Emergencies

Reasons to seek treatment immediately

If any of these symptoms occur, please seek treatment for your child right away by calling your child’s doctor or the nurse who follows your child’s feeding tube:

• Small bowel obstruction:
  • Symptoms: Green vomit or green fluid backing up into your child’s tube, abdominal swelling or pain, or a change in your child’s normal activity.
• The tube comes out and you cannot replace it. Or you have been told not to replace the tube especially if it is a new tube.
• Large amount of blood in the tube.
  • Symptoms: Bright red blood is seen in the tube.
• Infection:
  • Symptoms: Spreading redness around the tube. This should be checked. Antibiotics may be needed.

Other reasons to call your child’s doctor

• Pooping problems. Children should have regular bowel movements. Call if your child is having a hard time pooping (stooling), or is pooping more often than normal. Call if you see a change in color, shape or amount.
• Having a hard time with feedings. Your child is not able to tolerate feedings.
• Problem with the tube site. Call if there are problems that you were not able to solve after using the tube and skin problem solving guide in this notebook.