What it means
The word means both the act of releasing a substance and the substance itself. At the bedside it most often means respiratory secretions: the mucus a client coughs up or that is suctioned from the airway. Nurses describe secretions by amount, color, thickness and smell, because changes can point to infection or fluid in the lungs.
For the nurse
Help clients clear secretions with coughing and deep breathing, moving and position changes, and enough fluids, and suction when they cannot clear them alone. Record the amount, color and thickness.
In a chart
"Moderate amount of thick yellow secretions suctioned from tracheostomy."
At a glance
| Spanish | secreción |
|---|---|
| Also written | secretions, secrete, secreted |
Related terms
aspiration
Breathing food, liquid, saliva or stomach contents into the airway and lungs; also, drawing fluid out with suction or a needle.
pneumonia
An infection of one or both lungs in which the air sacs fill with fluid or pus.
airway
The passages that carry air into and out of the lungs, from the nose and mouth to the smallest air tubes.