What happens when you have your stomach pumped?
There are three parts to the procedure:
- Preparation.
- Intubation.
- Gastric suctioning/lavage.
What happens before stomach pumping?
You may need other treatments first before stomach pumping can safely proceed. Healthcare providers will monitor your vital signs before, during and after the procedure. If you’re lucid, they’ll discuss the procedure with you in advance and ask for your informed consent to proceed. They’ll test your gag reflex and install a breathing tube if necessary to help keep your airways open during the procedure.
How do they connect your stomach to the pump?
Stomach pumping happens through a tube that connects your stomach with a manual or mechanical pump on the other side. It’s either a nasogastric tube, which goes through your nose, or an orogastric tube, which goes through your mouth. Both types pass down through your esophagus (swallowing tube) into your stomach. For stomach emptying, you’re more likely to have an orogastric tube, which is wider.
To install the tube, your healthcare provider will:
- Position you semi-upright or on your left side with your head angled down.
- Apply a topical anesthetic spray to your throat. This helps prevent gagging.
- Place a bite block in your mouth to prevent biting down on the tube (if it’s an orogastric tube).
- Measure the correct length of tube they’ll need to reach your stomach and mark it.
- Lubricate the tip of the tube to be inserted.
- Aim the tube toward the back of your throat and into your esophagus.
- Ask you to swallow or sip water through a straw if you’re able.
- Slowly advance the tube until it reaches the mark, and then secure it.
If you cough, gag or show distress, your healthcare provider will immediately stop advancing and withdraw the tube. They’ll try again after a short break. Once the tube has reached its mark, they’ll use one of several methods to confirm that it’s in the right place. They might take an X-ray, or they might suction out a small sample of your stomach juices and test the pH to confirm it contains stomach acid.
How do they pump your stomach?
Once they’ve confirmed the placement of the tube, it’s safe to begin gastric lavage. Providers use different fluid solutions for lavage in different cases. It may be as simple as tap water or a saline solution. Saline helps prevent electrolyte losses from stomach pumping, especially in children and people already dehydrated from vomiting. Sometimes, the solution includes a specific poison antidote.
Your provider will:
- Instill a small amount of fluid to irrigate your stomach (10 mL for a child or up to 300 mL for an adult). They may use a funnel to deliver it by gravity, or use a syringe or mechanical irrigant.
- After one to two minutes, withdraw the fluid. Some pumps drain by gravity into a basin, and some use a syringe, suction bulb or mechanical suction.
- Repeat the process until the fluid that comes back is clean or until two to three liters of solution has been used to irrigate your stomach. Irrigation helps to collect your stomach contents and to keep the tube open and prevent blockages.
- If indicated, deliver activated charcoal through the last batch of irrigation fluid. Leftover poisons bind to the surface of the charcoal. Your provider may leave some of the charcoal solution in your stomach to pass through your intestines and collect any stray poisons there.
What does stomach pumping feel like (does it hurt)?
The pumping itself doesn’t hurt, but the tube may be uncomfortable, especially when it’s being inserted and withdrawn. Healthcare providers try to minimize this by lubricating the end of the tube and using topical anesthetics and a gentle technique. Still, you may continue to feel irritation or feel like gagging. Securing the tube in place helps to reduce friction, but friction can still occur when you move around.
What happens after the procedure?
Unless you’re having surgery, your provider will safely remove the tube, making sure to prevent any contact with the substances inside. (If you’re having surgery, the tube will stay in for a few days.) Healthcare providers will observe your recovery for the next few hours and watch for any signs of complications. If you’re being treated for toxic ingestion, they’ll watch for complications from that, too.