G-tube medication question

[dcoffee]

When giving G-tube meds, I am just wondering if all students are required to give one at a time with 10cc of water between meds? Would you give a liquid med (consistency of water) with a crushed med, or would you seperate them as well? Nurses on the floor are laughing because they think this is just rediculous!!:stone

[Aneroo, LPN]

Uh......I don't think the makers of Coca-Cola (or any other soda pop) ever intended their product to be used in this fashion, but I'm here to attest that it works! It doesn't de-gunk every clog, of course, but it works more often than not....for some reason I've found the diet version does an even better job, although some people don't notice a difference. I got in that habit years back because a) diet soda was all I ever had on hand, and b) most of my tube feeders were diabetic. :)

Working at a restaurant where one of our sinks gets clogged easily d/t the sanitizer that we use, my boss refuses to buy drano. She puts Pepsi in it (we're in eastern NC, people here live off of that nasty stuff). -Andrea

[HisTreasure, BSN, RN]

Working at a restaurant where one of our sinks gets clogged easily d/t the sanitizer that we use, my boss refuses to buy drano. She puts Pepsi in it (we're in eastern NC, people here live off of that nasty stuff). -Andrea

:angryfire Aw... don't knock Pepsi! I am not trying to hijack this thread, I just wanted to say that Pepsi is the best! (And if I weren't trying to lose 10 pounds I would be drinking it RIGHT NOW!:chuckle )

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

Working at a restaurant where one of our sinks gets clogged easily d/t the sanitizer that we use, my boss refuses to buy drano. She puts Pepsi in it (we're in eastern NC, people here live off of that nasty stuff). -Andrea

Never thought of that (for the sink, that is- I've heard about it for GT's, but never tried it).

So what's your drink of choice? I prefer regular Coke, but if I'm doing the diet thing (which I'm attempting now), I prefer diet Pepsi. (not sure why).

[Blackcat99]

No I have never seen a nurse do one med at a time. And yes things do go down better with Coke. However, I was told if a state inspector is in the house that you had better give one med at a time or you'll get dinged for it.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Never underestimate the power of Diet Coke, I say.

'Tis the nectar of the gods.

:yeahthat:

I've been drinking diet Coke since high school. I've cut back from my peak of about a 2-liter bottle per day, but it's still rare that I'm without my diet Coke. :chuckle

[Aneroo, LPN]

I used to drink Diet Coke, but couldn't handle the taste. However, diet cherry coke is awesome! My fiance says that diet cheerwine is good (cherry flavored soda), and we both like diet. dr. pepper. I also like diet Mt. Dew. Just can't do the pepsi thing.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

I used to drink Diet Coke, but couldn't handle the taste. However, diet cherry coke is awesome! My fiance says that diet cheerwine is good (cherry flavored soda), and we both like diet. dr. pepper. I also like diet Mt. Dew. Just can't do the pepsi thing.

Love diet cherry coke but cant get it here in Uk, but when I come over to the US its first thing I buy to drink :rotfl:

[yoo jin]

are you saying nursing school is not the real world?!?!?!? :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle

yep, thats what i thought too. in school you do the standards but in facilities, youd be the laughingstock of the floor when you do the "right way" :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[nckdl]

Some places use a generic pill crusher- it's like a glass or plastic cup with an inverted type of cup that you put over the med (can't figure out how to explain it better- something you'd buy for home use). There's no baggie (I know what you're tlking about) or paper med cups involved, so the powdered med is actually in a cup that's reusable. You don't know how mny times I grab the pill crusher, only to find someone else's crushed med leftover still in there :angryfire :angryfire

I use pliers to crush pills while they are still in the package so then all i have to do is open it up and dump the pill in plastic cups, then i add a little water to each cup to pour in the g-tube. Thank heavens my pt only has a couple pills on my shift!

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Okay....in the real world. I crush the pills all together in the same cup. Then dissolve them in warm water. I'll give a flush before and one after. If they have liquids I'll give them in the crushed mixture. Of course this is only if the meds are compatable.

If state or others are watching its one at a time!

As far as clogs....havent seen one in ages. Any soda works for them tho...its the bubles. Just make sure if they are diabetic you are using diet pop. Every tube should get flushed q shift with water since some tube feedings are thick. We also replace our g tubes once a month (unless they are the sutured ones)

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

A lot of our patients have a PEG tube inserted if it required for any period of time. A lot easier to manage than an NG tube and very useful later on if we need to top up fluids.