Sinus drainage in trach patient

[malem]

I take care of a prvate duty patient that has a trach.He is an adult but he has sustained a brain injury and cannot communicate. His mother came into the room and felt his neck and told me that she could feel his sinuses "pulling" down into his lungs and he would need benadryl. He had no symptoms at the time. She was in a tizzy about it.

Can you really feel someone's sinuse draining through their skin? I was never taught this in nursing school, but I am a new grad and I am sure they didn't cover 100% of everything.

[TraumaSurfer]

Did you mean the drainage pooling in his throat and lungs? Sinus drainage can definitely lead to serious pulmonary infections. Sometimes people (professional and lay) feel the throat and the chest for secretions. Even family members are trained to recognize situations which can cause infections as part of their home care training. It is better to be proactive than to send the patient to the ICU for a week. This patient has a trach probably because they can not maintain their airway and secretions. This means they can aspirate anything. Some patients now require a subglottic suction trach to clear secretions in his throat just like the ETTs to prevent pulmonary infections.

[salvadordolly]

I would not blow off the primary caregiver. They've been taking care of the patient for year and often know their little quirks and such.