Routine Oral Care in preterm Infants

prmenrs, RN · Nov 11, 2005

I have never heard of using tea. I would have no idea what to suggest. I would be concerned about caffeine, esp if they are already on caffeine for apnea of prematurity. I can think of a choking hazard, also.

I have always used sterile saline or water on a piece of gauze. For a sick baby on a ventilator, I would suction out the mouth, too.

Is it common practice to use tea in Europe? What is the rationale?

fergus51 · Nov 11, 2005

We also just use sterile water. I have never heard of tea before.

BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN · Nov 11, 2005

We have had asian families bring tea in for mouth care...usually green tea so no caffeine, it is cultural I would think.

We use sterile water and pink toothettes..the peppermint ones. We also try not to suction the mouth unless absolutely necessary...or OT's believe it leads to more oral aversion. There is also so talk about mouth care leading to decreased respiratory infections, but as far as I know this is only in the adult population right now...I think we are going to do a study on this in our unit in the future.

palesarah · Nov 12, 2005

We have had asian families bring tea in for mouth care...usually green tea so no caffeine, it is cultural I would think.
We use sterile water and pink toothettes..the peppermint ones. We also try not to suction the mouth unless absolutely necessary...or OT's believe it leads to more oral aversion. There is also so talk about mouth care leading to decreased respiratory infections, but as far as I know this is only in the adult population right now...I think we are going to do a study on this in our unit in the future.

FYI, green tea naturally contains caffeine. It can be decaffeinated, like black tea and coffee, but in it's regular form it does have caffeine.

skysurfer · Nov 12, 2005

Some people in our Unit use fenel or peppermint tea, no black tea, but i have read that some Units do use black tea also.

I can´t imagine that tea for oral care only, can have such a big affect caused by caffeine, as it´s only little quantity. :rolleyes: ...???

i have read an controversial talk in Infant, a UK based Journal, where people said: "tea to sick Infants!?!" it was ment as an outcry.

but from my point of view i cant imagine why there is such and outcry, the caffeine ok, but as i said before there has to be only verry little quantity applied don´t you think?

So what else can have such an effect on sick Babies that it caused an outcry:rotfl: ?

thanks for your help

prmenrs, RN · Nov 13, 2005

I am not aware [by no means a definitive survey] of anywhere in teh US that this is done. I doubt there is any research evidence supporting using it or not using it, possibly because no one thought it was even an issue.

"whoever heard of THAT!" is probably not a reason not to do it, but rather as an impetus for research. What are all the ingredients? Have any/all of them been studied pharmacologically to determine effects on the baby?

I think the practice may be in need of more research before it is done, not after.

I would continue to recommend sterile water or sterile saline unless you can find research based evidence that it is harmless.

That's just my opinion. What do the MDs in your unit say?

kitty29 · Nov 17, 2005

I am not aware [by no means a definitive survey] of anywhere in teh US that this is done. I doubt there is any research evidence supporting using it or not using it, possibly because no one thought it was even an issue.
"whoever heard of THAT!" is probably not a reason not to do it, but rather as an impetus for research. What are all the ingredients? Have any/all of them been studied pharmacologically to determine effects on the baby?
I think the practice may be in need of more research before it is done, not after.
I would continue to recommend sterile water or sterile saline unless you can find research based evidence that it is harmless.
That's just my opinion. What do the MDs in your unit say?

I've been meaning to tell you....remember a long while back someone talked about the use of lemon gly swabs? I copied all this info from this site and submitted it to our nurse practice committee....And I am Very happy to report we no longer use them...And (the best part) our entirer hospital now no longer uses them! This is all because of the things from this line I submitted...I am Very Excited!

Of course there are several nurses in my unit that are Very unhappy about all this....I say tough cookies! We are so lucky not to have had a child asp. from sucking off the cotten like top of these things too. Many nurses would just leave these things in the baby's mouth and walk way! Many babes would become hooked on the darn things!

Just had to thank you guys too! :)

catlover314 · Nov 17, 2005

I recall two families in our unit, both originally from Europe (one German, one Scottish) that requested tea for colic-like symptoms. This was quite a while ago, they wanted small quantities. I don't recall the kind of tea they had in mind. The neos declined the request during the hospital stay but don't recall what they said about the tea concept in general for home use. Have never heard of this for oral cares.

Have heard of tea bags for nursing moms if they get cracked nipples in the past. Don't know if that's still recommended or used. Something about the healing properties of tannic acid if I remember right.