Tube feeding

Your healthcare professional has recommended tube feeding for you or the person you care for because it will help get the nutrients the body needs but isn't currently getting by eating. Without the right amount of nutrition there might be a risk of:

• Reduced energy and strength: having fewer calories (energy) and taking in less protein than needed may cause tiredness, which can impact on nearly everything you do - from shopping and cooking to work and play. In the long run, both your muscle tone and physical strength can also start to diminish.
• Unplanned weight loss: taking in fewer calories than your body needs leads to weigh lose, which can make those living with an illness or disease more vulnerable to poor health and response to treatment.
• Weaker immune system: the gut is part of your immune system, so poor nutrition may lead to a weaker immune system.

The benefit of tube feeding are to reduce these risks. By providing all the nutrients you need on a daily basis, tube feeding can improve energy and strength, prevent weight loss and support your immune system. For many, tube feeding is the only option available to keep them alive.

While it takes time to adapt, tube feeding may provide real benefits to your health and well-being. It can alo take away some of the stress that comes with trying to eat by mouth, and the worry of having to meet your nutritional needs.

Advances in sciences of food, food technology, nutrition and medicine have established tube feeding as a standard way of restoring or preserving nutritional health in people who are chronically or critically ill.

Occasionally, some people will experience challenges when adjusting to tube feeding,. While it is important to be aware of potential tube feeding problems. it's important to remember that these problems can largely be anticipated and prevented.

 Your healthcare team will help you learn how to prevent and deal with possible tube feeding problems with education around:

• Caring for your tubes
• Maintaining your equipment 
• Optimising how to follow your tube feeding plan
• Where to go for support. 

Even when you go home, you won't be left alone to resolve any tube feeding problems on your own. You'll be given information on the community support available to you, including your Public Health Nurse and dietitian. 

At some point, people may run into problems with their feeding tube. The first time this happens, you're likely to feel anxious and confused about what to do. This is completely natural, but you'll find that with time and practice, you'll come to learn how to solve most tube feeding problems on your own. 

Even though regular maintenance and care make tube feeding problems unlikely, possible challenges include:

• The tube becoming blocked 
• The tube falling out 
• Leaking or fluid around the tube 
• Discomfort when feeding 
• Infection or irritation of the skin around the tube.

Your healthcare team can support you if you encounter tube feeding problems; there are also many simple long-term care measures you can take to help avoid any problems from happening.