FAQs

Note: I have just started writing this page and I am still working on it! If there are things you want me to cover, email me at arwelstoma@gmail.com and I shall try to find an answer for you.

Can I wear cycle shorts?

Yes! See my blog entry A short piece about shorts... 

How do I keep my pouch dry in the shower?

If you use a hairdryer to dry your hair after showering, then don't bother keeping it dry. Some pouches cope better with water than others (see Product Reviews) but they all dry well with a towel, and you can get around 90% of the water off this way. Then, when you are drying your hair, use the hairdryer (on a "warm" rather than a "hot" setting) to dry the other 10%. It only takes a few minutes. 

If you don't use a hairdryer, and can't face walking around less-than-fully-clothed for ten minutes or so, or if you dread that damp feeling, then you can use a pouch cover. I have tried quite a few of these, and they almost all have the problem that water gets in through the hole for your pouch and wets it from the underside. 

You can improve their performance by sticking the top of the cover to your belly with tape. I have found that cheap and cheerful packing tape works as well as anything else for this (and it's waterproof), but if you have sensitive skin, then you'll need to use something else, such as surgical tape (which is not waterproof). 

Then again, if you are going to tape something to you, then a square of plastic, such as a sandwich bag, works just as well if not better. But it's a fair bit of faffing about.

There are all sorts of solutions online of course, and in my view, they all involve faffing. Here are a few things you can find online. 

Here's a lady who makes pouches covers of all types, including waterproof ones, and she custom makes each one to fit your particular pouches. She makes really nice decorative ones if you're not looking for waterproofness: Ostomy Covers by Linda

Here is another UK pouch cover manufacturer that sells a "quick dry" one. They're a bit less shaped than Linda's: Penguin Pouches

Here's an utterly waterproof latex cover, available in the UK. It seems like overkill to me. Pimp my Cast

Here's a US site that sells really nice covers that stretch to fit around the barrier plate: Pouchwear.com

NB If you import to the UK from the US, you will find yourself paying import duty, VAT and a handling charge!  

And here's a guy in the US (Gregor Martin) who makes an ultra performance shower pouch cover, and demonstrates it in a rather nice YouTube video during which he dances in the shower! Clearly he doesn't need to use a hairdryer: Empower your Change

There are lots more that you can find on the internet, and I've made several bag covers myself (as I have stated elsewhere, I am handy with a sewing machine). But I've abandoned all attempts to keep my pouch dry in the shower, preferring the hairdryer method. It's by far the most easy method to incorporate into a normal, active life.

I've been swimming in it too, and I take a hairdryer.