Why Tube Feeding?
Tube feeding can be recommended for a diversity of people with many different conditions and circumstances. Tube feeding can help people with:
- Problems with their mouth, oesophagus (food pipe), or stomach
- Swallowing problems that put them at a risk of choking and aspirating (i.e. food enters not only the oesophagus and stomach but also the lungs)
- Difficulty managing to take enough food by mouth to meet their daily nutritional needs.
Candidates for tube feeding may have different medical issues, but you all have one thing in common - you can't eat enough to get the right amount of nutrition.
Good nutrition is essential to maintain weight, and in some cases to improve recovery, response to treatments, and maintain independence. If your body does not get enough nutrition over a period of time you could end up with 'undernutrition', often called 'malnutrition' by healthcare professionals. This can happen if you can't swallow or tolerate food taken by mouth, or if your body cannot effectively use or absorb what you eat. Such a gap in good nutrition can lead to many different health problems.
Your healthcare professional may decide you're at greater risk of undernutrition than others if you are:
- Living with an illness or disease
- Preparing for surgery
- Recovering from an illness or surgery.
Tube feeding has been recommended to help you or the person you care for receive all the nutrients needed. Although it can be an overwhelming prospect at first, tube feeding can make a real improvement to quality of life compared to when you/they weren't getting enough nutrition.
Glossary:
Undernutrition or malnutrition = nutritional deficiency resulting from lack of food, or the inability of the body to convert or absorb it.
Why Tube Feeding?
Tube feeding can be recommended for children with many different conditions and circumstances. Tube feeding can help children with:
- Problems with their mouth, oesophagus (food pipe) or stomach
- Swallowing or sucking problems that put them at a risk of choking and aspirating (i.e. food enters not only the oesophagus and stomach but also the lungs)
- Difficulty managing to take enough food by mouth to meet their daily nutritional needs.
Children who are tube fed may be a diverse group of people and have different medical issues, but they all have one thing in common - they're not able to eat enough to get the right amount of nutrition.
Good nutrition can support your child's optimal growth and development, or in some cases improve their recovery and response to treatments. If your child's body does not get enough nutrition over a period of time, he or she could end up with 'undernutrition', often called 'malnutrition' by healthcare professionals. This can happen if your child can't swallow or tolerate enough food taken by mouth, or if their body cannot effectively use or absorb what they eat. Such a gap in good nutrition can lead to many different health problems and less than optimal development.
Tube feeding has been recommended to help your child receive all the nutrients he or she needs to thrive. Tube feeding can support your child's optimal growth, development and, in some cases, their recovery. Although it can be an overwhelming prospect at first, tube feeding can make a real improvement to your child's life compared to when he or she wasn't getting enough nutrition.
Glossary:
Undernutrition or malnutrition = nutritional deficiency resulting from lack of food, or the inability of the body to convert or absorb it.
