Strange pediatric GB issue

[Myst1977]

Has anyone heard of drawing air from a GB balloon? I have a kiddo with a Mic-key and back in February I did my weekly draw back of fluid from the balloon. I was shocked to find that there was nearly 10 mLs of air in the balloon. We decided the best course of action was to replace the whole button. For 4 weeks or so, everything was just fine, but last week I checked the water again and found that not only was there air in the balloon again, but that the water was slightly cloudy. I spoke with everyone I knew about it, but I received more puzzling looks than answers (I mean zero answers). This week I checked again, and I took measurements and pictures. I was surprised this time by the amount of water in the balloon, along with the cloudiness of the water and the 7.1 mLs of air. I put 5 mL of water in the balloon, what I pulled back was 6 mLs. In the previous weeks we have struggled with irritation so bad the kiddo would cry if we touched it. I know part of the irritation comes from his constant tossing and turing throughout the night as well as a granuloma, but we have since tackled both issues and we are now free to touch the area without him getting upset. Has anyone ever heard of this? What is going on?

Thank you for any help!

[Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B]

If I had to guess the is some sort of bacteria growth or fermentation type process going on with the water. The extra air being a byproduct of it. I would try using sterile or boiled water. But if there is some sort of contamination in the ballon it may continue to do this until changed.