clear fluid coming from ileum

hi there, i had tumour removed from bowel 4 months ago, glad to say everything is fine, i was fitted with temporary pouch, of late i have noticed that there is clear fluid coming from ileum (i think this is the proper name for part beneath stoma) consulted stoma nurse, she says probably mucus, gave sample of fluid, they said that they think it is mucus, but to be fair they didnt sound too convincing, anyway, the drip is now  slightly heavier, but not gushing, the problem that it is causing now is, rightly or wrongly when i had pouch fitted they told me to replace pouch every 2nd day, which i was happy doing, but now due to leakage i have to replace every day, my theory is that, whatever this fluid is, it is very potent and is affecting the adhesive on the pouch and causing leakage, when i change the pouch there is a build up of white gunge on the adhesive which surrounds stoma, i think the fluid is burning the adhesive, any ideas, i have appointment in 2 weeks time to see stoma nurse again but if anyone has any opinions i would be glad to hear rhem

thanks  hoover junior

On 7/2/2009 hooverjunior wrote:

hi there, i had tumour removed from bowel 4 months ago, glad to say everything is fine, i was fitted with temporary pouch, of late i have noticed that there is clear fluid coming from ileum (i think this is the proper name for part beneath stoma) consulted stoma nurse, she says probably mucus, gave sample of fluid, they said that they think it is mucus, but to be fair they didnt sound too convincing, anyway, the drip is now  slightly heavier, but not gushing, the problem that it is causing now is, rightly or wrongly when i had pouch fitted they told me to replace pouch every 2nd day, which i was happy doing, but now due to leakage i have to replace every day, my theory is that, whatever this fluid is, it is very potent and is affecting the adhesive on the pouch and causing leakage, when i change the pouch there is a build up of white gunge on the adhesive which surrounds stoma, i think the fluid is burning the adhesive, any ideas, i have appointment in 2 weeks time to see stoma nurse again but if anyone has any opinions i would be glad to hear rhem

thanks  hoover junior

Hoover Junior,

Maybe you should ask your oncologist to take a sample of this mucus. It could be an infection or something more serious.  Also, is your stoma nurse a WOC nurse (Wound, Ostomy and Continence nurse)?  If so, s/he will have the acronym, WOCN, behind her RN qualification on her business card or name plate.  If she has this "professional" designation she can ask her peers for guidance or the national WOCN office in Chicago.  If she doesn't have this accreditation -- a highly specialized professional accreditation in nursing -- then I would DEFINATELY get this double checked by your oncologist. 

In short, there are regular nurses out there in the real that deal with stoma care as a sideline or whatever, but sadly though qualified as general nurses, they have NOT gone through the rigorous training needed to earn this professional accreditation   I know, as the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing  was one of the journals I was once a managing editor of (Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins).  But I've copy edited dozens of nursing, medical and educational journals over the past decade, so in no way am I an expert in this field.      

Paula Jean