He knew the first rule: do not eat. Do not drink a full glass of water. You cannot push a cork down a full bottle. Instead, he shuffled to the kitchen, poured a warm cup of peppermint tea, and sat down. He took tiny, rabbit-sized sips. Warm liquids acted like a gentle lubricant. He avoided cold water—his surgeon had told him cold shocks the bowel into a spasm.
The pain pulsed again, a 6 out of 10. He ran a warm bath. As he lowered himself into the water, the heat began to unclench the knots in his abdominal wall. He then performed the "gas pass" pose—knees to his chest as best he could. stoma blockage what to do
Leo felt the pressure in his abdomen release like a popped balloon. The colicky pain vanished, replaced by the dull ache of relief. He cleaned up, applied a new pouch, and drank another small cup of tea. He knew the first rule: do not eat
He then tried the trick his ostomy nurse, Brenda, had taught him: The Splosh . He took a 60ml syringe (without the needle) filled with warm tap water. Gently, he inserted the tip into the opening of his stoma. Not deep—just the tip. He slowly, slowly depressed the plunger. A few drops of water went in. He waited. A gurgle. He did it again. This wasn't a flush; it was a "lube job." Instead, he shuffled to the kitchen, poured a
He knew this feeling. It wasn’t the normal gurgle of his ileostomy. This was the enemy: a blockage.
After twenty minutes in the bath, he stood up. He didn't put a new bag on yet. He took a warm, damp washcloth and held it over Buddy himself. The heat made the stoma relax and swell slightly—that was good. It meant blood flow was active.
Suddenly, a small, hard pellet of undigested nut flew out into the washcloth. Followed by a spurt of liquid. Then a loud, glorious, bubbling fart.