Cough assist

[affected]

Thank you all for caring so much - I will let you know. I know his CALS was going to contact their OT and hopefully get something going.

I cannot understand why cough assist and suction are pretty much unheard of therapies in Australia for ALS. Help from others who know may be what will turn this around.

 

[Inventor]

Am I the only one using cough assist instead of trach suctioning, not in addition to it? Hourly sessions of 1*20, pressures +45/-66. Oscillation 3 Hz/4 mbar.

 

[Nuts]

Inventor, we use both. We started on just the cough assist before he was trached in order to expand his lungs.

Now, 4 times a day, we run the nebulizer with a duo neb AND saline. Then we do the cough assist (love that oscillation feature), and no matter what comes up there we follow with tracheal suctioning and always get even more out.

Tillie, our RTs and docs call the cough assist the pneumonia preventer. Obviously that hasn't proven completely true in Matt's case, but I don't think he'd be here today without it. In addition to emergency use, it allows the lungs to open fully so we can get the gunk out.

In addition to the four rounds a day following the nebulizer, we use the cough assist whenever he starts having trouble. When he gets a mucus plug, we shoot a bullet of saline into the trach and then use the cough assist. It works wonders.

 

[affected]

Thanks again everyone.

In Australia vent is not an option. I think that pneumonia preventer is a good label, with the understanding that at some point ....