Information Hub
Understanding artificial nutrition
Plain explanations of TPN, tube feeding, lines and tubes, the risks to know about, and how to live day to day. Written from lived experience. Your own nutrition team always knows best for you.
The basics
What artificial nutrition is, how it works, and what to watch for.
What is home artificial nutrition?
The plain explanation: what it is, who needs it, and the two main kinds.
Read Not checked by Daz yetParenteral nutrition (TPN)
Feeding straight into the bloodstream: how it works, how long it runs and what is in the bag.
Read Not checked by Daz yetEnteral nutrition (tube feeding)
Liquid feed into the stomach or small bowel: why it is used and how it is given.
Read Not checked by Daz yetDifferent feeding methods, side by side
NG, NJ, PEG, RIG, jejunostomy, PICC, Hickman and port: what each one is.
Read Not checked by Daz yetHickman lines and line care
What a Hickman line is, why it is used for TPN, and the warning signs to act on.
Read Not checked by Daz yetThe risks to know about
Infection, blockages, salts and sugar, the liver and bones: what to watch for and why.
Read Not checked by Daz yetWhat artificial nutrition gives you
Energy, strength, healing and time: the good it does, alongside the hard parts.
Read Not checked by Daz yetMalnutrition: not just something that happens elsewhere
How common it is in the UK, the signs, and why it is worth speaking up early.
Read Not checked by Daz yetLiving with it day to day
Travel, cold weather and a world built around food.
Travelling with TPN
Holidays and trips away are possible. Here is how to plan them.
Read Not checked by Daz yetDay feeds in cold weather
Keeping feeds, tubes, lines and yourself warm and safe when the temperature drops.
Read Not checked by Daz yetLiving in a world built around food
Meals out, birthdays, Christmas and adverts. Ways to cope when you cannot eat.
Read Not checked by Daz yetIf you are struggling right now
You do not have to wait until it gets worse. Please talk to someone today.
- SamaritansCall 116 123, free, any time
- ShoutText SHOUT to 85258
- NHS 111Call 111 and choose the mental health option
- Your nutrition teamFor anything about your feed, tube or line
- EmergencyCall 999