Caring for Your Gastrostomy Tube (G-Tube) at Home
You have been discharged with a gastrostomy tube, or G-tube. The G-tube was inserted through your belly (abdominal) wall and into your stomach. The tube will provide you with food, fluids, and medicine. Your G-tube may move in and out slightly. If the tube comes out all the way in the first few weeks after placement, don’t put it back in. Call your healthcare provider right away. Don’t wait until the next day. This is important because the G-tube tract through the skin may close very quickly, often in 24 hours. After the first few weeks, if the tube comes out, ask your provider how to get a spare tube. Ask your provider how to replace it at home.
General guidelines for use
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Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before starting your feeding.
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During the feeding and for 1 hour after, sit in a chair or sit up in bed.
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Before feeding begins, your healthcare provider may have you check to see that your stomach is empty. You will need a syringe for the following steps:
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Put the tip of an empty syringe into the end of the G-tube.
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Pull back on the syringe to withdraw your stomach contents.
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Don’t begin the feeding if more than ___ mL remains from the previous feeding. Your provider will tell you how much fluid is safe to have in your stomach before you start your feeding.
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Clean the area around the tube with mild soap and water.
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Pat the area dry after bathing and as needed.
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Clean the area more often if it gets wet. Or if it is leaking some discharge (weeping).
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Keep the disk (flange/bumper/bolster) a few millimeters off the skin. This should leave just enough room for a gauze sponge. Pulling the flange too tightly can damage the skin. But leaving the flange too loose leads to leaking around the G-tube. Your healthcare team will go over these guidelines before you leave the hospital.
Common problems to watch for
- Buried bumper. This happens when the bumper is too tight against the skin, causing the PEG tube to wear into the stomach wall. This can lead to infection and must be corrected. A common sign is belly pain and swelling that can extend into the legs. Pain may not go away or be relieved by medicine.
- Tube comes out. The tube can fall out or be pulled out of the stomach wall.
If either of these things happen, call the provider that placed your PEG or go to the emergency room right away.
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The name of my feeding supplement/formula is:
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Amount per feeding:
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Times per day:
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Amount of water used to flush tube:
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My healthcare provider's name and phone number is:
___________________________________________
Gravity feeding method
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Fill the feeding bag with the prescribed amount of formula. Run the fluid to the end of the tube to clear out any air. Clamp the tube.
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Connect the end of the feeding bag tubing to the G-tube.
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Hang the bag at least 18 inches above the level of your G-tube.
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Open the clamp and allow the formula to flow into the G-tube.
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Follow with the prescribed amount of water.
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After each feeding, rinse the bag and tubing. Every 24 hours, wash the bag and tubing with soapy water and rinse thoroughly.
Pump feeding method
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Fill the feeding bag with the prescribed amount of formula. Run the fluid to the end of the tube to clear out any air. Clamp the tube.
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Connect the end of the feeding bag tubing to the G-tube. Set the pump rate of flow to the prescribed rate per hour.
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Open the clamp on the tubing. Press the start button on your pump.
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When feeding is done, disconnect the feeding set.
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Connect the tip of an empty syringe to the feeding tube. Slowly push in the prescribed amount of water.
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After each feeding, rinse the bag and tubing. Every 24 hours, wash the bag and tubing with soapy water and rinse thoroughly.
Syringe feeding method
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Remove the plunger from a syringe and connect the syringe to the G-tube.
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Hold the syringe upright and pour the formula into the syringe.
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Refill the syringe as the formula reaches the bottom of the syringe.
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Repeat the process until the prescribed amount of formula is given.
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Follow the feeding with the prescribed amount of water.
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After each feeding, rinse the bag and tubing. Every 24 hours, wash the bag and tubing with soapy water and rinse thoroughly.
When to call your healthcare provider
Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following:
- Bloody or coffee-colored drainage through the tube (Depending on the amount of bleeding, your provider may direct you to seek medical care right away.)
- New cough or start coughing mucus (wet cough)
- Trouble breathing during feeding, flushing, or giving medicine
- Tube that can’t be unclogged
- Tube that falls out or trouble telling if the tube is in your stomach
- Tube that is cracked or breaking down
- Diarrhea that lasts more than 3 loose stools
- Constipation that lasts more than 48 hours
- Nausea or vomiting
- Red, warm, or tender skin around the tube
- Sudden increase or decrease in the amount of drainage through the tube
- Sudden weight loss or gain (more than 2 pounds (0.9 kg) in 24 hours)
- Bloated or tight stomach, newly swollen legs
- Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or as directed by your healthcare provider
- New belly pain that is not relieved by medicine.
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