Peg tube build up

MissBlueEyes4Life
MissBlueEyes4Life Member Posts: 35
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Got my peg tube switched out over a month ago and a week later I already started seeing food sticking to the inside of it. The first tube I got didn't have build up for several months. I always flush it with hot water but that doesn't help. I've even tried alkaseltzer but nothing seems to stop it.  The tube is so tiny I can't fit  a swab in it. Any way to clean this nasty thing?

Comments

  • lorijeannj
    lorijeannj Member Posts: 56 Member
    #2
    I was told to try coca cola. 

    I was told to try coca cola.  

    BTW - Why hot water, cold will work.  Make sure enough goes in to actually flush.

    What else is going in - what kind of foods?

  • patricke
    patricke Member Posts: 570
    #3
    TUBE FLUSH

    Hi Miss Blue Eyes,

    Back in the olden days, I used to flush with some cola such as Coke, Pepsi, or Mountain Dew because of the citric acid in their ingredients.  I believe that Mountain Dew may have the greatest amount of citric acid, but I don't know for sure.  I also used extra long pipe cleaners which I found at our local, well a few miles down the road, craft store, which I used when flushing with the sodas.  My clean out routine was fairly effective in eliminating some of the gunk build-up, so that at least it was retarded.  My routine, thankfully, extended the time between tube changes, one of my all time least favorite activities. 

    Patrick  

  • MissBlueEyes4Life
    MissBlueEyes4Life Member Posts: 35
    #4
    lorijeannj said:

    I was told to try coca cola. 

    I was told to try coca cola.  

    BTW - Why hot water, cold will work.  Make sure enough goes in to actually flush.

    What else is going in - what kind of foods?

    I was told to use warm water

    I was told to use warm water by the doc.  Nothing else just osmolite tube feeds 

  • MissBlueEyes4Life
    MissBlueEyes4Life Member Posts: 35
    edited January 2018 #5
    patricke said:

    TUBE FLUSH

    Hi Miss Blue Eyes,

    Back in the olden days, I used to flush with some cola such as Coke, Pepsi, or Mountain Dew because of the citric acid in their ingredients.  I believe that Mountain Dew may have the greatest amount of citric acid, but I don't know for sure.  I also used extra long pipe cleaners which I found at our local, well a few miles down the road, craft store, which I used when flushing with the sodas.  My clean out routine was fairly effective in eliminating some of the gunk build-up, so that at least it was retarded.  My routine, thankfully, extended the time between tube changes, one of my all time least favorite activities. 

    Patrick  

    They make them small enough?

    They make them small enough? Do they have them at like hobby lobby or Michaels ? 

     

    Edit: woops thinking of something else. Found some straw cleaners on amazon. Pipe cleaner seem kind of soft though?

  • DanceSkater
    DanceSkater Member Posts: 62
    edited January 2018 #6
    MissBlueEyes4Life said:

    They make them small enough?

    They make them small enough? Do they have them at like hobby lobby or Michaels ? 

     

    Edit: woops thinking of something else. Found some straw cleaners on amazon. Pipe cleaner seem kind of soft though?

    "pipe" cleaners

    I use the VERY long "pipe" cleaners too.  I bought mine at Wal-Mart.  Found them in the craft section.  They are called "fuzzy sticks".  I tried different types of drinking soda but none of them worked for me.  As soon as my tube starts to get a little dis-colored, I clean it with a fuzzy stick and warm water..  I've had this peg tube (my second one) for 6 months.  It looks almost as clear/clean as the day I got it.

    Peg tubes come in different sizes.   The measuring unit is "fr".  I don't know what it means.  Mine is 20 fr.  I got the size info from the operation report.  There is a device (like a long rubber pipe cleaner) called a declogger.  It's made for feeding tubes.  I ordered 2 from Vitality Medical Inc  located in Ohio.   They were a little expensive.  I like the fuzzy sticks much better and never use the decloggers.

  • hudsonrivergolf
    hudsonrivergolf Member Posts: 1
    #7
    Tube Replacement

    My wife has had a tube for six months and it was replaced last week. We have to grind some of her medications to put them in the tube. We started a new medication just 2 1/2 days before the clog. We now think the new med quickly turned to a thick paste when we administered it with water through the tube. So we now are grinding the meds even more and watering them down more so this doesn't happen again.

  • Mshell
    Mshell Member Posts: 1
    edited January 2018 #8
    Please don’t use sodas to declog tube feeds or pipe cleaners!

    Carbonated beverages and acidic juices can cause protein precipitation within the tube making the clog worse or making it worse later on. I would recommend using a gentle back and forth (with the plunger of the syringe)of 30-60ml warm water, clamp and let it sit for 20 minutes before trying to flush it again. If this doesn’t work ask your doctor about enzymatic declogging agents.

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