Feeding tube questions

[kfarrald]

My husband has a feeding tube for about three weeks. He has a drainage around the tube and the gauze must be changed at every feeding. Is this normal? Also His neurogist recommended Vitamin C, B-100, Alpha lipoic acid, and a few others. The B-100 foams up and has trouble passing through the tube. The Alpha lipoic acid is in a gel cap and is like dried out grits, it does not disolve in water, oil, club soda or anything else. Does anyone have some idea to share and help me be able to give these suppliments?

 

[CindyM]

The nurses at my Mom'snursing home have a little mallet that they use to pulverize meds into fine powder. Of course there is no telling if the powder would mix any easier that the grits. You'd have to experiment, I quess.

Also, some PALS take "recreational" feedings of soft foods. If Hubby falls into that category could he take a spoonful of applesause with his Alpha lipoic acid? Just an idea..Cindy

 

[hboyajian]

My dad had a feeding tube, and it was healing up pretty well by about 2 weeks, needing less frequent complete dressing changes. If there is any sign of infection, you should have someone check it out, as this could be a serious complication. Maybe you can have a nurse look at it just to reassure you that it is O.K. If your health plan has a consulting nurse you can call without charge, that might be a good first step.

 

[pfowler44]

Hi

I replied once lets see if this one makes it.
I am a nurse and what we do with feeding tube site that have drainage and reddness is we clean the site with normal saline and apply bacitracin or triple antibiotic with a dressing at least three times a day. You can purchase these items at your local pharmacy or even walmart.

hope this helps
Sincerely Pat

 

[bucky]

I had a feeding tube inserted March 5th. I had some problems with leakage around the tube for a couple weeks. I would put an anitibiotic salve on gause and do this three times a day. It has completely healed now and I haven't had even the slightest problem. I still put a gause on along with the savle once a day. The post from Pat is very accurate in my opinion. Also the saline is something else I used.

 

[kfarrald]

Thanks for input

Thank you for the information. I was told by the visiting nurse to put "Butt Paste" under the dressing. The redness is going away, but the discharge is still there. It is not a lot, but it is still there. He is sleeping now but in the morning I will try the antibiotic cream. I will let you know the progress. Also he will be seen in the MD clinic on Tuesday and I will have that doctor check it out.
Kathy

 

[bucky]

feeding tube

What your experiencing pretty much mirrors what I have experienced. Hope this indicates the problem is just about over for you two and its healing okay. As I said in my last post, it seem to take more to time to heal than I anticipated.