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Personal and physical
care for your child.

Depending on what type of feeding tube your child has, physical care of his or her mouth, nose and tube site are important. This section includes tips for personal care.

Your Child's Mouth

Whether your child is receiving their feeding through a gastrostomy or jejunostomy tube, or through a nasogastric or nasointestinal tube, it's important to maintain good oral health. The following steps are recommended to keep your child's mouth as clean as possible. Follow any other special instructions from your child's healthcare team.

Your child's teeth, gums and tongue should be brushed at least two times a day using a soft toothbrush and toothpaste. To moisten their mouth, use an oral sponge.
To moisten your child's lips, use lip balm or a lanolin-based moisturizing cream. To prevent chapping, encourage your child to avoid licking their lips if possible.
Report bleeding or anything unusual in your child's mouth to your healthcare professional.

Your Child's Nose

If your child is taking their feeding through a nasogastric or nasointestinal tube, the tube passing through their nose may cause mild soreness or you may notice some thick, crusty mucus in your child's nostrils. It is important to take care of your child's nose. Follow these steps:

On a daily basis, change the tape holding the tube in place. When re-taping, allow some slack so that the tube does not rub against the nostrils.
Clean the nostrils at least once a day with a soft washcloth or cotton swabs moistened with warm water.
Remove sticky tape residue with a special adhesive remover.
Remove crusting on the nostrils with warm water on a cotton swab.
Apply a lip balm or lanolin-based moisturizing cream to the inside edges of the nostril.
Report any redness, bleeding or numbness to your child's doctor.

The Tube Site

If your child has a gastrostomy or jejunostomy tube, care of the skin surrounding the feeding site is very important.

Follow these steps:

Wash your hands thoroughly.
Remove the old dressing and tape, being careful not to disturb the tube.
Cleanse the skin around the tube daily with soap and water as directed by your child's healthcare professional.
To remove any crusting around the tube site, use cotton swabs moistened with warm water.
Check the tube site every day for signs of redness, soreness, swelling or unusual drainage. Report anything unusual to your child's healthcare professional.
Dry the skin around the feeding tube site thoroughly. Healed gastrostomy or jejunostomy sites usually do not need a special dressing. If you have been told to apply a dressing, follow the instructions from your child's healthcare professional.

The Importance of Maintaining
Oral Stimulation

For the child who is being tube-fed and not taking anything by mouth, it may be easy to overlook the fact that using their mouth, whether to drink, eat or suck, is a normal part of feeding and promotes growth and development.

Oral stimulation is important because it allows a younger child to develop skills for eating and swallowing, and helps an older child who has already learned these skills to maintain them while they are being tube-fed.
Talk to your child's healthcare team for ideas about providing your child with safe opportunities to chew or suck.

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Personal and physical
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