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Nursing vocabulary · IV Therapy and Fluids

Flush

Meaning in nursing, with examples

/flʌʃ/verbCommon term

In nursing, flush means: To push a small amount of fluid, usually saline, through a cannula or line to check that it works, keep it open or clear medicine from it.

In Turkish: yıkamak, serum fizyolojikle yıkamak, hattı açmak

How it is used

Nurses flush a cannula before and after IV medicines and at regular intervals. As a noun: 'a saline flush', 'a 10 ml flush'. If a line will not flush, or the patient feels pain or swelling, the cannula may be blocked or out of the vein. 'Flush' also means a red face, as in 'hot flushes'.

Example sentences

  1. Flush the cannula with 10 ml of saline before you give the antibiotic.

  2. The cannula won't flush; I think it's blocked.

Common collocations

  • flush a cannula
  • saline flush
  • flush the line
  • flush before and after
  • cannulaA thin plastic tube put into a vein, usually in the hand or arm, so that fluids, medicines or blood can be given through it.
  • IVShort for intravenous: into a vein. As a noun it also means the line or drip that puts fluid or medicine straight into a vein.
  • infiltrationThe leaking of IV fluid or medicine out of the vein into the tissue around the cannula, causing swelling, coolness and discomfort.
  • infusion pumpA machine that pushes fluid or medicine into a patient's vein at an exact, set rate and sounds an alarm if the line is blocked or the bag is empty.

More terms: IV Therapy and Fluids

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.