot or in fever.
• Consume more meat, cereals, beans, fish, coffee, plums and prunes to maintain an acidic pH.
• Drink cranberry juice instead of orange juice. This will make the urine acidic.

1. Prepare a solution of 1 part white vinegar & 1 part with water.
2. Remove the urostomy pouch carefully.
3. To remove skin prep or ostomy adhesive, use warm water and rinse the stoma.
4. Take vinegar and water solution and apply to the stoma for a couple of minutes.
5. The urinary crystal will dissolve in the solution and the area will be easy to cleane.
6. Finally, rinse the area with warm water and carry on with your pouching routine.
    

Using the right solution can assist in cleaning the crystals from the urostomy pouch. Products such as Hollister M9 Odor Cleaner/Decrystallizer is specially formulated for use with urinary drainage system. It is pH balanced and non-acidic which effectively and safely eliminates odors. Do not use it for cleaning the stoma or skin around.

Hollister M9 Odor Cleaner and Decrystallizer