Always bring with you the equipment needed to administer enteral nutrition and medications when you are not at home, including a “troubleshooting kit” in case of complications. This equipment contains at least:
the nutritional formula (with ice packs if necessary) or the ingredients required to prepare it,
medications and a device to crush tablets to powder, if necessary,
an oral/enteral feeding syringe or feeding bags,
an oral/enteral syringe (to administer medication),
an oral/enteral syringe (for irrigation or flushing, after medication administration or feeding),
two button extension sets, if applicable,
the enteral feeding pump and backpack, if applicable,
the power cable for wall outlet, if necessary,
a spare nasogastric tube, gastrostomy balloon button or tube for replacement,
two urinary Foley™ catheters, if your child has a stoma: one the same size and one smaller than your child’s tube or button,
water-soluble lubricant,
a syringe (for the button balloon or urinary Foley™ catheter),
a thin protective bandage, if appropriate,
adhesive bandages,
water (for irrigation),
towels.
Always have an up-to-date list of materials and equipment needed in the travel bag; replace used or missing items. Confirm the frequency of checking expiry dates and equipment status with your healthcare team.
Keep the specific instructions of the enteral pump used by your child, if applicable, handy.
Keep a resource list close at hand with the names and telephone numbers of hospital, doctors, other members of your child’s healthcare team and equipment providers. Make sure you know how to contact these resources outside of regular hours and during vacations.
Before leaving on a trip:
always check with your insurance company to see if travel to your destination is covered;
check that the appropriate voltage for the enteral feeding pump is available at your destination;
make sure you have a document from your healthcare team describing your child’s condition and your child’s needs regarding enteral nutrition along with a complete list of medications;
bring enough supplies to last for the duration of the trip and add a bit extra as a reserve;
be aware of the presence of suppliers and other resources that may be required while traveling to or from the destination, in case there is equipment breakdown or other health need;
plan what to do in case of an emergency (eg, unintentional removal of the tube or button that you cannot change yourself, broken pump, lack of nutritional formula).
For travel by airplane:
contact the airline company to inquire about their policy concerning the transport of equipment and formula;
keep all equipment, formula, medications and documents from your healthcare team with you in the cabin.
While traveling: make sure the battery of the enteral feeding pump is fully charged.
Discuss with your healthcare team the possibility of using an alternative method of feeding (push, gravity) while traveling.
Disclaimer of Liability: By using this site, you acknowledge that you have read this disclaimer
and agree to
all of its terms. Before making any decisions regarding your health or if you have any medical questions, you
should first consult a physician or qualified health care professional who can provide recommendations tailored
to your specific needs. The information published on this site does not constitute a recommendation for
treatment (preventive or curative), a prescription or a diagnosis and is not a substitute for the advice of a
physician or qualified health professional.
As medical and technical knowledge is constantly evolving, the content of this site is made available for
information purposes only. The contributors to this site, including clinical experts in pediatrics from across
Quebec, make every effort to ensure that the information made available on this site is as accurate and reliable
as possible, without guaranteeing the completeness or total absence of error of its content. The opinions
contained in this site are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and are not binding on the contributors to
this site. These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official viewpoint of the organizations mentioned, nor
that of their directors or representatives. The contributors to this site cannot and will not assume any
responsibility for the use of the published content or for the information otherwise accessible through any link
or reference source. Any quotation or reference to a source external to this site is for informational purposes
only and does not constitute an endorsement or claim, express or implied, regarding the content or validity of
the information obtained from that external source.
All rights reserved: The contents of this site may not be reproduced or disseminated, in whole
or in part, in any manner or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system of any kind that is not limited to private use, without the prior
written permission of the copyright holder.
