How do drain tubes work, in the medical Field. You know for a wound.?

Question

Why no infection?

Answer 1

The Only is correct about the rationale and infection prevention, but let me add a few words about the physics. Often, a device called (if I remember from Nursing school lo these many decades ago) a Jackson-Pratt is used to "suck out" the drainage from within a deep wound or surgical incision. It's like a flexible, hollow plastic ball and it works the same way as a turkey baster. The tube the passes from within the wound to outside your skin is surgically placed, and then the JP is squeezed flat, just like if you getting ready to suck up turkey juices out of the roasting pan. You fasten this flattened ball onto the end of the drainage tube and as it expands it sucks up nasty stuff from inside the wound, just like the expanding baster bulb sucks up turkey juice. Sometimes the doctor want the amount of junk collected in the JP measured, or even sent to the lab for analysis. The JP can be emptied periodically and used again and again.

And speaking of turkeys, have you heard of the new turkey that you don't need a baster for? You just pray every 20 minutes that your bird will cook up nice and moist and juicy. It's called the faith baste turkey.

Answer 2

Drain tubes are put into a wound to drain out excess fluid and blood so infection does not set in. They are temporary so as not to grow to the skin and have to be surgically removed. They work really well.

Answer 3

The drain tube has small holes in it that the fluid drains through the wound. The tubes are sterile when put in and the constant drainage of fluid helps prevent infection.

Answer 4

drains are left in wounds only when there is a great deal of drainage that they don't want collecting inside, generally they are rarely left in long enough to be able to cause an infection, and a patient is usually on antibiotics while the drain is in.