Ulcerative colitis: A stoma bag 'will give you your life back'

Two young women from Essex, who have ulcerative colitis, a condition that impacts the inner lining of the colon and rectum, are raising awareness of stoma bags to help normalise the condition.

Best friends Ailish Evans, 25, from Corringham and Summer Griffiths, 21 from Braintree, have been posting images of their colostomy pouches on social media to highlight the condition affects young as well as older people.

"We both decided to start raising awareness of our conditions via Instagram because we just wanted to let everyone know that it's nothing to be ashamed of and you can still live a normal life with a stoma bag," said Ms Evans.

Ms Griffiths added: "If you do need to have one, it will give you your life back and it is, you know, life-changing."

According to the NHS, about one in every 500 people in the UK have a stoma bag.

Video by Dawn Gerber.

  • Essex

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  • Braintree
  • Essex