Baby with smelly neck after trach...

2 February 2009 - 10:58pm — Williamsmom

My son has no infections, but he has this yucky smell under his neck. We are still in the hospital. One nurse will say it's ok to clean under his neck with soap, the other says just water, someone is respitory said half water half peroxide solution...I don't know what to do, but I do not like it. He is 7 months, so he is drooling alot and on top of that he is quite chunky. I am still rather new to life with a trach, can someone with some experience please help me out...please tell me my baby doesn't have to walk around with a smelly neck until the trach comes out...PLEASE?!?!

Comments

23 May 2009 - 12:18am — Rileys Mommy

Smelly Trach

My son still has a trach, and it started to have a smell to it to with no infection. The way our respitory taught us to clean and maintain is, get 2 strile cups, or really clean cups. Use distilled or boiled then colled water and add a small bit in both. One cup add just a squirt of dial soap. Use 4 sterile qtips in each cup. Start with the soapy ones and clean around the stoma, never going back by the stoma once you have wiped away from it. Use 2 from the bottom side, then 2 from the top side. Then repeat with just the water qtips. Then we take 2 dry qtips to dry under, or you can use 4. Then we place a drain sponge underneath. Its thin gause with a cutout so the gause stays around the trach nicely. My sons smell has gone away since we have gone from cleaning the trach once a day to 2 times a day. Replacing the gause everytime as well with a new one. Our pamplets say if there is a smell that you should clean the site 3x a day, but doing it twice is working for us! Good luck! Maybe you can let me know how it goes!
Krystal (Rileys Mommy)

6 April 2009 - 10:56am — Garrett

It has been a while since

It has been a while since your post, but I just joined the group. I hope this has worked itself out for you, but just in case it hasn't - we use acetic acid followed by sterile water to clean around our son's trach in the morning and again before bed. We use sterile Qtips for each step and also to dry around the trach afterwards. He's seven months and drooling a ton too, so we use bibs (probably three or four in a day!) in order to keep as much drool away from the site as possible - tons of laundry, but worth it!

4 March 2009 - 2:38am — andrekotze

Clean

Yes, I now the feeling. I don't know what the correct method is, but we ussually just use warm water with some antiseptic solution (just a little bit, about 1/5), and also change the whatever you use to keep it in place as well.
Hope it helps a bit.

23 February 2009 - 12:32am — sherry holmes

how to clean a trach area

hi, we've been trached since three months of age we are now almost three. when laysa first got her trach the smell was awful i would tell the nurses over and over and they made me to believe that it was o,k. and that trachs smell that way wrong! turns out she had staff. since then everything is normal but, daily i take one cup and use half perox. and water and another cup i take sterile water always use sterile water. then i would take six sterile qtips i would put two in each solution and used two for drying. i would take one qtip from the half water and perox. and wipe from under her trach from the stoma area and work outward but, never wipe back over with that same qtip.then take one tip from just the water and repeat step,then repeat with dry tip. i always change her trach tie daily. and i pray that someone told you to always change the trach tie after a bath. never leave a damp tie on their neck it causes the skin to break down. i hope i've been helpful. i came home with my daughter without any education and when we found out she had staff i made contact with the a beautiful trach nurse. hope to hear from you .

20 February 2009 - 9:40pm — Little Miracle

smelly trach

I remember my daughter had that wierd smell for the first few weeks of a fresh trach I cleaned it with bedidine to prevent any infection. After about two months I cleaned with soap and water just warm soapy water not alot of soap just enough I just used baby soap. The smell just kinda go's away after a while.

10 February 2009 - 9:42am — Natosha G

Smelly neck after trach.....

My daughter Vanessa's Little neck also smells Like this And as a result You Have to keep His ties and His Guaze changed atleast 2 times a day...Which im sure They have probably told ya. I myself use a Mild Baby soap and water to clean Behind my Daughters neck and I Clean around her stoma with Just regular distilled water and sterile swabs. Everybodys different When it comes to How they clean their childs neck. This Unfortunately Is part of having a little baby with a trach Cause as they Eat, Drink,sweat and so on they are gonna get Milk,Drool and other stuff on them Guazes so really just keep his little gauze changed and Maybe if he's a real drooler you might even be able to put a bib underneath the trach tube itself and over the guaze to kinda catch some of the drool...I used to do that with Vanessa and it helped a little bit...I Hope this helps...Just Hang in there and learn everything you can about this...Ask Lots of questions No Matter how silly you think it may be ask it anyways and Just breath and take this one day at a time...Because I was where you was too with my Daughter and one day You too Will be able to also help a new parent with Simular questions... ~Natosha~

5 February 2009 - 9:21am — saywhatyouwill

i don't know exactly what

i don't know exactly what kind of smell but just the sweat and stuff that accumulates can really stink. we just use saline to clean it. if it's really funky then could be infection? but i'm sure they would have noticed that. the ties can get really stinky too.
trimovate cream can sometimes help get rid of the smell but not sure how!

5 February 2009 - 6:11am — kamina