I Am Worried, Ventilator Question

[Juanita]

HI,
mY HUBBY HAS BEEN ON A VENTILATOR FOR 2 1/2 YEARS AND LATELY HES BEEN WANTING ME TO TAKE OUT HIS HCH OR HME IN THE VENTILATOR CIRCUIT AT NIGHT, HE FEELS THE VENT WILL ALARM MUCH QUICKER WITHOUT IT. IS THIS A SAFE PRACTICE?:-?
WILL IT HURT HIM NOT HAVING IT IN CIRCUIT AT NIGHT?
ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRICIATED THANK A MILLION
JUANITA CALS & GARY PALS
DX. AUG. 2003

 

[Al]

Quadbliss is our resident vent expert. You could send him a Private Message or wait for him to check in.
AL.

 

[quadbliss]

Hi Juanita,

The HME shouldn't cause the vent to alarm. Maybe your Respiratory Therapist needs to check your alarm settings.

I found that an inner cannula, even though recommended for my trach, caused my vent to alarm prematurely. We stopped using the inner cannula, and now clean the interior of the trach tube every night with a sterile Q-tip and saline.

Mike

 

[Juanita]

hi quadbliss

Thank you for a quick reply
The hme dosen't cause the vent to alarm, Sometimes it keeps the vent from alarming with a dissconect. We change it once every 24 hrs, it gets alot of water in it too.
Do you have that problem?
Do you think its safe not to use a hme at night?
Thanks bunches,
Juanita

 

[quadbliss]

Hi Juanita,

Sorry, I misread your question. I have never had that problem. Even though my HME becomes completely saturated, the vent always gives a patient disconnect alarm when appropriate. I still suspect an adjustment problem.

As far as not using an HME, I would feel uncomfortable speculating on that. You should talk to your Doctor or Respiratory Therapist about it.

Mike

 

[Juanita]

Mike

Thank you so much for the info, I'll talk to his old Rt , We don't have one right now.
Sometimes, with Als we feel so alone.... Everything is pretty much on our shoulders.
Bless you & your caregiver:-D
Juanita

 

[stanly]

ventilator

Hi,God Bless u for being a good care giver,i have been taking care ofmy husband for the past 11 years and know how lonely and stress full the life can be but when i look in his eyes i forget all my troubles .My husband has been on the ventilaton 24 hours since october of 1998.he has been at home on the ventilator since january of 1999 and has not been to the hospital once for infection etc,his skin is good and he is totally paralyzed but is still able to drink liquids by mouth and can speak which is difficult to follow some time.We havent had any problems with the ventlator since the doctor switched him from cuffed to uncuffed treach, except when he has low or high ptessure,maybe check his settings or call the RT to check his settings.Take care .

 

[Brentt]

Dear Juanita, the HME is a device that helps to keep moisture in the lungs. If you remove the HME over night, it could cause mucose plugs to happen more frequently. Also with the drier weather comming this could complicate the hummidity which is important.
I get saturated all the time so my wife will shake out the buildup of moisture which allows me to breathe easier. The buildup of moisture can cause the problem your husband is having. Try shaking out as much water as you can before he goes to sleep. Then you could try shaking out any excess water in the middle of the night. You may need an alarm clock to wake you up.
I hope this helps you.