Gastric Lavage Definition

The basic gastric lavage definition is quite simple to understand and it refers to an old procedure of stomach pumping. Basically, gastric lavage involves clearing the stomach of anything that might be harmful for the body and this procedure is usually followed when a person has consumed poison or too much alcohol. Apart from these purposes, the stomach pumping is also carried out to conduct certain types of tests. Sometimes, before a surgery, gastric lavage is carried out to ensure that the gastrointestinal tract is empty before surgery can be carried out. And in some other cases, the gastric lavage is used to check the levels of bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract. The condition of hematemesis usually requires the process of gastric lavage for a correct diagnosis.

Gastric Lavage Procedure

Since the simple gastric lavage procedure works by removing the contents of the stomach, it requires that the patient is put on complete anesthesia before the process can be started. The gastric lavage procedure is initiated by inserting a tube through the mouth or the nose of the person. This tube is led down to the stomach of the patient and small amounts of stomach contents and removed slowly. However, the gastric lavage technique is not as simple as it sounds and there are various things that need to be considered before the gastric lavage technique can be applied fully. First, before gastric lavage is carried out, it is important to check that the stomach pump tube has reached the stomach successfully. Care needs to be taken to ensure that the tube is not inside the lungs of the patient. Several simple methods are available for checking the gastric lavage tube and you can employ these to be certain. Further, care must be taken to ensure that the person does not suffer from hyponatremia, a problem that might arise during gastric lavage. There are other several precautions which are practiced during gastric lavage and it is essential that the patient has an idea about these.