Certain food related issues may not be the bigger concerns for normal people but they surely are huge for the people with ostomies. For instance, food blockage is an issue which the ostomates must avoid at all costs. And if it is happened, an immediate medical attention is required.

The best thing that you can do here is to follow a diet plan to avoid any food related issues. having that said, it will be worth talking about the food related issues that people with ostomies need to be careful about.

Gas an odor can result in real embarrassment.  However, you can reduce this issue to a negligible level. A few things that you can do may include the following.

- You are going to notice a varying amount of gas in your pouch as your bowel begins to function. Remember, you are likely going to face the issue of excessive gas if you had it before surgery.

- Make sure that you are not swallowing gas. It means that you are going to have to avoid carbonated drinks, smoking, chewing gum, and chewing with the mouth opened.

- Certain foods such as broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, onion, and cucumber can cause gas. Make sure that you are consuming such foods in limited amount.

- If you are concerned about the odor, you need to use pouch with filter. The benefit of suing this pouch is that it is not going to inflate like a balloon because the gas will be released. The filter is going to eliminate the odor.

Diarrhea is a condition characterized by the stool changing into mostly liquid and also increasing in volume. The reasons include food, medications, and intestinal flu. If you have to empty your pouch in every hour or two, you might soon start losing too much of the body fluid. You need to get medical attention if diarrhea starts suddenly and doesn’t stop after 24 hours. Few things that you can do to get relief from diarrhea include the following.

- Start eating the foods which are known for thickening the stool. Applesauce, banana, cheese, noodles, pretzels, white rice, and white toast are the options that you can consider.

- You have to avoid foods which have the tendency to increase the stomal output. Fibrous foods, raw fruits, vegetables, spicy foods, high fat foods, caffeine, nuts, and corn are known for increasing the stomal output.

- You are going to have to avoid dehydration especially when you are suffering from diarrhea. With diarrhea, you are at the risk of losing too much of the body fluids. So you have to work on desperate measures to maintain the body fluid levels until the diarrhea condition is over.

Whether you have a stoma or not, constipation is going to be one of the most serious issues that you need to get rid of on urgent basis. An ostomate is most likely to suffer from constipation if he/she has a colostomy. A few things that you can do to avoid constipation may include the following.

- Constipation can happen due to certain types of medications, lack of exercise, stress, or not enough fiber in the foods which are being consumed. Working on these potential causes can reduce the risk of constipation.

- Constipation can be prevented or treated with the help of adequate water intake.

- Bran, fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can provide great relief from constipation.