It is difficult caring for children with special needs. Parents who care for children at home need help. Experts say being a caregiver is very isolating. That is because parents have to give up a lot of their activities to be at home. Most of their time is spent with the child. It is a good idea to seek help from agencies like Careminders Home Care. It is especially challenging caring for technology-dependent children. Examples include children who have tracheotomy tubes and need intravenous feeding.
A tracheotomy tube, or trach, allows a child to breathe when other airways are blocked. This is one of the major care areas for Pediatric Home Services. Trach tubes need constant attention to ward off infections. Nurses recommend suctioning the tube two times per day. The most important time is when the child cannot cough up mucus. Signs of trach problems include:
- the child gets restless or scared
- breathing gets louder or erratic
- skin turns gray or blue
The nurse also instructs parents in proper techniques. For instance, never suction the trach tube immediately after a meal. This is dangerous as it may cause the child to vomit. The best way to suction the tube is to insert a catheter. The catheter usually has directions for parents to follow. A key rule is not to insert the catheter too far. Additionally, the child should cough up any mucus before suctioning. Additionally, parents need help with intravenous feeding or parenteral nutrition. This technique is used for many reasons. For instance, the digestive tract may not absorb enough nutrients. Some patients may be simply to sick to eat orally.
Many patients get feedings to supplement their nutrition. Meanwhile, others are on total parenteral nutrition. This requires a large i.v. tube called a central venous catheter. For optimum performance, the catheter should go into a large vein. Pediatric Home Services also provides services for children with developmental delays. Developmental delays occur for several reasons including genetics and birth trauma. The child may require therapy for motor and cognitive skills. Further, many children are behind in language development. Whatever the problem, home health services can provide assistance. These valuable professionals give parents a helping hand. You can connect with them on Facebook for more updates!
