At Home with Tubes and Drains: Caring for Your Surgical Drain

Reading time: 3 minutes

Caring for a Surgical Drain

You should empty and strip your drain 2-3 times daily or whenever it becomes full. The drain is considered full if the sides of the bulb are not indented or the compression disc is no longer flat. Follow your surgeon’s instructions if they differ from these guidelines. 

More tips:

• Drains are a closed system. Don’t touch the inside of the cap, stopper, or drain, or rinse the inside of the drain.

• The fluid in your drain should gradually change from red to pink, then clear yellow. If your drainage becomes red again or the amount increases, let your surgeon know.

• Keep your drain secured so it doesn’t dangle or get pulled. Use special garments to hold your drain in place or secure it to your clothes with a pin or tape.

• Your surgeon will let you know if you can shower with the drain in place.

Stripping Your Surgical Drain

Before emptying your drain, you will need to strip the drainage tube. This process removes clots so that the drain can flow freely:

1. Hold the tube firmly where it exits your skin with one hand

2. Place your other hand beside the first and pinch the tubing.

3. While pinching the tubing flat, run your fingers toward the drain bulb or container, then let go.

Emptying a Bulb Drain

After stripping your tubing, follow these steps to empty your bulb drain:

1. Wash your hands. If someone is helping you, they should wash their hands and wear gloves.

2. Point the opening of the drain or bulb away from you over a measuring cup. 

3. Open the stopper. Do not touch the inside of the stopper.

4. Squeeze the fluid into the cup.

5. After the bulb is empty, compress it from the sides.

6. Replace the stopper, ensuring that the sides of the bulb stay indented. 

7. Wash your hands.

8. Record the amount of drainage.

9. Dispose of the fluid by flushing it down a toilet or washing it down the sink drain.

Emptying a Compression Drain

Follow these steps to empty your compression drain:

1. Wash your hands. If someone is helping you, they should wash their hands and wear gloves.

2. Place the drain on a flat surface with the cap up.

3. Open the cap. The container will expand. Do not touch the inside of the cap. 

4. Turn the container upside down above a measuring cup and drain the fluid into the cup.

5. Place the empty drain back on a flat surface with the cap up.

6. Press down on the container until it’s flat. Replace the cap, ensuring the container stays flat. 

7. Wash your hands.

8. Record the amount of drainage.

9. Dispose of the fluid by flushing it down a toilet or washing it down the sink drain.

Change the Dressing Around Your Surgical Drain

To keep your tube from getting an infection, keep it clean and change the dressing each day, or more often, if it gets soaked with blood or fluid.

Follow these steps:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Remove the old dressing.

3. Wash your hands again.

4. Moisten a cotton swab or gauze with saline solution.

5. Clean around the tube site and incision.

6. Put a new dressing on the site and tape it in place.

7. Wash your hands.

Careful handling and careful handwashing are key to taking care of your tubes and drains at home. If you have questions, call your nurse or surgeon’s office - they are always happy to help you.

When to Call the Surgeon

Call your surgeon’s office immediately if:

1. You have redness, swelling, drainage, a foul smell, or increased pain around the tube.

2. You have nausea and vomiting, or a fever of 100.4 or higher.

3. Your tube or the stitches securing it get loose or fall out. Never push a tube back into your body. 

4. There is more drainage than you had before, or drainage that becomes red after changing to pink or clear yellow. 

5. The drainage suddenly decreases or stops. This can mean the drain is clogged. 

6. The bulb won’t stay flat or the disc won't stay compressed.