How to Care for a Toddler With a Feeding Tube

Caring for a sick or injured child can be difficult. If your child has had a gastrostomy tube (G-tube or feeding tube) inserted, caring for your child can be even more challenging. A feeding tube is an alternate way of delivering food to your child when he is not able to eat or swallow himself. Your child may need a feeding tube for various reasons, but the care is basically the same.

Things You'll Need

• Soap and water
• Sterile bandages
• Scissors
• Medical Tape
• Syringe

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Instructions

General Care

• 1

  Remove and discard old bandages.

• 2

  Inspect tube insertion site for signs of infection or skin regrowing over the tube. Gently clean around feeding tube with soap and water. Wash away any drainage or hardened fluids. Dry completely.

• 3

  Redress with fresh, sterile bandages. Anchor the feeding tube, using a piece of medical tape around the tube and attach it to a piece of tape on your child's stomach or shirt.

• 4

  Flush the feeding tube before and after every feeding and medication dose. Flush a minimum of once every eight hours. Use 3 to 10 ml of water in a syringe to flush tube. Check with your child's doctor to determine exact amount.

• 5

  Protect the feeding tube from your child pulling it out. Place the child in a bottom snap T-shirt for best results.

Medications

• 6

  Inject liquid medications directly into the feeding tube.

• 7

  Crush pills into a fine powder. Add water, 1 ml at a time, until you have a liquid.

• 8

  For capsules, open and mix powder with 1 ml of water at a time until you have a liquid.

• 9

  Never mix multiple medications.

  Check with your child's doctor for any specific care instructions.