Suctioning with Distilled water ???

[Nat07]

Hi all!

I am a fairly new nurse and work in a SNF. When I was in nursing school they taught us that trach suctioning is always done with sterile water or sterile nss. However, at work I have seen other nurses use distilled water for trach suctioning. I haven't used distilled water because I don't want to get in trouble if it is not correct. I have tried looking it up and have not been able to find an answer

So can you use distilled water for trach suctioning???

Thanks!

[Blackcat99]

I have always had to use "distilled water" for trachs while working at LTC facilities. That's all we ever had available.

[Nat07]

Thank you blackcat99!! But wouldn't you want sterile water because you are going into the sterile airway?

[caliotter3]

Families usually buy distilled water to use in home care.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Can you pull your facility's procedure manual?

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

Would we like to review the difference between distilled and sterile water?

Distilled - water without dissolved minerals, can be loaded with germs.

Sterile - water without microorganisms, can have any amount of dissolved minerals.

[ChryssyD]

I guess you could use it in home care, but home care practice is not LTC practice--patients aren't exposed to as many strange new pathogens. Using distilled water is really not a good idea--it's probably cleaner than tap, but that's about all you can say for it. Bring your question to your manager or supervisor and see what s/he says.

[Alex_RN, BSN]

Are you sure you mean distilled? I have worked in both acute and long term care and do not recall seeing distilled water. I have seen NS, of course, and sterile water. If a bottle of sterile water is at the bedside, usually someone will have written on the bottle why it is there (for lavage, for irrigation, etc.). Of course, NS flushes are sterile, so I would use whichever is at the bedside or in my pocket. Previously opened bottles make me nervous if they do not have a patient's name, date opened, and notes on them.

[Julius Seizure]

Thank you blackcat99!! But wouldn't you want sterile water because you are going into the sterile airway?

Are we sure that the airway is a sterile area? I'm not saying stick whatever down there, but I don't believe that its sterile.

[ChryssyD]

Are we sure that the airway is a sterile area? I'm not saying stick whatever down there, but I don't believe that its sterile.

Oh, yes--you don't want to introduce any pathogens to an artificial airway. Imagine you're at a code, you rip open the ET tube package and the tube promptly falls onto the floor; should the doc still use it?

Artificial airways bypass the upper airway's natural defenses, so you shouldn't put anything non-sterile into a patient's ET or trach (except at home, where you use clean, not sterile, technique).

[MunoRN, RN]

Are you referring to instilling distilled vs sterile water down the trach? As far as I know the current best practice answer is 'neither'. For clearing the suction catheter between passes either sterile water or NS should be used.

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

When I worked PDN I used distilled water as well. It's either what the family bought or what was provided to them.