HME or artificial nose

[cariaad]

Hi, I've never thought it was any big deal for Alli to go without anything over her trach while indoors. It took her a long time to get used to wearing an hme at all, but after she got used to it she doesn't mind any more. The same with the pmv. As long as you make sure there aren't any obvious hazzards -- like dropped pieces of popcorn or whatever--in the carpet I wouldn't worry. She doesn't get dry and handles her secretions well so I guess it works for us!

[Lily's Mom]

Hi,
Does your daughter use the barrel-shaped HME? If so, you can secure it with a rubber band. Just twist the rubber band once into a figure-8 shape, place it over the HME, then loop the trach ties through the ends of the rubber band. That way you can still stretch the HME off enough to suction her without taking it all the way off. Lily still uses the smaller HMEs so this won't work for her, but a friend of mine does this with her daughter's trach and says it works well. If you want, I can email you a picture of her so you can see what I mean; it's kinda hard to describe!
Hope this helps!
Erica (Lily's Mom)

[Olga]

My daughter has never had anything over her trachy. If she gets dry I just throw in some sterile saline before suctioning her. I avoid taking her out on very windy or cold days. Other than that she manages very well.
Olga

[dc-b]

My son Jet used to refuse to wear an HME and would take it off and throw it. (I think it just presented too much resistance for him when his airway used to be smaller and weaker). The way we got him to start wearing it was to tell him he couldn't go outside unless he wore it. That worked. Now he wears it all the time, and if it falls off, he puts it back on. It does get moist, and if he coughs into it, we suction it; and if the secretions are too difficult to get out (or look yellow), we toss it and start another. Our pulmonologist has always been insistent that he wear it when not on the mist(which he's only on at night, since he's so active). She says that the drier his airway is the more likely he'll get infections.
Whatever works best for you and your daughter, though!

[LKN]

I don't know how I missed this post earlier. My husband made a guard for our son's hme/artificial nose. Here's a picture of it. It's a mist collar mask with the parts taken off and trach ties to hold it in place over the trach and trach ties. He's only 7 1/2 months old, but it keeps him from removing his hme.

[Whitney]

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