To get rid of a stoma blockage, first stop eating solids and drink warm fluids, then try gentle movement like walking, massaging the abdomen, and positions like bringing knees to your chest, while enlarging the pouch hole if the stoma swells; crucially, if symptoms like vomiting, severe pain, or no output continue, contact your stoma nurse or doctor immediately or go to the ER, as laxatives and internal remedies should not be used without medical advice.
You can try one or more of the following:
Bowel blockage or obstruction
Speak to your stoma nurse if you have cramps, feel nauseous or notice swelling around your stoma. They may recommend avoiding solid foods, massaging your tummy or having a hot bath. In more serious cases, your bowel could burst (rupture), and you may need further surgery.
A blockage is serious because your bowel could burst (rupture), and you may need further surgery. Speak to your stoma nurse urgently if you have cramps, are feeling sick or notice swelling around your stoma.
Foods that may cause constipation or blockage:
Vegetables with skins or stalks such as celery, peas or sweetcorn. Fruit with skins, seeds, pips. Wholegrain cereal such as All Bran, Weetabix, porridge or muesli.
In The Article
Some foods can make your stoma output more liquid, especially if you eat a lot of them. These include fibrous foods like wholemeal bread, wholegrain cereals, pulses, leafy green vegetables, raw vegetables, sweet corn, fruits and nuts.
The 3-6-9 rule is a guideline for interpreting abdominal X-rays to detect bowel obstruction, stating normal upper limits are 3 cm for the small bowel, 6 cm for the large bowel (colon), and 9 cm for the cecum; diameters exceeding these suggest dilation, a key sign of obstruction, with larger measurements increasing the risk of rupture (e.g., >6cm small bowel, >9cm cecum).
As the obstruction gets worse, your symptoms may happen more often and become more severe. You may have frequent vomiting, extreme bloating, and intense abdominal pain. These are signs of a complete obstruction, in which stool and gas are mostly or totally blocked from leaving the body.
Drinking enough water is key when you have a bowel blockage. Water softens stool and helps it move. Try to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day, unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Also, warm liquids like broth or herbal tea can help move your bowels.
An obstruction typically feels like severe cramping pain in your abdomen. The pain from a small bowel obstruction is more likely to come in short intermittent waves, occurring every few minutes or so. The pain is more likely to feel concentrated in one place.
Blockages/ Bowel Obstructions with a Stoma
These can be caused by certain foods that the bowel may find difficult to digest or could be caused by adhesions and scar tissues within the bowel that can prevent faecal waste from passing through.
Aim: Anecdotally, many ostomates believe that eating marshmallows can reduce ileostomy effluent. There is a plausible mechanism for this, as the gelatine contained in marshmallows may thicken small bowel fluid, but there is currently no evidence that this is effective.
However, you won't necessarily need surgery. Many blockages can be resolved with a non-invasive procedure, and patients often never have a recurrence. If you're having problems like stomach pain and an inability to pass bowel movements or gas, see your provider for diagnosis and treatment.
How To Empty Your Bowels Every Morning
A blockage in your digestive system can be: in the small intestine or the large intestine. partial (meaning your bowel is partly blocked and some faeces (poo) can still get through) or complete (meaning it is fully blocked and not even gas can get through)
Signs and symptoms of intestinal obstruction include:
The period of observation in patients managed medically ranged from 2 to 12 days (average: 6.9 days), while for those who underwent surgery, the range was 1 to 14 days (average 5.4 days).
A CT scan combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles to produce cross-sectional images. These images are more detailed than a standard X-ray, and are more likely to show an intestinal obstruction.
Clinicians should consider a foreign body or bezoar in the differential for unexplained intermittent bowel obstruction symptoms. Phytobezoars can occur from undigested plant or food material, and generally require endoscopic evaluation for diagnosis and potential treatment.
SBO presents with hallmark symptoms of abdominal pain, vomiting, distension, and obstipation. The pathophysiology includes bowel distension, impaired venous return, mucosal ischemia, bacterial translocation, and, in severe cases, necrosis, perforation, and peritonitis.
A warm bath may help relax the muscles surrounding the stoma. Experiment with movement and positions, such as bringing your knee to your chest, to potentially dislodge the blockage. Gently massage the area around your stoma and abdomen. Drawing your knees to your chest can increase pressure behind the blockage.
Foods Not to Eat with an Ileostomy or Colostomy
Raw vegetables, including salad e.g. lettuce, celery, raw bell-peppers and spring onions. Hard to digest vegetables, including beans like butter beans or green/runner beans, sweetcorn, peas, mushrooms, cabbage, brussel sprouts, spinach, kale and spring greens.
The most common early complication of an ileostomy is skin irritation. Regardless of how well the area is cared for, itching, sores, and even infections can occur. Careful cleaning and drying before attaching a new bag can help prevent irritation.