I had alot of trouble with moisture accumulating in the tubing and feeling
like I was drowning... alarms were going off several times a night because of
it. My father rigged up something that has helped to straighten the tubing
as well as decrease the moisture going down my trach. First he tied a string
from one corner of the room to the other. Over my bed a large rubber piece
that can be adjusted with a clip.(like a very thick elastic band) The tubing
is fed through this large rubber piece and hangs down just enough to reach my
trach comfortably. Because the tubing hangs down, the force of gravity
straightens it. I get less moisture in the tubing that arches fown from the
rubber piece. Most of the moisture is caught in a "Y trap" between the tubing
from the heater and the tubing from my trach. The moisture has a harder time
working it's way up the tubing.
line across room rubber
piece
l_______________________________________________/\____________________
l
l
l
e
e
e
e
e e " vent"
e
e e
tube to trach eeeeeeeeeee
e e
e
heater
Y
" Y" shape water
collector [ ]
I hope this makes sense. My dad is a retired engineer... it works for me.
As far as the anxiety goes .. sometimes I use some relaxation tapes or if
that doesn't help I take an Ativan 2 mg.
I too only use the vent at night. It's not the vent that keeps me close to
home it's the mucous plugs. I get them almost daily. They are so severe that
they completely block my airway. I have to squirt saline down my trach and
use the "ambu" bag to clear the airway. The doctor's have tried everything to
thin out the secretions. Nothing has worked. They have decided that my body
views the trach as a foreign body and makes thick secretions. ( Oh, some of
you may be thinking why not take out the inner cannula and clean it when I
plug...I don't nave one. Because of the size of my neck I need an extra long
tube. Because of the right angle in the tube an inner cannula cannot be made
for it. My trach tube is changed every 2 to 3 weeks..Yuck)
If anyone has specific questions ....just e-mail me. (Sorry for the long
message hope you don't mind.) Susan Steele (Trach96(AT) aol.com)