What should you know about G-tube cellulitis?

A tube site can become irritated by moisture, leakage, friction, pressure, or a break in the skin. Cellulitis usually affects deeper skin tissues than simple surface irritation. Redness may expand beyond the opening, and the area can feel hot, tender, firm, or swollen. Drainage or an unpleasant smell may occur, although their absence does not exclude infection.

People with diabetes, reduced immunity, poor circulation, or a recent procedure may need closer monitoring. A clinician may also check whether the tube is too tight, displaced, blocked, or associated with an abscess.

Contact the tube-care team or clinician promptly for advice, especially if redness is spreading or pain is increasing. Wash your hands before touching the site, clean it only as instructed, dry the surrounding skin gently, and keep dressings changed according to the care plan.

Do not squeeze the area, apply leftover antibiotics, pull out the tube, or alter its position unless a qualified clinician directs you. Continue feeds and medicines only as instructed; ask what to do if feeding causes leakage, pain, vomiting, or resistance.

Seek urgent medical care for fever, chills, rapidly spreading redness, severe pain, marked swelling, pus, new confusion, unusual sleepiness, fast breathing, faintness, or a tube that has fallen out. These symptoms can signal a serious infection, including sepsis, or a tube complication.

Ask whether the site needs antibiotics or a swab, how to mark or monitor the edge of redness, how to manage leakage, and which changes mean the tube needs urgent review.