Eastenders

[GFlis]

Does anyone else find Eastender’s character Sharon’s line on tonights episode “He’s been strapped to me a colostomy bag” highly offensive. I’m coeliac but have family members who are IBD sufferers so I can sympathise as to how insensitive this is!

[willow24 Administrator]

Unfortunately its real life. If we have patients who require theyre bags changing/emptying I am mostly asked to do it as I must be used to the smell, or a colleague cant touch it cause its horrible! Most of the time its because they are worried about doing it as never done it before, but I am faced with this ignorance fairly often. I dont have an ostomy (yet) but have Crohns of rectum throughout large bowel going into small bowel.

All we can do is be open and discuss things and hopefully over time it wont be such a horror story - many people with ostomies are much healthier and happier.