[tri-med] Re: g-tube extension maintenance

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kraig Warnemuende"
>>Our friends' concern is
> that he'll play with, yank at, explore his extension, and cause all
> sorts of probs for himself.  Have any of you run into this?

We had this with Alex. He was 14 months old when he got the long tube and it
was in for 6 months. Just the right age for him to be exploring with hands,
crawling and cruising. To make matters worse it wasn't held in by a balloon
on the end (it was just a foley's catheter not a proper g-tube) - it just
sat there and we would put tape on his skin and then tape the tube with
that. So it took only a decent tug to pull the tube out. However if your
friend is really concerned she may like to use the same "H" taping method as
an added precaution.

Place a strip of duoderm or other skin protection tape (like what they use
to hold oxygen prongs on babies faces) on either side of the tube. Then cut
two long strips of elastoplast type tape thats about 1/2 inch wide. Fold one
piece of the tape in half and stick it to itself, leaving just enough at the
bottom to tape onto the duoderm. Repeat on the other side. This forms the
long sides of the "H".

Cut a smaller piece of tape to form the cross bar of the "H" - again twice
as long as you want but when you stick it to itself catch the tube up in the
middle.

I found that despite my concerns that Alex would pull on the tube were not
as bad as I thought. He seemed to sense that if he pulled it out it created
an unpleasant experience. I have met many children who find it a great
teething ring though!! Accidentally pulling on the tube though was a big
problem. eg I would be lifting him out of the crib and the tube would get
caught between the crib rail and myself and I would end up just pulling the
whole thing out!!!

The best solution for us was to get some stockinette. Its a tube of knitted
material that they put under plaster casts etc. Get it fairly small so that
its reasonably snug around the child's torso. (from memory we got adult
forearm size) Roll the extension tube up and then pull the stockinette over
it. Keeps it snug against the body so that it doesn't "dangle".

You can buy commercially made "belts" that are designed to hold the tube.
Essentially they are like a bum bag (what you guys call a fanny bag) but
made out of soft material. I never bothered. If I wasn't using stockinette I
would tuck it into his nappy (diaper)

Then to help little exploring fingers stay away I would always put what I
think you guys call onsies on. They are like an undershirt that buttons at
the crotch.

Hope those ideas help. Its been a while though - and if I think of others
that we used I will post them.

We can not change the wind. But we can change the sails.
~Ghandi~

Keep Looking For Rainbows!!
   _--_|\
 /Karen \
 \ _.--._ /
          v Karen, Mum to Alex (8 years, T-18 Mosaic)
http://members.optushome.com.au/karens


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