Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Gas, odour and noise with a stoma: what helps | CION Cancer Clinics
A stoma has no muscle to hold gas in, so wind leaves the moment it arrives, and the sound is louder to you than to anyone else. Smell is controlled by the bag and its seal rather than by you, and a sealed bag with a working filter should not smell at all. This page covers what makes it worse, the routine that keeps it under control, and the signs that mean a smell is a medical problem. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Muralidhar MuddusettyConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery, AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- Why does a stoma make gas, smell and noise?
- Which foods make gas and smell worse, and which help?
- How do you keep the bag from smelling?
- Which of these is normal, and which is worth a call?
- Four things people with a new stoma tell us, and what is true
- Words you will meet on the box and at the clinic
- What this page cannot tell you, and where help is
- Common questions about gas, smell and noise with a stoma
The short answer
Why does a stoma make gas, smell and noise?
A stoma has no muscle to hold gas in, so wind leaves the moment it arrives. Smell is controlled by the bag, not by you, and a well-fitted bag with a working filter should not smell at all while it is closed.
What is actually happening
Before the operation, the ring of muscle at the back passage let you choose the moment. A stoma is an opening in the bowel brought out through the skin of the tummy, and it has no such ring. Gas made by the bacteria in your gut, and air swallowed while eating, passes straight into the bag. The noise is that gas moving through the opening. It sounds loud because it is close to your ears.
Why it is worse in the first weeks
A new stoma is swollen, the bowel is still recovering, and you are eating differently. All three make gas and noise worse early on. It settles a good deal as the swelling goes down.
If the bag smells while it is closed, the seal has usually lifted. That is a fitting problem, and a stoma nurse can fix it.What you eat
Which foods make gas and smell worse, and which help?
Try one change at a time and keep the foods that behave.
Foods that make more gas
These are not banned. They produce wind in most people. Eating them at home in the evening rather than before a function is often the only change needed.
Common ones
- Beans, chana, rajma and whole dals
- Cabbage, cauliflower and onion
- Fizzy drinks and beer
Foods that make output smell stronger
Strong-smelling foods pass their smell into the bag. It is released only when you empty or change it.
Common ones
- Egg, fish and dried fish
- Garlic, raw onion and pungent pickles
- Some vitamin and iron tablets
Foods many people find helpful
Plain curd, buttermilk, rice, banana and boiled potato tend to thicken output and make it milder.
Ask your stoma nurse before taking any supplement or "odour tablet" sold online.Habits that add swallowed air
Eating fast, chewing gum, drinking through a straw and smoking all send air into the gut. Slower meals remove a surprising share of the noise.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistDay to day
How do you keep the bag from smelling?
Get the fit right
Smell from a closed bag is almost always a seal that has lifted, often because the hole in the baseplate is cut too large. A stoma nurse measures the stoma and shows you the right cut. Have it re-measured as the swelling goes down.
Use the filter, and cover it when you bathe
Most bags have a charcoal filter that lets gas out without the smell. Water stops it working, so cover it with the sticker supplied while you bathe.
Empty before it is a third full
A bag full of gas balloons, pulls on the seal and lifts it. Emptying early keeps the seal flat. A few drops of stoma deodorant in the bag, or a spray in the room, deals with the moment of emptying.
Look after the skin
Sore, weeping skin under the baseplate is the commonest reason a seal fails. Clean with plain water, dry fully, and tell your nurse the first time the skin looks red.
Reading the signs
Which of these is normal, and which is worth a call?
Usually normal
Worth calling the stoma nurse or helpline
Gurgling and wind, more after meals and in the evening
Ballooning with almost no output for a day, a swollen tummy or vomiting
Smell only when you empty or change the bag
Smell from a closed bag within hours of a fresh change
Stronger smell after egg, fish, garlic or new tablets
A foul smell with fever, pain around the stoma, or the stoma turning dark
Louder noise in the first weeks while the stoma is swollen
Noise with cramping pain and watery output
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Commonly believed
Four things people with a new stoma tell us, and what is true
"Everyone around me can smell it."
A sealed bag with a working filter releases no smell. If you can smell something with the bag closed, the seal has lifted or the filter is wet, and both are fixable. People who have lived with a stoma for years say nobody at work knows.
"I should eat as little as possible so there is less gas."
Skipping meals makes gas worse. An empty gut moves air around noisily, and hunger makes you eat fast. Small, regular meals are quieter, and you need the food to heal.
"I have to give up vegetables and dal for good."
Only for the first few weeks while the bowel settles. Most people bring dal, cooked vegetables and fruit back one at a time and keep most of them.
"The noise means something has gone wrong inside."
Noise on its own means the bowel is working, which is what your surgeon wants to hear. It is a problem only with pain, a swollen tummy, vomiting or a stoma that has stopped producing anything.
On your supplies
Words you will meet on the box and at the clinic
- Baseplate or flange
- The sticky part on the skin around the stoma. A poor fit here is behind most smell and leak problems.
- Filter
- A small charcoal patch on the bag that lets gas out while trapping the smell. It stops working once wet.
- Ballooning
- The bag swelling up with gas because the filter is blocked or wet. Releasing it early protects the seal.
- Pancaking
- Thick output sitting at the top of the bag instead of dropping down, which can push the seal off. Lubricating drops inside the bag help.
- Output
- What comes out of the stoma, which is often looser than a normal motion.
- Deodorant drops
- A few drops placed inside a fresh bag to neutralise smell when you empty it.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you, and where help is
This page cannot tell you which foods will bother your gut. A note on your phone of what you ate and how the bag behaved that evening teaches you more in two weeks than any list.
Where the smell is not about food
A smell that is foul rather than strong, with pain, fever, a change in the colour of the stoma or pus around it, is not a diet problem. It can mean a skin infection, a stoma not getting enough blood, or output leaking under the baseplate. These need a nurse or doctor to look.
Who to speak to
A stoma nurse is the right first call for fit, filters, skin and odour. Your surgeon is the right call for pain, fever or a change in the stoma itself. If you cannot reach either, call the helpline and send a photograph of the stoma and the skin around it.
Nothing here replaces being seen. If you are unsure which kind of problem you have, ask rather than wait.Questions we are asked
Common questions about gas, smell and noise with a stoma
Can other people hear my stoma at a meeting or a function?
Far less than you think. The sound is close to your ears and you are waiting for it, so it feels loud. To others it sounds like an ordinary stomach rumble. A hand or a folded dupatta over the bag muffles it, and eating slowly before an event reduces the gas made.
Does the bag smell when it is closed?
It should not. Modern bags are odour-proof and the filter releases gas without the smell. If you notice a smell with the bag closed, check whether the seal has lifted at the edge or the filter got wet. Both are fitting problems a stoma nurse can usually solve in one visit.
Why does the bag blow up like a balloon at night?
Gas builds up while you lie still and the filter may be blocked by output or moisture. Empty and release gas last thing at night, and avoid gas-forming foods and fizzy drinks in the evening. If it keeps happening, ask your nurse about a different bag.
Will an odour tablet or charcoal capsule from the chemist help?
Some people find them useful, but ask your stoma nurse or surgeon before taking anything by mouth, especially with an ileostomy, because some products change how loose the output is. Drops placed inside the bag itself are safer and usually work better for the moment of emptying.
Is it safe to eat dal, rajma and curd?
Yes, once the early weeks are past. Dals and beans make gas in most people, so bring them back one at a time, well cooked and in smaller portions, and see how the bag behaves. Curd and buttermilk usually help and are among the first foods to bring back.
Can I let the gas out without going to a toilet?
With a drainable bag you can open the bottom briefly in any bathroom. With a closed bag, some brands let you lift the corner of the baseplate to release gas, but doing this often weakens the seal. Your nurse can show you the method for your bag.
Does the smell get better with time?
Most people say yes. The stoma shrinks to its settled size, the fit improves, the bowel finds a rhythm, and you learn which foods set things off. What was a constant worry in the first month becomes, for most people, a small part of the routine within a few months.
When is a smell a sign of something serious?
When it is foul rather than strong, and comes with fever, pain around the stoma, pus, the stoma turning dark or purple, or skin that is broken and weeping. Any of these needs a nurse or surgeon to look the same day. Call the helpline if you cannot reach a clinic.
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Sources
- NHS — Colostomy
- NHS — Ileostomy
- American Cancer Society — Ostomies
- Macmillan Cancer Support — Bowel cancer
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
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Talk to us
Struggling with a stoma at home?
Call the helpline and describe the problem, or send a photograph of the stoma and the skin around it. We will tell you whether it needs a stoma nurse or a surgeon, and help you reach one. One helpline serves every CION centre.