omg...fish oil!

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So we have been treating our anoxic brain injury patients with high doses of Omega 3's- the back story is that we had a patient whose mother found research that it helps with long term recovery. She advocated for the treatment for her son (he was in bad shape- Unknown downtime, central storming, totally unresponsive). So a year later while he definitely wasn't normal he was starting to walk and say some things. So now we are using this stuff on all of our young patients with hypoxic injuries.

What's the problem? Liquid fish oil.smells.awful. I'm dying right now, it is literally stinking up the whole unit. We have it double bagged in the fridge and I am going to buy baking soda to put in our fridge (I'm sure that is against a JC regulation somewhere). I am calling on you my nursey friends to help me trouble shoot! Any creative solutions? I guess I could just always use Vicks in my nose for the next 2 months- my estimate for an average stay for these folks :'(

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

We use it with some of our babies and it and they smell bad enough! I can't imagine an adult size dose and person!

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.

Leaving small dishes of ground coffee around the med room might help. It works wonders for covering up the smell of vomit.

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Unfortunately capsules are not an option unless you can think of a way to squeeze one down the dobhoff.

Well, in a pinch I have seen people give Colace capsules and Tesselon Pearles down feeding tubes by using a large needle to withdraw the liquid inside the capsule into a syringe and then either connecting the syringe to the tube if possible or transferring med cup and then into a compatable syringe (too thick to bolus by gravity with a GT). You could get most of the med into the syringe by squeezing the capsule with the needle in it and it went down the tubes fine when pushed.

Not sure if it would fly with your pharmacy/MDs/admin due to dosing concerns as well as the fact that you are technically giving a med by an unapproved route/ a way not intended or tested by the manufacturer-probably wouldn't go over very well...too bad! I guess it would still be unpleasant having to be all up close and personal with the capsule while drawing it up.

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OMG "fishy mint" I just spit coffee everywhere!

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