Drainable Vs. Closed Pouch

For those who are buying the Ostomy supplies that they need, they may wonder whether or not they should get  a drainable or a closed pouch. In this, you’ll learn the differences between both, and why you may choose one or the other when it comes to living with the ostomy. 

Drainable Pouches 

A drainable pouch is one that has an open end and usually has a closure that’s there, including a clamp, that’ll press into there, or maybe a seal or Velcro that lest you empty out the pouch, and then use this again over time. Some people also may have a lock that fastens all of this together, offering more comfort in some cases and extra security compared to closed pouches, so it offers more confidence as you start to live your life once more. This is usually better for collecting liquid releases rather than actual solid waste, so it might not be good for colostomies if they’re further down, but a urostomy or an ileostomy may benefit from this one. 

It also doesn’t need to be changed as often, but it can be harder to empty out if you do have a thicker output.  However, this is easy to clean out, and even empty too, and you can do this usually when it’s about halfway full.  You can also clean the output when you’re done, so that everything’s cleaned up.Ideally, this is for those pouches that have draining outputs, and if you have a lot of discharge, this can be good for you to have. 

Closed Pouches 

These are those that are one-time use, and they are removed when they’re full. You cannot reuse after they’re emptied, and you usually change these up to three times a day.  Closed pouches are better for swimming, intimacy, or any moment where you want to make sure that you don’t have anything leaving your pouch. It also is better for bowel movements that are more formed, or if the consistency is thicker. This odes need to be disposed however even when you’re not at home, so be mindful of that when you’re getting rid of the output. This is usually best for those that have less frequent discharge, and you may want to have it for those moments when you do have to take out a lot of discharge, and you need to only change this a few times. 

Both of these systems are good for their needs, but this is ultimately a preference and personal choice that’ll help you figure out which is better for the needs that you have and also will help you get the most that you can.Some closed systems can be removed too, and you can take the appliance bag off, while still keeping the stoma attachments there. If you do use this though, you might need different wafers, so do bear this in mind when you’re using this. So what’s better? Well, there isn’t one that’s better than the other, it’s all ultimately dependent on the results that you want from this, and the impact you hope that this will create. 

A lot of people do benefit from this, and there is a lot that you can do with these, so do be mindful, look at your options, and choose for yourself the best options that you can, so that you’re getting the results not only for your own personal needs, but also for the systems that are easiest for you to use. There are so many options so the sky’s the limit on this, and you’ll be able to do a lot.