A colostomy bag can be designed in a one or two-piece system, with disposable and reusable options too. Urostomy bags are drainable for the easy emptying of urine. There are also “leg bag” options for long trips and times when emptying your bag frequently isn’t an option.
Ostomy bags are designed for those who have had a stoma created in their abdomen for excretion of bodily waste. Colostomies, urostomies, and ileostomies all require an external bag to collect waste that is passed through the stoma. Sometimes these procedures are due to disease, other times to injury. Whatever your case, finding the right type of ostomy bag for you is typically a primary concern.
Sometimes you only need a temporary bag, but millions of people live with some sort of ostomy system for the rest of their lives. If this is your situation, it is important to know that a normal, active life is still very much possible after an ostomy procedure.
For ileostomy patients, you will typically need to wear a bag on a full-time basis. This is because you do not have control over the stoma, it works on its own schedule and very frequently, so it is important that you have a reliable appliance in place. There are one-piece and two-piece bag systems, but one is not necessarily better than another, it’s up to personal preference.