The malfunctioning of your urinary or GI tract could result in the doctor opting to give you an ostomy. An ostomy is a hole in the abdomen that bypasses the natural excretory pathway. There are three types of ostomy, two of which are related to the gastrointestinal tract, and one is related to the urinary tract. Two of the ostomy types associated with the GI tract are the ileostomy and colostomy, while one type of ostomy that passes out urine from the body is the urostomy. An ostomy, no matter what type, has the sole purpose of saving your life.

After surgery, you will have an opening in the abdomen. This opening is known as the stoma. A stoma is the piece of a small or large intestine sticking out of your abdominal wall. It is sutured to the abdominal skin to avoid further protrusion or retraction.

A crucial part of the ostomy management regimen is to take care of your stoma and the skin around it. The health of your stoma and peristomal skin plays a vital role in how well an ostomy bag remains connected to this area.

One of the most important things to consider here is the type of bag you are using. The stomal output differs based on the type of ostomy you have. With the urostomy, you will have to deal with the stomal output from your kidneys. On the other hand, a colostomy or ileostomy results in the stomal output from the digestive tract. You have to make sure that the ostomy bag you use is perfectly capable of helping you to deal with the bodily waste that your stoma evacuates. That said, the type of ostomy bag may differ based on the type and nature of your stomal output.

We will explore different types of ostomy bags in the remaining part of this article.

One-piece ostomy bag

A one-piece ostomy bag comes with the pouch and the skin barrier already conjoined. That means if you need to change the pouch, you are going to have to detach the entire pouching system, including the skin barrier, from the peristomal skin. This bag remains flat with the abdominal skin, making it the right option for people who love to engage in sports. Typically, a one-piece ostomy bag is a right option for the people with a colostomy that generates more firm stool.

Two-piece ostomy bag

A two-piece ostomy bag comes with the pouch and the skin barrier as two different entities. First, you are going to have to attach the skin barrier around the stoma with the peristomal skin. Then you will have to connect the pouch with the skin barrier. The most significant benefit of this ostomy bag is that it allows you to change the pouch without taking the skin barrier off from the skin. This ostomy bag is ideal if you have to deal with more frequent and unpredictable waste evacuations.

Closed-end ostomy bags

A closed-end ostomy bag comes with a sealed bottom, meaning that you are going to have to discard it after a single-use.

Drainable ostomy bag

A drainable ostomy bag allows you to empty the contents in it for reuse. This ostomy bag is ideal for people who want more accessibility with their pouching systems.

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