How to irrigate a wound
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
Irrigation is the most important step to prevent wound infection.
Step by step
Protect
Gloves, eye protection, splash shield. [1]
Fluid
Normal saline or clean tap water. [1]
Pressure
A large syringe (about 35 mL) with an 18 or 19 G tip or a splash guard. [1]
Volume
Roughly 50 to 100 mL per cm of wound; more for dirty wounds. [1]
Explore
Remove debris and look for foreign bodies, tendons, joints. [1]
Record
Volume and findings. [1]
Common errors
- Too little volume.
- No eye protection.
- Soaking instead of irrigating.
Practice it in Making Synapses
In Making Synapses you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
Making Synapses cases that train this skill
- Pressure injury in a wheelchair user
- Traumatic cardiac arrest
- Severe arm bleeding
- Rattlesnake bite
- Chronic venous insufficiency
- Insect bite reaction
13 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
- Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
- OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (reference)
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (reference). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.