Stoma

A stoma is a surgically made opening on the abdomen that gives stool or urine a new way to leave the body when part of the bowel or urinary tract is bypassed, rested, or removed. It is a roundish opening, usually about one to two inches wide, made by bringing the end or a loop of the intestine (or part of the urinary tract) through the abdominal wall and turning it back on itself so the moist inner lining sits at the surface (Cleveland Clinic).

One fact reassures most people more than any other: the stoma has no nerve endings, so it does not hurt to touch. When you clean or change the appliance you may feel pressure, but not pain (Cleveland Clinic).

What a healthy stoma looks like

A healthy stoma is pink or red and moist, much like the inside of your mouth. It can bleed a tiny amount when cleaned, the way your gums sometimes do when you brush, and that is normal. Contact your stoma care nurse or care team if the stoma bleeds more than a little, or if it turns dark, purple, or black rather than its usual pink-red (Cleveland Clinic).

The three main types

The word "stoma" describes the opening; the type is named after what it connects to:

• Colostomy, made from the large bowel (colon), usually on the lower-left side. Because the colon has already absorbed most of the water from waste, the output tends to be more formed (NHS: Colostomy).
• Ileostomy, made from the end of the small intestine (ileum), usually on the lower-right side. The output is looser, from watery to a porridge-like consistency, and flows more continuously (NHS: Ileostomy).
• Urostomy, connects to part of the urinary tract, so it drains urine rather than stool (Cleveland Clinic: Urostomy).

This difference in output is why ileostomy and colostomy care advice is not interchangeable: an ileostomy carries a higher risk of dehydration and reacts differently to food, while a colostomy is more prone to constipation.

Temporary or permanent

A stoma can be temporary or permanent. Sometimes it is needed only for a few months while the bowel heals, and a later operation can reverse it; in other situations it is a lasting change. Which one applies depends on why the surgery was done, and is a question for your surgical and stoma care team (Cleveland Clinic).