Ladies hernia Support Belt (16cm)

****NHS CODES*****

* Measurement is taken from over the fullest part of the abdomen, normally over stoma and or hernia.

Hernias are very common, people can live a perfectly normal life with a hernia or bulge in the abdominal wall without ever needing a surgical intervention. Hernias can occur following surgery along the area where you may have been operated on, these are called incisional hernias, others are called umbilical hernias, in and around the belly button, others are called parastomal hernias, in and around or behind a stoma. Most however do not need surgery. In some instances they can cause issues if they get bigger such as pain, a dragging sensation, swelling, reduced mobility, body image issues, and in some rare cases strangulation which is a medical emergency. In fact up to 70% of Ostomates will develop one. 

What can cause them? 

*Heavy lifting

*Being overweight

*Smoking

*Coughing and sneezing

*Steroids

*Persistant cough.

The good news is you can do something to help your body and mind deal with an abdominal bulge or hernia. Research tells us that those who were physically active and wore support garments were less likely to report having a hernia. 

Physio and core exercises as well as good fitting support garments are key places to start.

Keeping yourself as fit and active as possible will definitely help your post operative outcomes if you do require surgery. We don't expect you to run a marathon if you've never run one before, equally nothing stopping you from running a marathon if you want to. What we mean is even in your own home, confined to a chair or bed, you can do some excercises that can help your core. Give yourself a little challenge and set an alarm to move every 20-30 mins. 

Easier said than done! we know this, which is why we have developed this range of hernia supportive devices to help.

Our belt will support the abdominal muscles to help support the hernia or bulge and smooth out the shape of the body, which will reduce the appearance of the hernia underneath your clothes to give you a little more discretion during your day. The fabric and the design allows the belt to mould to your hernia, bulge and/or stoma without restricting your stomas output. The unique cotton lining allows for the belt to be worn directly to the naked skin and keeps sweating to a minimal, which in turn reduces your risk of leaking.

The belt is designed to support you throughout your day, whatever your day may entail, from household chores, walking or lifting young children to running, cycling and gym-use, for some examples. With a wide velcro section of 20cm this allows you to adjust throughout your day dependant on the activity.

The belt can be put on in three ways, first start by inserting one hand inside the glove, hold the other end of the belt round the waist, with one hand on the Velcro pad, push the glove away from the body, this extension enables the wearer to decide how much support they require to be comfortable and whilst supporting the hernia, or stomal bulge. When pulling round and sticking the Velcro down be sure to keep the Velcro section away from your stoma to allow the stoma to function. The second option is to fasten the Velcro and step inside pulling the belt up to the abdomen, take care not to pull on Stoma appliance. Once in place, it can be adjusted should you require less or more support. Third way, if you already have an established hernia lie on your back and push your hernia in before pulling the belt round your body to get the ultimate amount of support. (See our video for further guidance for each method.) To empty your stoma appliance, simply pull belt up from the bottom and allow the stoma appliance to be released to drain, or remove belt and reapply.

To measure what size you need in the belt, measure the fullest part of your stomach, ususally where your stoma is, in cm. This will give you an accuarate representation of what belt you will need to order in the sizing section dependant on what size bracket you fall into, eg. if you measure 112cm you would need a Large belt(95cm-115cm). There is no need for customisation of our belt as the large velcro fastening gives you plenty of room to adjust accordingly. Our belt is also 16cm in depth which gives specific support to the area 

UK & ROI CUSTOMERS ONLY: You are entitled to apply annually, via the NHS, GMS or DPS for three single Hernia Support devices (16cm Belt, in Black or Beige, and 26cm belt in black or beige)