Stripping a JP drain means sliding your fingers down the tubing to push fluid and small clots toward the collection bulb, keeping the drain flowing freely. It’s a simple technique, but doing it correctly matters: you need to anchor the tube near your body so you don’t tug on the insertion site, and you need to restore suction in the bulb afterward. Here’s exactly how to do it.
What Stripping Actually Does
A Jackson-Pratt drain works by gentle suction. The soft, grenade-shaped bulb stays compressed, and that negative pressure pulls fluid away from your surgical site. Over time, small clots of blood, protein, or tissue debris can stick to the inside walls of the tubing and partially block the flow. Stripping clears those blockages so fluid keeps moving into the bulb instead of pooling under your skin.
Some surgical teams use the word “milking” instead of “stripping.” They mean the same thing. Your discharge instructions may use either term.
Supplies You’ll Need
- Alcohol wipes or pads: These reduce friction so your fingers slide smoothly down the tubing without jerking it.
- A measuring cup: For recording output when you empty the bulb afterward.
- Gauze and tape: In case you need to redress the insertion site.
- A safety pin: Useful for securing the drain to your clothing between emptying sessions so it doesn’t dangle.
Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before you touch anything. This is the single most important step for preventing infection at the drain site.
How to Strip the Tubing Step by Step
With your non-dominant hand, pinch the tubing as close to the insertion site (where it enters your skin) as possible. Hold it firmly. This anchors the tube so that when you slide your other hand downward, the motion doesn’t pull on your wound. Keep this hand in place the entire time.
With your dominant hand, place your thumb and index finger on the tubing just below where your other hand is pinching. Open an alcohol wipe and hold it between those fingers, wrapped around the tube. Now slide your dominant hand down the full length of the tubing toward the bulb in one smooth motion. The alcohol wipe acts as a lubricant, letting your fingers glide without sticking. You’ll feel small clumps of material move ahead of your fingers toward the bulb.
Repeat this two or three times, re-anchoring near the insertion site each time. If the tubing looks clear with no visible clots or debris, one pass is enough.
Emptying and Re-Priming the Bulb
After stripping, you’ll typically empty the bulb. Open the plug or stopper at the top of the bulb and pour the contents into your measuring cup. Squeeze the bulb flat with your hand, and while it’s still compressed, close the plug. This re-creates the vacuum that provides suction. If you close the plug before squeezing, the bulb stays puffed up and won’t pull fluid from your wound.
A properly sealed bulb should stay flat and compressed. If it puffs back up within a few minutes, the stopper isn’t seated fully or there’s a crack in the bulb. Check the seal and try again.
How Often to Strip and Empty
Most surgical teams recommend emptying and recording output at least twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed. Some ask for more frequent emptying in the first few days after surgery when drainage tends to be heaviest. Strip the tubing before each emptying session, or anytime you notice the tubing looks clogged or the bulb has lost suction (it’s no longer flat).
Follow whatever schedule your surgeon gave you. If they didn’t specify stripping, note that Johns Hopkins guidelines advise stripping only when specifically instructed by your nurse or provider, since not every surgical situation requires it.
Tracking Your Output
Keep a simple log with columns for date, morning volume, evening volume, and daily total. Measure in milliliters (the markings on most measuring cups that come with the drain) or cubic centimeters, which are the same thing. Your surgeon will use this log to decide when the drain can come out. Most drains are removed once output drops below a certain threshold, often around 30 mL per day for two consecutive days, though this varies by procedure.
Note the color each time you empty. In the first day or two, fluid is often dark red or bloody. It typically transitions to a lighter pink, then to a pale, straw-colored yellow over the following days. This progression from dark to light is normal and reflects healing.
What the Fluid Should (and Shouldn’t) Look Like
Normal drainage starts red and gradually becomes thinner and lighter. Pale yellow or clear fluid with a slight pink tint is a good sign. What’s not normal: cloudy or milky fluid, green-tinged drainage, a foul smell, or a sudden increase in volume after days of decreasing output. These can signal infection or another complication. Redness, swelling, or warmth spreading around the insertion site also warrants a call to your surgical team.
A sudden jump from, say, 20 mL per day back up to 100 mL or more, especially if the fluid turns bright red again, could indicate bleeding at the surgical site. Contact your surgeon’s office promptly.
Tips to Make Stripping Easier
If you don’t have alcohol wipes, a small amount of hand sanitizer or a drop of water-based lubricant on your fingers works as a substitute for reducing friction. The goal is just to let your fingers slide without gripping and jerking the tube.
Always anchor first, strip second. The most common complaint patients have is a sharp pulling sensation at the wound, and that happens when the tube isn’t stabilized near the insertion site before you start sliding. Pinch firmly with that non-dominant hand and don’t let go until you’ve finished your pass.
Between emptying sessions, pin the bulb to your clothing at waist level or lower. A dangling drain is more likely to get caught on a doorknob or chair arm, which can partially dislodge the tube. If the tube slides out even a little, don’t push it back in. Cover the site with clean gauze and call your surgeon.