In this section
G-tube Care Notebook
- Daily care
- Cleaning feeding equipment
- Flushing
- G-tube and skin care
- Medicine with G-tube
- Stabilizing a G-tube
- Types of dressings
- Venting residuals
- Emergencies
- Feeding your child with G-tube
- Glossary
- Kangaroo joey feeding pump
- Parent advice
- Preparing for home
- Resources
- Troubleshooting
- Understanding gastronomy tubes
G-tube and skin care
It helps to have a daily routine to care for your child’s tube and to check the skin around the tube.
Daily tube and skin care
Check the skin around the tube every day, or more often if needed. Make sure it is clean and not irritated.
Cleaning the skin
Supplies needed
- Wash cloth or cotton-tipped swabs
- Soap and water
Steps:
- Wash your hands with soap and water.
- Use cotton-tipped swabs or a washcloth wet with soap and water to clean the skin around the tube. Your child’s daily bath is a good time to do this care.
- Rinse and dry the area around the tube.
- Spin the tube in the tract everyday with site cares. This stops the skin from sticking to the tube. If your child has a GJ-tube, do NOT spin the tube. This will cause the tube to twist on the inside. If your child has stitches on the tube, do NOT spin the tube. Wait until the stitches are removed.
If you notice that the skin around the tube has crust or drainage, try the following:
- Soak gauze or a washcloth with warm water. Place around tube to moisten crusty drainage.
- Gently cleanse to remove drainage.
- Removing the drainage will help the skin heal properly around the tube.
Your child can start taking baths one week after the tube is placed. Your child can go swimming one month after the tube is placed.