Hollister CeraPlus Skin Barrier: Peristomal Skin Care

There are a lot of ostomy barriers on the market.  There are many companies who say they make the best barriers.  I have never felt that there was a significant difference between a lot of the barriers until I started reading about Hollister's new CeraPlus Skin Barrier.  The secret to this new skin barrier is, ceramide.

Ceramide is a natural component of human skin.  Made of waxy lipid molecules, ceramide links cells of the outer skin together to form a waterproof barrier.  Ceramides work to prevent water loss.  Water loss can lead to skin dryness and damage also called transepidermal water loss (TEWL).  Adhesives complicate this problem because of shearing and the skin's reaction to adhesive.  Ceramide being a part of your skin barrier helps protect your skin from these issues.  When skin is healthy not only is it less painful, it also leads to longer wear times so you are spending less money on ostomy products.  When you look at the research based on case studies that Hollister has done; the most interesting part to me is that they increased barrier wear time while helping people have healthier skin with the ostomy pouch and ostomy barrier alone.  They are using just the barrier against the skin.  No pastes, powders, skin preps.  Skipping the accessories and still increasing wear time?  That is a lot of money saved!  Not to mention the benefit of healthier and happier skin.  Hollister has made great strides in ostomy wafer design with the addition of their CeraPlus line of ostomy barriers.  I am looking forward to seeing what they do next.