A medical stopcock is a small but essential medical tool in many, many medical situations that doctors find themselves in. Consider it as a sort of special valve that can help regulate how liquid goes through a particular tube or catheter. Here, this device has three openings that are like mini-doors that can be open and close. The liquid can be directed to one opening, two openings, or no openings depending on how the stopcock is turned. It is for this reason that the medical stopcock is versatile and useful in many different medical procedure applications.
Medical stopcocks are vital in many types of medical procedures. Surgeons use them, as do those who are inserting catheters or giving the patient fluids. These pumps can be used to make sure patients get the exact amount of liquids they need — be it a medication, saline, or other fluids. Medical stopcocks enable doctors to give their best services in the way that they control the flow of these liquids. By contrast it will be harder to keep the liquids in typical group treatments associated with medical procedures.
Before all else, take the time to familiarize yourself with how the stopcock functions. Follow the instructions that you receive with your medical equipment. If you have questions or believe there is anything that was left out from understanding, please feel free to ask your compassionate medical team.
To prevent infection with infusions/irrigations using the stopcock — perform aseptic technique. You also have to sterilize the fluids — with clean hands and by using sterile equipment — so prevent passing ones that could cause all sorts of infections.
Nothing to tell more about cleaning, this is one of the most important step in protecting the patients safety during the medical procedures. This involves ensuring that the stopcock is devoid of all germs, bacteria and other harmful agents.
Stopcocks can also be cleaned using heat, special chemicals or gas. The most common cleaning these stopcocks undergo is thorough enough to make sure that the sterilized syringes and injectors can be used directly, safely without leaving any traces of harmful toxics behind inside the stopcock. This prevents infections and other problems in patients by ensuring the stopcock remains clean.
Medical stopcock is just as a medical tool, need regular maintenance. Looking after them right can prevent leaking, clogging or other things that may hold back performance. Taking care of stopcocks responsibly is pretty simple; you can maintain them in a few ways: