Weaning is not just a process for infants. Sometimes adults find themselves in the circumstance of having to relearn the ability to digest solid foods. The advantage of an adult is that he or she knows what is going on and likely have been eating solid foods just a few months ago. The challenge is getting the muscles of the mouth back into the habit of chewing and the stomach into the habit of producing the right enzymes. Home based tube weaning is a rather straightforward process that is overseen by a nutritionist and a doctor.
It is called Home based tube weaning in general but refers to any adult that has been compelled to consume nothing but liquid food for a considerable length of time. If a person was unconscious or recovering from a facial injury, it might have been impractical for them to chew food for a month or two and so stopped using their mouths this way. Instead, they might have been fed with an esophageal tube or simply had to slurp nutrition shakes.
Either way, their stomach has to adjust in order to get back to normal. When the program starts, a doctor and a nutritionist will assess the needs of the person on the program. A doctor is needed if the patient was bedridden or had a facial injury. In this case, the doctor prescribes the physical limitations of the recovering person. The nutritionist helps to adjust the stomach back to normal by increasing the fiber in the food taken.
A recovering person will likely start with nutrition shakes similar to the ones consumed by elderly people for fiber and to reduce their need to chew. The products might be exact or different if a person has a precise nutritional need such as increased protein or reduced sugar. The length of this phase depends on how long a person was tube fed or without the ability to chew.
Nutrient shakes will increase in viscosity until a person is ready to soft solid foods such as canned peas or baked sweet potatoes. These semisolid foods are similar to what infants eat but are cooked and seasoned to an adult palate. Gradually, the patient moves towards more solid foods such as stir fry.
It might take a long time for a recovering patient to get ot the point where they can eat a steak or a raw carrot with their teeth. Chewing slowly and for a lengthy time on more tough food might actually be apart of the prescribed regimen. Talk carefully with the nutritionist to get a schedule that meets the needs and tastes of the patient.