Suction Machine Instructions

Suction machines have a variety of purposes, but they are commonly used in the medical industry. These machines are primarily used to clear mucus from airways and remove bodily secretions. This kind of build up occurs frequently in patients with a tracheostomies, a hole created in a tracheotomy procedure, which involves cutting a hole into a person's airway at the base of his throat. Some tracheostomy patients require suctioning every four to six hours.

Things You'll Need

• Suction machine
• Suction catheter
• Cup
• Distilled water or saline solution
• Laytex gloves
• Basin
• Napkins

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Instructions

• 1

  Position the patient with head and neck supported. An appropriate position is lying on his back with pillows for support. Wash hands with soap and water. Put on gloves.

• 2

  Fill a cup with saline water or distilled water.

• 3

  Open the suction catheter package. Attach the catheter to the connecting tubing by the hard plastic end of the suction catheter.

• 4

  Turn on the suction machine. These machines have different settings for patients and the settings may differ from machine to machine. Some machines feature a setting of 1, 2 or 3. Setting 1 is for infants, 2 is for children and 3 is for adults. Other machines' gauges can be adjusted by units of pressure per millimeter of area. Set these machines to 50 to 100mm Hg for small children and 100 to 120mm Hg for older children and adults.

• 5

  Insert the suction catheter into the tracheostomy opening. Advance the catheter to 6 inches depth at most or until you feel resistance inside the patient's trachea. If you feel resistance, don't force the catheter.

• 6

  Cover the suction vent on the suction catheter with your thumb to begin suctioning the patient. As you do this, slowly rotate and pull the catheter out of the tracheostomy opening. Suctioning does block the airway, so do not take longer than 10 seconds each time you suction the patient. Give the patient 30 seconds between passes to catch their breath.

• 7

  Clean the catheter after each suctioning pass. Do this by placing the catheter in the cup of water and covering the vent with your thumb to draw water into the tube. Empty the contents into a sink or collection basin.

• 8

  Repeat steps six and seven until the patient's airway is clear.

• 9

  Clean the catheter thoroughly by suctioning clean, distilled water for a few minutes. Turn off the suction machine. Disconnect tubing and allow to dry. Place the catheter back in it's protective packaging.