Removing Air Bubbles from IV Lines (Nursing Skills)

[@SADzMega]

I'm a new grad and took a leap and began in CCU. I'm the first and only mew grad nurse there and this always happens. One more skill to help me feel more confident around all the more experienced nurses. Thank you!

[@NurseMinder]

Awesome and congrats on the new job!

[@DiUnadulteratedTruth]

The nail in the wall cracked me up. Nurses are very resourceful. We are very creative. I like it.

[@mercyissifu2232]

Very resourcful

[@Hanna2780]

This is an EXCELLENT video! I'm a nursing student and you saved me so much time and frustration when dealing with air bubbles. Thank you for this!!!

[@NurseMinder]

Happy to help! 💕

[@motionless_horizon]

I'm starting at home saline infusions and my training nurse never explained how to remove the bubbles. Thank you! I feel much more confident now

[@NurseMinder]

Awesome!!

[@natashak3387]

How has it been going Motionless_Horizon with infusions? I have a lot of experience with my ports and thankfully already getting most of what I need to do for my infusions. Thankfully, I have a diagram that I can look at just incase.

[@kendranieuwendorp5511]

Aha! Clamp below! I got shown this trick in my preceptor but then didn't use my IV skills for over a year after I got my RN license so I forgot how to do it! I've been working in the hospital for 3 months now though and this will come in super handy. Thanks Tammy!

[@viviancolongarcia6942]

Very informative and educational! Very easy to understand. As a brand new nurse this was VERY helpful. THANKS!

[@NurseMinder]

Awesome!! One of those things you learn on the job

[@annaelagina5997]

So educational. Thank you. Had so much trouble with Vancomycin bubbles in line. Took a lot of time and frustration.

[@daveedaju3265]

Thanks a lot Tammy.easy and simple demonstration for both new and seasoned nurses😊

[@heaterpistol6067]

I got bubbles in my IV line and my arm hurt. It was swollen. The nurse used saline flushes to pull bubbles out. As she did it my arm felt better. Nurses Rock !!

[@spitfire1815]

Isn’t it life threatening if that bubble you removed enters the body?

[@ryanfreeman7365]

I work as a nurse in a cardiothoracic icu and was bored one night and did some research on the topic. It’s interesting because the answer really depends on the circumstances but overall it takes ALOT of air for this to be dangerous, more than people think. Since we are talking IVs then we are talking veins and the research shows it takes 5ml/kg of air to have a noticeable air embolism which causes symptoms. 5ml/kg in someone who weighs 180 lbs is about 400 ml of air, that’s 40x 10 cc flushes worth of air or approximately 25 entire IV lines worth of air. This is virtually impossible to achieve by accident it would have to be purposeful to introduce that much air. However they did say in some cases they saw as little as 20 ml of air start to cause symptoms which would be about 1 and a half entire IV lines worth of air or 2 entire empty 10 cc syringes worth of air. In my practice this amount of air would also be virtually impossible to administer accidentally. I have never pushed an entire 10 cc syringe of air into a patient, let alone 2 whole syringes. Furthermore remember that air exists in your blood just in dissolved form. The majority of air is Nitrogen gas which would quickly dissolve into the blood in your veins. Same with gaseous oxygen which would be gobbled up by the hemoglobin in your blood. So to put it shortly, this issue is not as much as a problem as patients might think. Now if we aren’t talking IVs and instead talking about arterial lines, that’s a lot more dangerous. As little as 2 mls of air showed in studies to be able to cause an air embolism in the brain (think stroke) which would be quite serious. But again in all my time in the ICU I’ve never even come close to accidentally administering 2 whole mls of air into an arterial line as we use closed systems for managing art lines at our hospital.

[@dragonwolf9435]

Well, perhaps things have changed since my training. Can small air bubble 1-2" in line cause seizures? Arterial or Venus line make a difference?

[@dragonwolf9435]

I have never seen swelling or pain because of small air bubble in line or pain and swelling dissipated because air bubble pulled out of line. All I can say is that they told us it would take far more air to actually go in because a two Inch bubble would be miniscule. Having said that there is something to be said about patient comfort. If they believe they can be harmed by the bubble there mental state can have adverse impact. And don't forget about the pesky alarm continuously beeping when it senses that small bubble!

[@dragonwolf9435]

8:41

[@odoemenastanley4723]

Very timely video for me, had rough time yesterday trying to get rid of bubbles in my IV. Thank you Tammy.

[@NurseMinder]

We have all had those days!

[@jennafrantz8219]

Thank you so much for this video. Extremely helpful! I’m watching as a medical student - sometimes, in places that are extremely short-staffed in nurses, us medical students/doctors are expected to do nursing duties, but we of course have zero training in nursing 😬 thank you so much for providing this great resource so we can learn how to do things properly for the well-being of our patients!

[@NurseMinder]

Happy to help. Thanks for watching and being committed to patient care!

[@paula12827]

You are very kind and patient to help us get the tubing primed and bubble free. Thanks.

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome! Thanks for watching. Hope you stay around and have subscribed

[@charlieclark3517]

As an undergrad nursing student working as a CNA, you are the BEST! Thank you!!!!!!!

[@NurseMinder]

Ahhhh! ☺️ thank you so much. I am delighted to hear the videos help

[@natashak3387]

Thank you so much for doing this! I have a lot of experience with my past port and current port care, but farely new to doing sodium chloride gravity bag infusions three times a week for my complicated health. Air bubbles sure can be the devil. I'm doing an infusion at home tomorrow morning and will use the tips you gave along with what I was taught. Thank you!

[@natashak3387]

I don't have a sterile and empty syringe so I have to manually get the bubbles to come out by unclamping which stinks because I waste some fluid.

[@HurricaneQueen777]

Thank you for sharing this wiseness & for adding some confidence to my soon to be off orienting being. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@jenanjuice2003]

Thank you! No one ever showed me how to remove them:( I’ve had a couple of annoying days lol. This will help

[@NurseMinder]

Glad I could help!

[@maytecanela1338]

I’m having those days now too get me so nervous I don’t have time for those bubbles!

[@jinri8456]

@@maytecanela1338 What else is your problem with the Iv? maybe we can help.

[@nancasa1]

This was great! I graduate with my BSN in 6 months and I', still learning stuff I feel they should have taught early on.

[@NurseMinder]

Yes. Lots to learn in the job :)

[@Ruffles729]

Did you graduate? Literally me! I relate!

[@ThePinkdivaprincess]

Thank you so much for this my Dad is starting infusion therapy at home and I am So Worried about these Bubbles!! U are now saved in my phone!! ❤❤❤

[@NurseMinder]

I hope all goes well with you dad ❤️

[@makella3149]

Thanks so much for this tips. It takes me some good minutes to get air bubbles out of iv lines by disconnecting line from PT, taking the whole line out of the pump and run it out, then reinsert and connect it back to PT.🤣😅😭. I wish I have found this video sooner. Thanks so much.

[@NurseMinder]

The struggles are real! We have all had this happen to us

[@Mi0006]

right mind blown

[@scubatravel7846]

Great tips! I'm a baby nurse (as in New nurse lol not OB) And your videos have been a lot of help

[@NurseMinder]

You got this!

[@mohommeddahir876]

Me too

[@Ruffles729]

Same helpful as a new grad!

[@margaretprawl313]

I was about to ask about what if it a small bag of critical med. that you don't want to lose; however you answered that question! Great video. I am a new RN so I love to watch these videos.

[@NurseMinder]

Yeah! Thanks for watching

[@anniebarkevich6008]

This was helpful as I’m giving my husband iv meds at home. Thank you b

[@NurseMinder]

Happy to help!! I hope all is ok

[@sherrystutts2132]

Thank y’all for the video it helps me a lot

[@NurseMinder]

Thanks 😊 for sharing

[@EllenParaguya-pk9bv]

thank you so much it is very helpful,I am a new grad RN

[@NurseMinder]

Congrats on your new career 🤩

[@elmieeltagonde9438]

so very helpful. Thank you for creating this video. God Bless 😇

[@NurseMinder]

Thanks for letting me know it was helpful

[@noranur-art8130]

Thank you for your videos it is very helpful.

[@khadijajulkanain8588]

Thank you very much! I truly appreciate your effort in making this video. I am a novice nurse and this is such a big help 😄.

[@MarvzTalle]

finally, I found this video. Very informative and very helpful. thank you.

[@NurseMinder]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@akyererJosehine-u7o]

0:12 I love the lectures please keep it up❤

[@NurseMinder]

Thank you! Catheterization is the next up in skills

[@arizzayanto3209]

veryyy informative as a student nurse :-))) thanks !

[@NurseMinder]

😊

[@magilunedecelestia]

You nailed that demo ^^

[@NurseMinder]

Thanks …

[@kennethlademora1414]

Simple steps to follow....thank you for sharing

[@NurseMinder]

Thanks for writing! 🙂

[@maricris1940]

Thank you very much! This is a very big help for me!

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome

[@aminainnocentnacy3536]

You are so lovely and amazing nurse keep it up sis in teamwork ❤️👌

[@NurseMinder]

😊 thank you

[@thetrilingualnursernbsn3458]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5KQmI2bgdOhkLM

[@MrEWinHK]

Great video! What if the IV line does not have the 2way Y-port, but just I port connected to patient? Thanks!

[@NurseMinder]

You will need to add a needless connector or, depending on your resources, a blunt end connector to the IV catheter so you can disconnect without the patient bleeding. Then let the fluid run through the line until bubbles are gone. If it medication, try to time the bubble removal to when the bubble is closer to hub to prevent loss of medication

[@Scalaruby]

Thank you! I am having a bad days with bubbles and no one showed me how to remove. This is a big help.

[@NurseMinder]

Awesome. Happy to help and may you have fewer bad bubble days

[@luzmaldonado5951]

I loved your pump! Thank you.

[@NurseMinder]

You're so welcome!

[@JJ-dy5dz]

My nurse just told me air bubbles even bigger than that couldn't hurt me. I'm having chest pain and trouble breathing hours later and couldn't breathe at all right when it entered and the nurse told me to stop panicking and left me alone to gasp for air 😃 I love nurses

[@NurseMinder]

Sorry to hear about that. It is my experience that the air bubbles generally do not cause issues as the blood will absorb it - but we cannot predict with certainty

[@fragrancememoir2350]

Same experience here :(

[@JJ-dy5dz]

@@fragrancememoir2350 :( I'm sorry. For what it's worth I'm still alive haha

[@fragrancememoir2350]

@@JJ-dy5dz me too lol ty God!

[@oluwaremiomodan8803]

This is very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

[@shalizwilliams-pierre2694]

Absolutely AWESOME

[@NurseMinder]

Thank you

[@AH-le3py]

Excellent.. Dr Hussain

[@sanadbenali6993]

What about bubbles in iv lines for blood transfusion what do you recommend

[@NurseMinder]

There is a filter that, from what I recall, takes care of the air bubbles

[@thetrilingualnursernbsn3458]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5KQmI2bgdOhkLM

[@jovelleasuncion2952]

thank you mam🥰🥰🥰

[@thetrilingualnursernbsn3458]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5KQmI2bgdOhkLM

[@icencoolj4869]

Thank you so much. Nice tips.

[@NurseMinder]

🥳

[@oObingOo]

This is a very helpful video. Thank you so much! 😊

[@alaahussain9677]

you saved livess sis

[@NurseMinder]

Awesome!!!

[@burnzoutesomusic4254]

How if there is blood while withdrawing the fluid should we dispose the fluid?

[@NurseMinder]

If you have blood in the syringe, you forgot to clamp the line below the port. You can disconnect the syringe and then attach a normal saline flush to clear the blood out of the line

[@daizzyang5262]

How to push iv when the fluid in it doesn't work.? Like the drop let is not working.

[@NurseMinder]

If the IV line does not flush - is this what you mean?

[@skyblue-fp5ul]

about cleaning the port, isn't it supposed to be one swab once in one direction? Or does this not apply here?

[@NurseMinder]

Great question. Processes change with time and you may have been taught differently- the friction and time are critical when cleaning, keep those principles in mind

[@mariacullati2371]

Thank you.

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome

[@tktk7024]

Thank you so much❤️❤️❤️

[@nonorefaat2136]

thanks

[@sv2253]

This is so helpful! My father is on antibiotics and I'm so paranoid I'm giving him his IV incorrectly. ❤❤ thank you very much!!!

[@NurseMinder]

Awesome :). I hope your father is okay

[@sv2253]

@@NurseMinder thank you!! I hope you stay safe during these times 🌻⚘

[@lamyaalothman410]

I love your videos thanks

[@sublimesamoyed]

Thank you SO much!

[@thetrilingualnursernbsn3458]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5KQmI2bgdOhkLM

[@chaucerflanders7918]

Thank you , you are so lovely x

[@NurseMinder]

Thank you

[@aminainnocentnacy3536]

U are just perfect weldone 👌💖

[@NurseMinder]

thank you

[@arecipeforsoul7839]

What to do in case of albumin drip doesnt flow

[@NurseMinder]

Is it in a bottle? If so, open the vent

[@ttanner140]

You don’t need to bend the tubing at the top chamber when priming line, roller clamp should be closed so there will be no fluid movement until unclamped. Also when removing bubbles/ medication, you can just push med back into port, bubbles will rise to top, just be sure not to push the whole syringe back in.

[@seraphine7677]

👍🏻

[@NurseMinder]

Yes you are right bubbles will rise to the top - most of the time - and then they sit in the port until the next time the hub is accessed and they are potentially pushed back into the IV line. Best practice is to remove them If you have a line with the backflow stopper, fluids cannot be pushed back up to the IV bag as the retrograde movement is blocked at the stopper - unless you have a secondary line, in which case the fluid will move backwards Not knowing exactly what your process is - I also want to take a moment to talk about IV push - med admin via this route should never be used to backprime. Iv push is to be controlled and if you back prime, it may change the rate of med admin as you no longer control the portion backprimed (and then there is compatibility to look at as well)

[@susanna236]

great video! do you need to stop the pump when you remove air?

[@NurseMinder]

Yes, and take the line out of the pump to allow fluid to flow.

[@susanna236]

@@NurseMinder Thanks for the response! Do you mean if we don't take the line out of the pump, the fluid will not be suctioned out by a syringe?

[@attackofthewindmills]

Thank you!

[@NurseMinder]

Happy to help

[@godschild7393]

Thanks a lot.

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome

[@misslildutch]

Very helpful I gotta say! I’m scared of air embolism.

[@dannibble]

Don't be. Go follow anesthesia for a day and pay attention to their lines. They never prime and always have air. Unless you're pushing 30+cc of air its not gonna kill anyone.

[@facecharm1465]

Great video ❤

[@NurseMinder]

Thank you!!

[@bellaV_1989]

Very helpful.. thanks

[@NurseMinder]

great to hear

[@maricris1940]

Hi. If a continuous Pantropazole IV is ordered? Will this become a primary line?

[@NurseMinder]

Yes. A continuous infusion would not be set up as a secondary line. Secondary lines are for intermittent use

[@laurens7431]

Rather than using a syringe, can you unclamp to run the fluid through the tubing? The only downside being losing volume of fluid

[@NurseMinder]

Yes. I would recommend only using this method for fluids like normal saline / and not medications that are intermittent infusions

[@ruthlessluder]

I just came back from the ER. The trauma nurse gave me an IV drip. After she hooked up the line, I noticed a few air bubbles at the end of the catheter started entering my arm. I understand how you can get rid of the bubbles at the IV line but what about the catheter that's left hooked up to the patient's arm? That part still has some air in it before you hooked up the IV line? It is unfortunate that so many nurses simply do not care about bubbles entering your blood stream. And when you bring it up they dismiss it.

[@NurseMinder]

Yes it is a long held belief that you would need a full line of air (depending on the length of the line that could be 20 to 30 ml, the equivalent of 1 to 2 tablespoons) before it will cause any concern While complications are rare, it is best practice to remove the bubbles

[@charityf4718]

In a Tijuana hospital getting gastric surgery and just watch the nurse pump an air bubble into my arm, what should I do?

[@NurseMinder]

I know it can be scary, and the small bubbles are usually absorbed by your body and nothing bad happens. You can share your concern with the nurse and ask them to remove bubbles for future injections

[@andrewsebastian3412]

Hi. This very helpful. One more thing, what should i do when the iv is not dripping?

[@NurseMinder]

If the IV is not dripping it may be that the bag needs to be higher (if using gravity and no pump)

[@jennythach9137]

what if it’s propofol? usually it comes in a bottle ,how would you push the medications back in since it doesn’t have any other ports?

[@NurseMinder]

Good question. You don’t :)

[@bibichelema6907]

Thx very much is really helpful

[@lamyaalothman410]

Thanks a lot very helpful👍🏻❤️

[@mrinalmukherjee7031]

Thank you so much

[@ThinkingBetter]

I got an IV as part of a colonoscopy. I noticed a lot of large air bubbles in the IV line for my anesthesia. Before putting the syringe in me, I told the nurse and he mumbled something like "oh crap" confirming my concern. It was like half the line of 3 feet had 20% air inside and I stopped him just before he was going to put the needle in my arm. He got the air out before putting the needle in. I didn't want to complain just before I was going to fall asleep from the morphine they injected and the checkup otherwise went fine. But I wonder what all that air could have done to me and it most certainly isn't what grows my trust in the system.

[@NurseMinder]

Good eyes! Sometimes we need a little help too

[@ThinkingBetter]

@@NurseMinder Extra eyes on anything like this definitely help.

[@kikibuffay2437]

Can you show me how to fix air bubble while using Plum 360 Iv tubing?

[@NurseMinder]

I don’t know this product

[@luisarashirovideo]

thank you

[@NurseMinder]

You’re welcome

[@mariavioletamaquiling6146]

thank you!

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome!

[@fatemaal-saeed2246]

This is really helpful. THANK YOU!

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome

[@helenmurage]

Thanks so much Tammy. May God bless you mightily. This is very helpful.

[@NurseMinder]

Thanks Helen :)

[@irisys7905]

this is very helpful!

[@thetrilingualnursernbsn3458]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5KQmI2bgdOhkLM

[@lisaulloa6858]

Thanks Tammy!!!!

[@NurseMinder]

You’re welcome!😊

[@AT-gk2ty]

What would I do if im running a piggy/secondary and theres bubbles? If i withdrawl using a syringe, wouldnt I be discarding a significant amount of the medication that was in the line if an entire syringe is 10ml and the piggy was only 50mL?

[@NurseMinder]

Great question. If the bubbles are in your secondary line you can do one of two things: 1) remove the airbubbles as shown. Use the port above the pump if you can. If you have a significant volume of fluid in the syringe, remove the syringe from the primary line, and expel the air so you can infuse the fluid back in the bag or line 2) backprime. I have a video that talks about it (secondary lines)

[@tanakanicekill9744]

If you have a gravity drip how would you places? I have POTS and im about to start home infusions, mine will probably last longer than 2 hours so since I don't know if I will have a pump or a drip...what would happen if I had to go somewhere? can we put it inside a book bag with a clip the same way you can if you had a pump?

[@NurseMinder]

The gravity bags need elevation- gravity is the forces that causes the fluid to flow. If you have a gravity IV, and the bag is on your desk, for example, then your blood will travel up the line because the pressure inside your vessel will be higher than that pull in the bag from gravity

[@gracemuthama5941]

very useful information

[@NurseMinder]

Thanks!

[@DhanaLakshmi-ob5ey]

Thank you for your video and explanations🙂

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome!

[@mttxj]

Hi, I'm a patient and I'm concern with my iv line. The nurses are able to remove the bubbles from the line but not able to remove the one right at the hub that's nearest to the catheter. They tried syringing out blood but everytime they reattach the iv line immediately a bubble appears n go lodge in the hub again. I'm so worried but I can see they had been trying their best. Any idea how to remove it from the hub? I'm worried everytime they pump meds in directly at the hub opening its going to push that air bubble in. N I'm supposed to be on iv for at least 5 days 😭

[@NurseMinder]

Typically it will stay trapped in the hub. The volume is actually really small (although it looks big) so if it does enter the body, it will likely be absorbed by your blood stream.

[@iliyanazulkifli]

I thought that air bubbles in drip is scary and dangerous, so when I saw them in mine I freaked out. But the nurses here are pretty chill about it and took their time to check on it.

[@b.hlutei8233]

Same here

[@jeeladea2009]

Same here🥺

[@kwesipolley]

It’s deadly as it can cause death within seconds

[@martialartsaddicted5969]

@@kwesipolley Venous air embolism you mean?

[@BoogieDownProduction]

@@kwesipolley Unless you have a congenital heart issue or you're injecting a TON of air - no it cant.

[@ceciliawaigwe3185]

Very helpful also Could you do a video showing the drop rate inside the chamber given an order with drops/min tks

[@NurseMinder]

I will add it to my list

[@SaifulIslam-wm9kq]

Very helpful for me, thanks!

[@NurseMinder]

Awesome!!😊

[@izae.2144]

Thank you! :)

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome

[@janneferhernandez7632]

Great tips!

[@NurseMinder]

ah thanks!

[@bilalazamofficial]

Please tell, whats the story of them big puppys ..... What happens if it goes inside the body with a bull?

[@NurseMinder]

By big puppies - you mean big bubbles? There is a risk the air will get trapped and occlude a vessel, preventing blood flow.

[@srirachaaaa]

Hi there, I am currently on at home IV antibiotics. I asked the nurse yesterday if the bubbles were normal and she said it was and they cant avoid all bubbles. Should I be going in for another look? Im a bit concerned as I’ve seen quite a few go through my line.

[@NurseMinder]

They can be avoided and remedied. Show them this video :)

[@signolineumuraza3192]

Thank u so much

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome

[@wipapornchaiarm7500]

How to take back medication to bag? Need to use needle?

[@NurseMinder]

Yes - if you remove med from the IV line while reminding air bubbles, depending on your hospitality policy, you might be able to put it back in the bag - or manually push via the blunt end connector - or discard

[@jessicanewman6727]

Why do i get those small micro bubbles that form along the tubing when the fluids have been running for a while? When i prime the tube, i always make sure there are no air bubbles but some how really small bubbles just appear randomly along the tubing. However Those tiny bubbles do not seem to move as the flu it is infusing

[@NurseMinder]

It may be from a few things: patency checks and flushing/ secondary med admin / tilting of the chamber / hubs not being flushed properly

[@cezdizon1229]

Good job

[@teeaye_]

Great tips!!

[@diksha25902]

Thanks mam ❣️😊

[@NurseMinder]

You are welcome!