How to avoid food blockages (Ileostomate).

You have no control over structural blockages, but by controlling what you eat, you can reduce the chance of a food blockage, which is more common.  

This kind of blockage can happen when food with fiber or roughage hasn’t been chewed or digested properly and forms a sort of dam, blocking the passage of output.  

Your food only passes through your small intestine (where nutrients are absorbed) before exiting your body. It’s never processed into regular stool because it never reaches the large intestines. Some of what you eat may even come out exactly as it went in (like corn, and slow release pills). That’s why food blockages happen more frequently with ileostomies. To help prevent food blockages with ileostomies … 

• Eat a low-residue diet – with little fiber or other materials that remain after digestion. And chew, chew, chew! 
• Drink plenty of water.   
• Eat more frequent, smaller meals. Give your system a chance to process your food without being overwhelmed. 

Courtesy Joan Scott, author of The Ostomy Raft