Enteral Feedings (G-Tube) at home
Enteral nutrition, also known as tube feeding, is a way of delivering nutrition directly to your stomach or small intestine. Your doctor might recommend tube feeding if you can’t eat enough to get the nutrients you need. When tube feeding occurs outside the hospital, doctors refer to it as home enteral nutrition (HEN). A HEN care team at CarebRidge healthcare services can teach you how to feed yourself through a tube and provide support when you encounter problems.
HEN might be recommended if you have difficulty in eating, but your digestive system works normally. Examples include:
- Cancer, such as head & neck cancers, or cancer treatment that makes it difficult or painful to swallow.
- Neurological problems, such as stroke & amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Gastrointestinal problems, such as delayed gastric emptying (gastroparesis) & bowel obstruction
- Trauma, such as an injury to your digestive tract etc.
Types of feeding tubes
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The feeding tube passed through the nose — If you’ll need a feeding tube for a month or less, your doctor may recommend inserting a tube through your nose and into your stomach (nasogastric tube) or your small intestine (nasojejunal tube).
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The feeding tube passed through the skin on your abdomen — If you’ll need longer-term tube feeding, your doctor may recommend a procedure to place a tube through the skin on your abdomen and into your stomach (gastrostomy) or your small intestine (jejunostomy).
