"Like a strawberry on your stomach"

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Do you see what Does the bag hold tight? Can I never go swimming again? An artificial anus is unsettling at first. “Actually, nothing is a problem here,” says ostomist Christian Limpert in an interview with NetDoctor.

For Christian Limpert, the bag on the stomach is just as natural as the socks on his feet. The 37-year-old has had an artificial anus, a stoma, for 18 years. "That is longer than the time I've lived without it," he says in an interview with

Docked bombproof

Since then, a skin-colored film about the size of a saucer has stuck to his skin around the artificial anus. In the middle there is a hole through which the artificial anus bulges. “In terms of color and size, it looks a bit like a strawberry,” explains Limpert. The bags are attached to the film with a click mechanism, similar to the lid of a food storage container. “That is bombproof,” assures the ostomate. You can't smell or see anything.

One can only hear it when the intestinal winds emerge. That sounds like a loud stomach growl. “But then nobody would think that you have an artificial anus. You just say you haven't eaten anything - or you give the man next to you a punishing look. "

160,000 ostomates

An estimated 160,000 people in Germany have an anus praeter, as an artificial anus is also called. The most common is the colostoma, a stoma of the large intestine. But there are also stomata of the small intestine (ileostomy) and the urinary tract (urostomy) can also be diverted through the abdominal wall. In most cases, the reason for such an intervention is cancer. But even a massive bowel inflammation can make it necessary to cut the bowel and relocate it temporarily or permanently - for example in Crohn's disease.

Run to the bathroom

This is also the case with Christian Limpert. He started when he was 14: he had to run to the toilet up to 25 times a day. Sports, going out with friends, traveling - what was taken for granted for others was impossible for him. When he was 18, he decided to have surgery. “That was an incredible relief,” he says today. Suddenly he was able to lead a completely normal life. "Now the excretions run into the bag, when it is full, I change it - and that's it". Sports, even swimming - there are protective bandages for everything. “I quickly accepted the stoma as part of myself,” says Limpert, who is now a passionate swimmer.

What is a liberation for people like him - with a long history of suffering - is initially a shock for cancer patients. "They get the diagnosis and wake up three days later after the operation with the bag on their stomach - that's quite a challenge." Even if the supply of the artificial intestinal outlet works smoothly after a short time, uncertainty remains at first - and shame. Does the bag really hold tight? Can you see him? How does the environment react when it notices something?

One night stand with ostomy

"In fact, nobody notices anything," assures Limpert, who is involved in an online self-help forum for ostomate wearers. Unlike wheelchair users, for example, ostomists are not perceived as people with disabilities. “First of all, everyone gets to know us as completely normal people.We decide for ourselves who we tell about it and when - the reactions are usually curious and positive. This even applies to intimate moments, ”reports the IT consultant. At this point at the latest, it is advisable to educate the potential partner. But if you don't like it, you don't have to come out yourself - at least for women there are sophisticated lingerie that hide the bag. "I know young, sexually active ostomate women whose partners don't notice anything at the one-night stand".

Well kept secret

As part of his self-help activity, Limpert got to know many people with ostomas: from doctors to truck drivers, also celebrities such as actors and musicians, who nobody knows that they have an artificial anus.

Even if many prefer to keep the matter to themselves - Limpert encourages people to deal with the topic in a more relaxed manner. “Most of them worry too much, don't dare to go to the swimming pool, keep their distance from their fellow human beings because they fear that someone will notice something - that's a shame.” After all, one is not really restricted: “Decisive for how well you get along is what's going on in your own head ".

You can find out more about "Living with an ostomy" at www.stoma-welt.de and www.wir-leben-mit-einem-stoma.de.

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