Gastrostomy Tube Home Guide

What is Gastrostomy Tube Home Guide

A gastrostomy tube, or G-tube, is a tube that is inserted through the abdomen into the stomach. The tube is used to give feedings and medicines when a person is unable to eat and drink enough on his or her own.

How to care for a G-tube

Supplies needed

• Saline solution or clean, warm water and soap.
• Cotton swab or gauze.
• Precut gauze bandage (dressing) and tape, if needed.

Instructions

1. Wash your hands with soap and water.
2. If there is a dressing between the person’s skin and the tube, remove it.
3. Check the area where the tube enters the skin. Check for problems such as:
   • Redness.
   • Swelling.
   • Pus-like drainage.
   • Extra skin growth.
4. Moisten the cotton swab with the saline solution or soap and water mixture. Gently clean around the insertion site. Remove any drainage or crusting.
   • When the G-tube is first put in, a normal saline solution or water can be used to clean the skin.
   • Mild soap and warm water can be used when the skin around the G-tube site has healed.
5. If there should be a dressing between the person’s skin and the tube, apply it at this time.

How to flush a G-tube

Flush the G-tube regularly to keep it from clogging. Flush it before and after feedings and as often as told by the health care provider.

Supplies needed

• Purified or sterile water, warmed. If the person has a weak disease-fighting (immune) system, or if he or she has difficulty fighting off infections (is immunocompromised), use only sterile water.
  • If you are unsure about the amount of chemical contaminants in purified or drinking water, use sterile water.
  • To purify drinking water by boiling:
    • Boil water for at least 1 minute. Keep lid over water while it boils. Allow water to cool to room temperature before using.
• 60cc G-tube syringe.

Instructions

1. Wash your hands with soap and water.
2. Draw up 30 mL of warm water in a syringe.
3. Connect the syringe to the tube.
4. Slowly and gently push the water into the tube.

G-tube problems and solutions

• If the tube comes out:
  • Cover the opening with a clean dressing and tape.
  • Call a health care provider right away.
  • A health care provider will need to put the tube back in within 4 hours.
• If there is skin or scar tissue growing where the tube enters the skin:
  • Keep the area clean and dry.
  • Secure the tube with tape so that the tube does not move around too much.
  • Call a health care provider.
• If the tube gets clogged:
  • Slowly push warm water into the tube with a large syringe.
  • Do notforce the fluid into the tube or push an object into the tube.
  • If you are not able to unclog the tube, call a health care provider right away.

Follow these instructions at home:

Feedings

• Give feedings at room temperature.
• Cover and place unused feedings in the refrigerator.
• If feedings are continuous:
  • Do notput more than 4 hours worth of feedings in the feeding bag.
  • Stop the feedings when you need to give medicine or flush the tube. Be sure to restart the feedings.
  • Make sure the person’s head is above his or her stomach (upright position). This will prevent choking and discomfort.
• Replace feeding bags and syringes as told by the health care provider.
• Make sure the person is in the right position during and after feedings:
  • During feedings, the person’s position should be in the upright position.
  • After a noncontinuous feeding (bolus feeding), have the person stay in the upright position for 1 hour.

General instructions

• Only use syringes made for G-tubes.
• Do notpull or put tension on the tube.
• Clamp the tube before removing the cap or disconnecting a syringe.
• Measure the length of the G-tube every day from the insertion site to the end of the tube.
• If the person’s G-tube has a balloon, check the fluid in the balloon every week. The amount of fluid that should be in the balloon can be found in the manufacturer’s specifications.
• Make sure the person takes care of his or her oral health, such as by brushing his or her teeth.
• Remove excess air from the G-tube as told by the person’s health care provider. This is called “venting.”
• Keep the area where the tube enters the skin clean and dry.
• Do notpush feedings, medicines, or flushes rapidly.

Contact a health care provider if:

• The person with the tube has any of these problems:
  • Constipation.
  • Fever.
• There is a large amount of fluid or mucus-like liquid leaking from the tube.
• Skin or scar tissue appears to be growing where the tube enters the skin.
• The length of tube from the insertion site to the G-tube gets longer.

Get help right away if:

• The person with the tube has any of these problems:
  • Severe abdominal pain.
  • Severe tenderness.
  • Severe bloating.
  • Nausea.
  • Vomiting.
  • Trouble breathing.
  • Shortness of breath.
• Any of these problems happen in the area where the tube enters the skin:
  • Redness, irritation, swelling, or soreness.
  • Pus-like discharge.
  • A bad smell.
• The tube is clogged and cannot be flushed.
• The tube comes out.

Summary

• A gastrostomy tube, or G-tube, is a tube that is inserted through the abdomen into the stomach. The tube is used to give feedings and medicines when a person is unable to eat and drink enough on his or her own.
• Check and clean the insertion site daily as told by the person’s health care provider.
• Flush the G-tube regularly to keep it from clogging. Flush it before and after feedings and as often as told by the person’s health care provider.
• Keep the area where the tube enters the skin clean and dry.