What are my feeding tube essentials?

As someone who's had feeding tubes for a while I know just how tough it can be. You feel alienated, abnormal, weird etc. as it's not the norm to have a feeding tube. It can cause your confidence to plummet because you're "different" from those surrounding you. I know when my doctors first introduced the idea of placing a feeding tube and in turn ending up with my first NG tube I was clueless as to it all. I found it a real struggle to begin with and didn't have any clue on how to adapt to my "new life" with a feeding tube. This uncertainty in turn increased my anxieties surrounding my attempts of living with a feeding tube and make the process substantially more difficult. I'd hate anyone else to feel as confused and uncertain as I did after initially having my tube placed. I feel this level of uncertainty in turn creates you to feel in general worse about the prospect of having a feeding tube and creates a more negative relationship with your feeding tube.

Feeding tubes can be difficult to live with, in particular really difficult to adjust to, particularly, in my opinion, nasal feeding tubes as on top of all the other feelings and instances surrounding feeding tubes you have to deal with other people's stares and sometimes narrow-minded opinions. Although feeding tubes can be hard they have positives and can really help give you back a quality of life that you may have been living without/missing.

This is a list of different feeding tube essentials I've put together during my thus far 3 years with a feeding tube. I personally have experience of NG (nasogastric), NJ (nasojejunum) and a straight J-Tube/jejostomy feeding tube. I lived for 3 years with an NG tube after which I had my straight J-Tube placed. I hope this list helps give some reassurance to anyone who is facing the prospect of needing a feeding tube or even if you've had one for a short/long period of time but are still finding your bearings with it.

Tubie pads

If you have a surgically-placed feeding tube then Tubie pads are a lifesaver! They're thin pieces of material that come in a multitude of different fabrics with different designs/colours etc. They're handmade, usually with a lot of love and care, and are sold via independent sellers. Tubie pads serve a few different purposes: to collect any drainage from your feeding tube site which in turn stops it ending up on your clothes, to reduce any granulation tissue and to make you feel better about your feeding tube. They're a great way for kids to feel more included in the handling of their feeding tube/s as they can select the Tubie pad they want to wear that day, it takes away the fear of having a feeding tube. They're beneficial for adults too and make having a feeding tube even that little easier.

I buy my Tubie pads off a lady called Amy Duncan-Dehn who runs her own Facebook group for her small business 'Tuberific Tubies! GTube & Trach Pads'. Amy's Tubie pads are of very high standard, good quality that last a long period of time (I bought my first log of Tubie pads off Amy a year ago and they're all still in the same condition they were when I first bought them with no sign of wear and tear, even going through the washing machine and tumble dryer), countless different fabrics and designs and very cost efficient. Amy makes individual Tubie pads however also does bundles from time to time which work out to be usually $0.50-$1 per Tubie pad. Amy also ships internationally (she lives in the USA however I am in the UK and she sent me Tubie pads with the postage from the USA-UK only being $10 for 25 Tubie pads! Including postage my first bundle of 25 Tubie pads was $35.90 and 24 Tubie pads was $34, so great value for money!

The link to Amy's Facebook group is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/269539526562746/

Tubie clips 

Tubie clips are pieces of fabric attached to a clip. You put the clip onto clothing and then put the tubing into the piece of fabric. Tubie clips purpose is to: stop your tubing getting tangled up and also minimises the risk of tripping over the tubing which in turn would result your feeding tubing being tugged hard on which can be quite painful and may potentially pull your tube out your feeding tube stoma. Tubie clips come in a whole host of fabrics with different colours and designs on them. They can really help take away how daunting feeding tubes can be, they are great for children as they can be more involved in their feeding tube by picking out a tubie clip to use, even for adults they can make things even just a little easier.

Backpack 

If you're on continuous feeding or feeding that runs throughout the day having a backpack can be a real lifesaver! So many backpacks exist with different designs, something to suit absolutely anyone. For my my personal favourite type of backpack is by the company 'Vibedration'. They have a whole array of different backpack styles in several different sizes. The thing I love the most about Vibedration's backpacks is they have a hole in the backpack where you can feed your tubing through instead of, like with other backpacks, having to place the tubing out with the zip of the backpack.

Hole in the backpack for tubing to go through

Mortar and pestle 

I use a mortar and pestle to crush my medication to put it through my feeding tube. I find this grinds the medication up very finely so doesn't block my tube which is the problem I've faced with pill crushers in the past.

Dressings/tape 

These types of dressings/tape work well for nasal tubes (to stick them to the face) but also to tape up the a surgical-tube as well as covering the tube site itself with the tube in situ if a surgically-placed tube. When using tape a lot on your face these are 3 dressings/tape I've found work the best for me:

Hypafix dressing is really good for allergy-prone skin. I find it's one of the least harshest dressings, particularly on the face. It's very soft and the doesn't have too stubborn adhesive so is quite gentle on the skin. The tape is really easy to peel off and isn't painful coming off. When using Hypafix on my cheeks when I had NG tubes I found it didn't leave me cheeks feeling raw and didn't sting coming off.

Hypafix can be bought here: https://www.quickfirstaid.co.uk/hypafix-dressing-retention-adhesive-sheets

 Tegaderm dressing is great for covering your feeding tube stomach and tube. I find this is great to use when out and about at the beach to stop sand entering your feeding tube site as well as when going to the swimming pool to reduce the likelihood of yourself ending up with an infection.

Tegaderm can be bought here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/TEGADERM-FILM-Dressings-6cm-7cm/dp/B01N9QHQDW/ref=asc_df_B01N9QHQDW/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309964069570&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12829812929194738583&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007377&hvtargid=pla-561516672606&psc=1

Duoderm is a very soft dressing that is easy to remove to the skin. I find that it leaves no problems as the resort of taking it off and on the skin again and find it works the best for my skin. It's very soothing on the skin and doesn't result in the skin ending up raw when placing it on and off.

Duoderm can be bought here: https://www.farmaline.uk/health/order/duoderm-10cm-x-10cm-5-items/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwwODlBRDuARIsAMy_28U3j5xMGjui_GVUqztEDFr9OSZqa7ll7Gs_17VqI9Uec1ZIXye5WEUaAt1TEALw_wcB



Sterile water 





Sterile water is a great way to clean around your surgically-placed feeding tube site. It's sterile on the
skin and can be found in bottles as well as sachets. Definitely a must have when cleaning around your site.








Gauze





Gauze is absolutely perfect to use in order to clean around your surgically-placed feeding tube stoma accompanying the sterile water mentioned above.


Another use for gauze if
you have a surgically-placed feeding tube then placing gauze around your feeding tube site can really help reduce the amount of gunk that is present from your feeding tube. It's very soft and gentle on the skin and also helps to reduce any drainage as the result of an infection.