Funnily enough, people keep forgetting that a feeding tube can be used not only to administer tube feeding but also fluids. This is despite the fact that the food administered must also be liquid. Personally, I find this aspect of tube feeding almost more important than the food supply. After all, a person can go without food for several weeks (although this is of course unhealthy), but only a few days without water.
“Drinking” through the feeding tube
Often, “drinking” through the feeding tube is even more of a relief for many people with swallowing difficulties than eating. If this is pureed, many people can still manage to swallow the puree fairly neatly. However, due to the lack of consistency of water or other drinks, they are more difficult to control in the mouth and throat. In the worst case, this can lead to aspiration. For this reason, fluids for people with medically-related swallowing problems are often thickened with the help of special additives. With the administration of fluids via the PEG tube, both the procedure itself and the risk can be avoided.
Room temperature is a must
In principle, almost all drinks can be administered via a feeding tube. However, they must be at room temperature. Drinking hot coffee or tea directly through the PEG tube can not only damage the tube itself, but also cause injuries. After all, the hot liquid goes directly into the stomach, which is not designed to handle it. Even when a person swallows hot food, heat is lost during the process before it reaches the stomach.
Ice-cold drinks should also be avoided. As a rule, the probe material is less affected by them and there is no excessive risk of injury. Nevertheless, drinks that are too cold are unpleasant when consumed through the stomach tube. I speak from experience here. Especially in my younger days, I have tried a lot of things in about 20 years of living with a PEG.
Bubble tea and caipirinhas
Of course, the drink must not contain any large or sharp-edged components. The former could clog the tube, the latter could damage it. Bubble tea, caipirinhas and other cocktails with crushed ice are therefore a very poor choice for administration via a feeding tube. Alcoholic drinks are fine in themselves, But that’s another story. In my experience, juices with a little pulp are also fine. But here, as always when anything other than water is administered via the feeding tube, it is especially important to then flush the tube with water.
Still water is better than sparkling
Prefer still water. Even though carbonated beverages can also be administered through a feeding tube, a few things should be considered in this context. First of all, the carbon dioxide makes it more difficult to administer the liquid through the tube. These bubbles often collect and then form one or more larger bubbles. If the liquid is administered via a pump, the pump will block as soon as it detects air in the tubing system. Air should not be administered through a feeding tube. This is not nearly as tragic as air in an infusion. Nevertheless, air in the abdomen is not good for your general well-being. Because somehow it has to come out again. I will discuss this in more detail in another post.
Furthermore, as the term carbonic acid already implies, such drinks are acidic and can affect the acid balance in the body and even disrupt it in larger quantities. I will also discuss this in more detail in another post.
