G-tube question, anyone?

[lpn_southernnurse]

Just wondering if anyone has ever seen or heard of this: I was working with a mickey button g tube. Went to change it, which it was just replaced 4 days ago. When i withdrew the sterile water out of the balloon port it was really cloudy. Brought this to the attention of my supervisor cuz i've never seen that before. She told me that was common for it to be cloudy, & that sometimes could even be black????? I definately never heard of that- Black? How would anything other than sterile water get in there, unless someone accidentally used that port for meds or feeding?? Does anyone have any input/experience with this?

Thanks!!

[caliotter3]

The last time my patient's was changed, it was like that. Don't have an answer only that they get like that over time.

[SharkLPN]

I worked in Peds LTC where most residents had mickeys. Frequently, you'd withdraw the water and it would be cloudy, but that was typically on mickeys that had been in place for the maximum 6 months. 4 days seems a bit too soon for cloudiness, though there might have been a microscopic hole in the button causing gastric fluid/meds/feeding to enter the ballon.

I did have an instance where the fluid was brown, but the resident had iron supplements BID - and the ballon was stained black. It had been in place for awhile.

[CloudySue]

When I do the weekly check for the water amount, I always replace the water. Think about it: that's water that sits for who knows how long at 97.8 degrees. What sort of organisms are growing in it? Even if it's sterile, distilled water, you don't know if the syringe which injected the water was sterile, and with home health, it probably wasn't. And when I remove the water, I always wash that syringe well with hot water and soap!