Before starting your feeding, your doctor may want you to check
for fluid that is left in the stomach from the last feeding.
This is called residual fluid. You should check the residual
before each feeding. You will need the following supplies: - (1)
60 cc syringe - (1) Clean cup Procedure for Checking Residual -
Wash your hands. (See Handwashing section for more information)
- Clamp the tube and open the cap. - Attach a syringe to the
feeding tube - Unclamp the feeding tube. - Pull back on the
syringe. When you do this you may see some of the stomach fluid
in the syringe. - Pull back gently until you don't get any more
fluid from the stomach. - If a full syringe comes back, clamp
the tube and empty the syringe into a clean cup. Keep repeating
until no more fluid is pulled back into the syringe. - Draw the
fluid from the cup back into the syringe, and gently push the
fluid back through the tube into the stomach. This is very
important because the stomach fluid has important fluids in it
that your body needs.