Tube Talk
Thank you to everyone who sent material for the "Tube Talk" column. Anyone who is interested in participating can send their tips, questions and thoughts about tube feeding to: Tube Talk, c/o The Oley Foundation, 214 Hun Memorial A-28, Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY 12208; or E-mail DahlR@mail.amc.edu. Information shared in this column represents the experience of that individual and should not imply endorsement by the Oley Foundation. The Foundation strongly encourages readers to discuss any suggestions with their physician and/or wound care nurse before making any changes in their care.
Excilon® Drain Sponges Hold Up Better
I am a first time visitor to Tube Talk and I stumbled on a posting about the softwick drain sponge. I have used them too, but find that they can fray and leave strings/lint pieces in the wound area. May I suggest the Kendall Excilon® split drain sponge. They are a similar product: a 4" x 4" pre-cut drain sponge that will fit nicely around a g-tube, but they hold up better and don’t fall apart. They are excellent for trachesotomy care as well-one place where you surely don’t want excess lint!
— Susan Mitchell
Quakertown, PA
ROBNSUE123@aol.com
Low-Cost Alternative to Drain Sponge Dressings
One of the great expenses for those with g-tubes and/or j-tubes, is the cost of drain sponge dressings. These dressings are often not covered by insurance. A box of 4" x 4" drain sponges, costs about $16, and you’ll get 35 or 50 depending on the brand you buy.
Recently I was at the hospital for tests. My dressing was soiled and the site terribly irritated and aggravating. I requested the nurse to find me a gauze pad which I would adapt to a drain sponge by cutting a slit in it.
The nurse asked me if I had ever tried using female sanitary napkins as dressings. She expounded on their benefits:
• layers of absorbent material to wick away the drainage from the exit site, lessening the skin irritation at the site,
• a plastic outer layer to protect the clothing from soiled drain sponges, and
• their cost effectiveness compared to using drain sponges.
The nurse prepared a dressing by cutting a sanitary napkin in half. Half is all that is needed for a dressing. She then cut a slit horizontally so it would fit around the tube. It was taped to keep it in place. As you might guess, it worked perfectly.
Here is the financial breakdown: A large package of generic maxi-pads (48 pads) cost me $4.89. You could probably get an even better price at a discount store like BJs or Costco. Each maxi-pad, when cut, provides two dressings. That gave me 96 dressings for $4.89, which works out to be 1/6th or less the cost of regular sponges. For people like me who must change dressings frequently, the savings are phenomenal. Once again the nursing team has provided a practical, inexpensive solution to our everyday, often annoyingly distressful dilemmas.
— Diane Owens
9 Oak Street
Marion, MA 02738
Editor’s Note: We recommend avoiding "deodorant" maxi-pads.