Dansac TRE technology comes to the rescue

01 November, 2022

Have you ever wondered why the skin around your stoma can become irritated, sore, and in some cases very damaged? Most people would probably say that the stoma output getting on the skin is the culprit. They would also probably say this is from leakage – and they would be right on both counts. Not many people, however, would know how this relates to pH and the importance that pH plays in stoma care.

pH is the measure of how acidic or alkaline something is. If you were to guess though if most stoma output was acidic or alkaline, you might guess acidic. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Digestion starts in the stomach, which is an acidic environment. Once it leaves the stomach, the enzymes required to break down the food that you eat (proteins and fats) into absorbable nutrients work in a near neutral to alkaline environment. (1) For enzymes to be effective, they need this neutral to alkaline environment to work.

Additionally, for people with a urostomy, they would find their urine may be alkaline. (2)  Normally, urine is acidic. When a urostomy is formed, a portion of the small intestine is typically used, and this can contribute to an alkaline environment. Medications and other challenges such as infection can also change naturally acidic urine to alkaline. (2)

Here is the tricky part – your skin surface is naturally acidic. Often called the ‘acid mantle’ the skin performs best in a slightly acidic environment. Your skin is made up of fats and proteins and your enzymes don’t know the difference. Once the stoma output gets into contact with the skin, it will start the process of digestion or changing the skins’ natural environment.

Here is where the Dansac TRE technology comes to the rescue. TRE technology is an exciting new technology that creates an environment that is friendly to the skin yet unfriendly to digestive enzymes. It works to help maintain a healthy acidic skin environment while creating an environment that is unfriendly to digestive enzymes.

Currently this new technology is available as a convenient, mouldable seal (TRE seal 071-20, 071-30 & 071-40) that can be used today with any of the pouching systems available. It is also available in a 1 piece soft convex pouch in closed and drainable. Both the seal and pouches use TRE technology to help maintain your skins’ health.

You can order your sample here https://www.dansac.com/en-gb/tretechnology

References: 1. Evans et al., ‘Measurement of gastrointestinal pH profiles in normal ambulant human subjects’, Gut 1988, vol. 29, pp.1035-1041 2. Walsh, BA, 1992, ‘Urostomy and urinary pH’, Journal of ET Nursing, vol.19, no.4, pp.110-113. 3. Saba, M, Yosipovitch A&G, ‘Skin pH: From Basic Science to Basic Skin Care’, Acta Derm Vener, 2013, 93, pp.261-267. Prior to use, be sure to read the Instructions for Use for information regarding Intended Use, Contraindications, Warnings, Precautions, and Instructions. Dansac and TRE are trademarks of Dansac A/S ©2018 Dansac A/S.

Sponsored feature by Dansac.