I use a cuffed tube to prevent air from leaking around the tube and to
get better pressure from the vent.
>Is it possible to adapt by deflating it when you want to talk, or is
>that
>not worth the trouble?
It is worth the trouble if you have something to say. When I first got
my trach [fenestrated], I did not know that I could talk on the vent if
the cuff was deflated. I wrote everything down in the hospital and no
one told me otherwise. I discovered quite by accident when I heard
myself laugh while watching TV one night. I am on the vent 24 hrs. and
generally keep the cuff deflated all day so I can talk. At night I
inflate it to prevent air from leaking around the tube. That drives me
nuts.
>Does the cuff improve pressure and prevent infection that much more
>effectively than the Jackson tube or other types?
Yes, it improves pressure and gives a tighter seal. I don't know that it
prevents infection. When I do my chest PT and need to do a lot of
coughing, it allows me to cough up any mucous out of the trach. It
prevents mucous from going around the tube when the cuff is inflated.
>
>What does it take to manage infection and secretions well
I do chest PT and postural drainage 3x/day. It takes hours but I have a
lot of secretions and they have to come up to prevent infection. I then
can cough everything up.
>
> Is doing suction a difficult routine to keep up effectively?
I do not suction.
>
>How often do trach changes really need to happen?
I change my own trach tube once a month unless there is a problem with
the tube, such as cracked collar or air leak. The visiting nurse comes
and assists but I change the tube myself. She is there in case I have a
problem. When I could be off the vent, I did not need such emergency
plans, but now I feel safer with her there. I put the swivel adapter of
the vent in my mouth during the trach tube change so that I am using the
vent through my mouth. Professionals told me that this would not work as
" the low pressure would go off". It works fine.
>
>Do suctioning and tube changes easily irritate the tissue and cause
>more
>secretions?
Changing the trach tube can cause bleeding, irritation and pain.
>
>Do alarms go off when they're not supposed to?
>
>How many vent users can only breathe on their own for ten or fifteen
>minutes? Or less.
I can only breathe about 10 breaths.
>
>How good a job did rehab do of setting up optimal equipment and
>procedures,
>or do people tend to learn what they really need from experience?
I worked in a hospital as a therapist so I had some knowledge already,
was taught a great deal, and learned much on my own.
>
>Thanks for any help.
>
>Gary Karp
>Author, Life On Wheels
>
>
>
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