If you are here it is probably because you have experienced the frustration of having to reinsert your child’s nasogastric (ng) feeding tube, only to see it peeling off their face half and hour later, or having them pull it out with a swift tug.
Dominic had a ng tube for a long time and over the months, after watching in despair as tube after tube got pulled out, I developed a very specific way of taping the feeding tube to prevent Dominic being able to yank it out. Even though he now has permanent feeding tubes and I have no need of this taping technique any more, I thought that it might help someone else so have decided to post it. Step by step instructions are below.
Step One
- Get everything that you need ready and close to hand.
- It’s obviously easier if you are doing it with a second person, but if you are alone, wrapping the child in a blanket so they can’t grab the tube is key to being successful.
- Make sure you’ve measured how much tube needs to be inserted before you begin and that you have your syringe already out of the packaging and pH testing strips close to hand.
- Have your tape ready cut (and if this is your first time perhaps spare pieces in case you mess up) and think about having a table or something similar close by so you can remove the backing and stick them to the corner of the table ready for when you need them. See the pictures below for an idea how the tape should look.
Step Two
- Wrap your child in a blanket and lay them on their side, over your knees so you can tuck the top of their uppermost arm under your armpit if you need to use two hands for any fiddly bits.
- Insert the nasogastric tube (please don’t attempt to do this unless you have been trained).
- Test the pH to check it is in the right position. If your child is especially wriggly you might want to wait until the tube is well stuck down before doing this.
- Stick on whatever tape you are using to protect the skin.
Step Three
Now this is the most fiddly part, but it is the trick to preventing the child from being able to pull the tube out by grabbing the end.
- You need a piece of tape about a third of the length of the cheek that has a cut up the middle (lengthways) so it looks like a pair of trousers.
- You want to position the tape so the ‘legs’ of the trousers are pointing towards the nose.
- Stick the end of the tape down onto the cheek leaving the legs free, the tube should not be stuck to this part of the tape, but be lying over the top of it.
- Place the tube between the two legs of the tape, now cross one of the legs diagonally across the tube and stick.
- Place the other leg diagonally going the other way and stick.
Step Four
- Make sure you have a second piece of tape that is long enough to cover the area from the corner of the nose up to and including the legs of the first piece of tape. This piece of tape should have a small slit in it which should be placed pointing towards the ear.
- Push any nasogastric tube that has bulged out back in so the tube is lying as flat as it can and stick the tape down making sure that the mini legs sit either side of the tube strengthening where the tape underneath starts to cross.
- Now the tube is secure you need to check its position with your pH testing strips, or recheck if you did this earlier but you think there is a chance the tube could have moved.
Step Five
Give your child a huge hug and go and find something nice to do together.
Maintaining good oral habits from a very young age is essential. A person must know about their complete oral health condition and get regular check-ups done. Hornsby clinic is one such clinic where they use new age technology that gives you a perfect smile that you always desired.
Do you want to find out more about feeding tubes?
NG and NJ feeding tubes
info: How to tape an NG tube
so it doesn't come out
info: 
Why Feeding Tubes Are Fab
info: 
GJ Feeding Tubes
info: Gastrostomy Feeding Tubes
info: Roux en-Y Jejunostomy
info:
This would not work for my baby. See that gap by your baby’s nose? He gets his fingers round that and flick! Out comes the tube.
You can do the trouser legs both ways to secure it at both ends
Same mine was doing well has had her NG 3 months but fir some reason her new tube keeps looping my the nose literally went to her doctor on scheduled visit and ended up at the hospital because they botched trying to help me retake her.
What kind of tape do you use?
I find Mepore dressing the easiest as it’s pretty sticky, but has a backing so it’s much easier to cut.
Sorry to bother you just read your comment where do u find this kind of tape….my son just got an nj tube and had taken it out everyday since he had gotten it
You can buy it here Mefix dressing on Amazon
Apologies I mean mefix
Where do you attach the remainder of the tube in between feedings? I have a 2 year old with a long tube and he doesn’t pull it out but wants it out of the way.
We tape ours to his back, leaving enough slack for him to turn his head. We have a 7mo old so we leave the last bit of the tail free for medicine and when we need to start a feed.
I useM transpire tape and secure it to my 23 month olds back of her shirt but leave enough slack for head turning. Careful too much slack or not carefully laid can get caught on things. Yesterday hers went around the corner on the tv stand but luckily she saw it and called me before moving.
Check out Tubie Pockets on Amazon. Lots of colors and patterns and they worked great for us!
can you show the box of the mepore dressing you buy???
Mefix dressing
Can I ask what tape you use on the bottom to protect his:her skin?
Duoderm is the most commonly used
Your method was helpful indeed. my son is 7.5 months old now and has been ng tube as a result of silent aspiration. Does anyone have any idea if i can make my son to start experiencing different tastes cuz he wasnt able to start any kind of solid food at sixth month since he was onthe tube.
If he has been silently aspirating I personally wouldn’t give any food until it is cleared by his doctor as it could be dangerous.
I have been using hypafix tape but my 10 month old has been pulling it out 4 times this week
Any suggestions to help it stay there…it becomes very frustrating
Other than the tips on this post, I’m not sure what else to suggest, other than trying different tape?
Do you put a skin protectant on first or.can that tape go directly on the skin?
Yes, I put duoderm underneath
Thanks so much for posting this. His tube has stayed in place using your technique. How often do you change the tape?
Only when needed 🙂
Hello!! My 4 month old just got a ng tube placed in. She has pulled it out 2 times in 3 days! Once she sneezed it out 😫 and a day later she got her finger in under her nose and pulled it out. I can’t figure out how to close that gap! I’ve been using the hypafix tape and making an x and a long piece across her upper lip. But when she drinks her bottle or cries it comes right off 😳. Any suggestions??
You have my sympathy, it’s so difficult isn’t it! All I can suggest is that you restick it as soon as you can or ask for a less rigid tube which will lie closer to the face. When they first get an NG tube, it really irritates them as it’s a foreign object that they want to remove. They do get more used to it though and eventually stop noticing it, but waiting for that can seem excruciatingly long. Fingers crossed she either has it removed soon or gets used to it so life gets a bit easier for you both x