Patients who receive their nutrition via tube feedings may need specialized care when they live at home. If your loved one has a new surgically implanted gastronomy tube for nutritional purposes, then they made need personal home care to maintain the tube feeding system. Here are some comprehensive home care interventions that a skilled caregiver can provide to help ensure that the individual remains in optimal health and that their gastronomy tube is functioning well.
Liquid Feedings, Medications, And Tube Flushes
The personal home care professional can administer the liquid feedings and medications through your loved one's feeding tube per the physician's orders. In addition, the caregiver can flush the tube throughout the day with a special syringe and lukewarm water.
Tube flushings are performed to help remove any clogs and to keep the tube patent so that the feedings flow freely into the stomach. Gastronomy tubes are typically flushed after feedings. They are also typically flushed before and after liquid medications are administered. If the liquids are not flowing freely through the tube despite routine flushes, the personal home care provider can change the tubing or call the physician.
Monitor For Unusual Symptoms
Your loved one's personal home care provider will also monitor them for any unusual symptoms that may be related to their gastronomy tube. These symptoms may include bloody drainage in the tube, diarrhea, constipation lasting more than a couple of days, vomiting, and redness or irritation of the skin that surrounds the feeding tube. In addition, the home care provider will also monitor your loved one for bloating, coughing, sudden changes in weight, fever, and chills.
If any unusual signs and symptoms are noticed, both you and the patient's doctor will be notified. If warranted, the physician may ask that the patient visit the office or meet them at the hospital for an evaluation and treatment. The personal home care provider can take your loved one to the doctor's office or hospital, however, if it is an urgent situation, the caregiver will call for an ambulance.
If your loved one requires comprehensive in-home care because they have a gastronomy tube, contact a home care agency to learn how they can help. The agency's representative will address your concerns and answer your questions pertaining to their staff, cost, scheduling, licensure, and availability. A personal home care agency can provide "come and go" in-home care or around-the-clock personal home care, depending on the needs of the patient and family.
To find out more, contact a company like Caresify Home Care.
Share22 June 2023
In the past, when I thought about home health care, I pictured an elderly man or woman stuck in bed just waiting to take his or her final breath. What I have recently learned is that there are people of all ages that can benefit from home health care specialists. When my niece was diagnosed with a rare liver disorder, our family rallied and did everything possible to make the new way of life as easy for my sister as possible. We spent hours over at her house helping with the baby, but then, my sister said she didn't need us as much --She had hired a home care aid. I hope this helps you in the future.
