Thanks to all advices i got-i managed to start both of my today's IV.
The only problem i am having with it-i make mess and spill quite some blood which i dont like and i am sure patient doesnt like it either.
It freaks me out to see that blood coming out of the vein. I probably am not fast enough to connect it to infusion, i dont know. I kinda feel i need an extra hand to hold the plastic thing inside, so it doesnt move out of the vein, then also putting pressure on the vein, then connecting to infusion. Too many things to do within 2 seconds with only 1 pair of hands.
Do you have any advices how to prevent that blood from spilling or any tips to connect the tubing faster( i have it right near me)
your left hand (whichever finger you prefer) should be both applying pressure to the vein (which will keep it from bleeding) and holding the catheter in place (the plastic thing). while you are holding that in place, you have all the time you need (within reason) to connect your infusion, which should already be all set up and ready to go. hope this is helpful!
i like yer tip. i'm pretty good at starting i.v's but once i have the catheter in the vein, i'm in such a hurry to connect and secure it, i miss that one step. thanx, i've ingrained it into my mind. it should be much easier.
one of my coworkers accused me of being afraid of starting iv's. i think i was a little offended. so, i started all the iv's. mine, other units. i had to perfect it. now i can start an iv on my first try and with difficult veins too. now i don't have to creep out the patients with all the blood spillage. and now it even makes sense!!! thank you!!
Hey, guys and thank you all for the wonderful tips.
I do put a chucks or towel underneath the patient's arm but thats not the problem, i am not worried about the mess, i am freaking out when that blood comes out. I know that patient obviously isnt gonna die of blood loss but it still is a little bit scary for me to have that blood running out of vein and dripping all over. Kinda causes me to panic i guess:)
Is that true that if you dont start your IV fast enough(and i mean like in a few seconds) the catheter will clog? Or for example that tip with pressing directly over catheter's tip, dont that occlude my IV immediately?
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
first of all, i always sit down when i'm starting ivs and i don't rush anything. i always drape the iv tubing around my neck so that it hangs down good and long almost to the mattress. i loosen the cap on the end of the tubing enough so i won't be struggling with it once i need to get it off. i worked on an iv team for many years where it was our policy to attach a mini-extension to all iv's. this is a 7" or 9" mini-bore tubing that attaches to the hub of the iv catheter once it's been inserted. this mini-extension tubing is right on the bed next to the patient's arm when i'm inserting the iv. stick the vein. don't be so quick to pull the stylet out. you can pull it back a bit, but leave it in the catheter to plug up the lumen some. place a sterile 2 x 2 under the hub in case you do get some blood back. now, i uncap whatever i am going to attach to the hub and hold it in against the palm of my hand with my fourth and fifth fingers leaving my thumb and index finger free. i gently push down on the end of the stylet to locate the tip of the catheter in the vein and i place the index finger of my other hand over that spot. now, i take the end of the stylet between my thumb and index fingers of the same hand that has the tubing i'm going to connect safely tucked in its palm and remove the stylet while pressing down with my other index finger over the area where the tip of the catheter is to occlude any backflow of blood. if bleedback occurs i merely roll my index finger one way or the other while continuing to apply pressure until the bleeding stops. use the edges of the 2x2 to mop up any blood that might have gotten on the hub of the catheter. i attach my tubing. at this point i usually pull out a pair of hemostats and tighten the connection and finish up by taping the hub down to the skin. with some practice you should have almost bloodless sticks if you follow this way.
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
is that true that if you dont start your iv fast enough(and i mean like in a few seconds) the catheter will clog? or for example that tip with pressing directly over catheter's tip, dont that occlude my iv immediately? thanks
nurse_clown
227 Posts
i like yer tip. i'm pretty good at starting i.v's but once i have the catheter in the vein, i'm in such a hurry to connect and secure it, i miss that one step. thanx, i've ingrained it into my mind. it should be much easier.
one of my coworkers accused me of being afraid of starting iv's. i think i was a little offended. so, i started all the iv's. mine, other units. i had to perfect it. now i can start an iv on my first try and with difficult veins too. now i don't have to creep out the patients with all the blood spillage. and now it even makes sense!!! thank you!!