Oral Aversion and the Gag Reflex
The Developmental RN has come and gone. She is the one who evaluates Eric and decides if he needs to see a specialist. Since Eric is having serious issues with his eating habits, DevRN is going to start the process of Eric seeing a feeding specialist. This person will help Eric eat better and overcome his hyperactive gag reflex.
We had inadvertently started the process already when we purchased the vibrating teething star. There is also a vibrating spoon that we can purchase that will help. Also, because Eric is teething early, we have been massaging his gums with a baby toothbrush that fits on your finger. The point is for Eric to get used to having things in his mouth so that when we get to the solid food stage, we won't have so many problems.
The problems stem from having been intubated. This leads to the hyperactive gag reflex and the oral aversion. Oral aversion means that Eric dislikes anything in his mouth and will avoid it when he can. This would include the bottle and breast. If untreated, it will lead to texture aversion where a child is unable to eat certain textures of food. This can lead to a lifelong issue. I've finally gotten his father to eat vegetables and fruits, even somewhat spicy foods. I really do not want to deal with another fussy eater!
For Eric, it is not just a matter of calories. It is also a matter of hydration. Since he only eats about 20oz (on a good day!), when he is sick or teething, he can drop down to 14 oz. Continued low feedings can lead to dehydration and another ICU visit.
These are the tips I was given by the EIS Development RN:
- Tap around the mouth with a finger or your mouth (kisses).
- Use a vibrating teething star.
- Start your child with a vibrating teething spoon. This is not for feeding but to get your child used to something in his mouth.
- Make a blanket with several ribbons of different textures. The ribbons should only be and inch or two long. This is to expose your child to as many different types of textures as possible before solids are introduced.
Friday, January 23, 2009
|
Labels:
development,
gag relex,
oral aversion,
preemie
|
2 comments:
Hello. My daughter was born on 12/22/08 full term. She was extremely ill at birth(I had the stomach flu at delivery and they think it was a freak thing that contracted it and it lead to many other issues). She almost did not survive. She had many traumatic things done to her while in the NICU. She came home with an ng tube. She continues to refuse her bottle. I can get her to take 2-4(occasionally)oz every 3-4 hrs. She never acts hungry; I have to force it. I was told that she would need to have time to recover from her illness before she would begin to eat well. She could not be woke up too much to work with her because rest was imperative. Now she has a terrible oral aversion. Any suggestions for beating this after getting such a late start?
Have you tried talking to a feeding specialist about this? We have one for Eric. One thing to never do, is force her to eat. It will only make things worse. I know it is hard not to.
We just got out of the hospital today. Eric needed a gtube put in. It is a tube put into his stomach. It is similar to the ng-tube, but it goes directly to the stomach, bypassing the throat. It sounds more scary than it actually is.
Post a Comment