Mark,
I changed my trach every 5 weeks when I had a Shiley cuffed trach. If I
went longer, I always got a bad infection. Now I change my trach daily, and
the secretions have almost cleared completely. I use a Shiley uncuffed
during the day, and a Bivona TTS at night on the vent. The TTS has a cuff
that is Tight To Shaft, the deflated cuff is flush with the trach and
therefore easy to change. I only use the vent 12 hours a day.
The TTS does not have an inner cannula, and I rarely suction, so I want a
inner cannula during the day for ease of cleaning.
Margaret
My trach has been changed every 12 weeks since I got
the trach in 2/03. I started developing infections
after the 6 week mark so I requested more frequent
changes. After much arm twisting my doc agreed to
change it every 6 weeks. But he warned me that
changing the trach more often could bring infections.
If this happens he said the changes would go back to
every 12 weeks. I just wanted input on this from you
all.
_________________________________________________________________
Overwhelmed by debt? Find out how to ‘Dig Yourself Out of Debt’ from MSN
Money. http://special.msn.com/money/0407debt.armx