Caroline Dugger, 107 Salem Drive, Montgomery, AL 36109_2741, U.S.A.
Email address is trachlady1@yahoo.com

Tracheostomee RRP's, this area is just for you. Let's share some of the things we can do to help each other.

* How about some new activities that we can participate in?

* Have you found a good way to deal with your trach that you can share?

* Found a source of comfortable or time saving supplies?

* If you want to share anonymously, I will honor that.

* If you have a special problem and could use some input, tell us about it.

* Found a good website to share?

* I am looking to get in touch with tracheostomy patients who know how to cough those papilloma off.

Your input is needed to make our Trach Talk work. How about it friends, let's find a way to make life easier for us all. If mail is your way to communicate, fine. Thank you and take care.

Let's keep those airways open.

An Oxygen Saturation Monitor

This is an expensive machine (cost me $1,100.00) but it can help us if we can afford it. It is called an Oxygen Saturation Monitor and can be used for adult and children patients. The baby patients would probably need an adult nearby to help with the sleeping habits. What an alert (non-comatose) trach patient can expect from this machine is this:

The ability to align your tracheostomy tube with your airway especially when sleeping. This means increased oxygen supply to your heart and brain reduce the number off cells that die for lack of oxygen. With better alignment of the trach, comes decreased number and size of red bloody rings from the trach through the night.

The unit monitors heart beat to warn of low heart rate. Coughing or getting up and moving will usually take care of this problem. Your doctor will advise you further.

Help comes when we sleep since changing position can partially close our airway and effect our heart rate and oxygen blood supply. The alarms from the machine can allow us to adjust our position without having to be fully awake. I find my quality of sleep and awake time is improved. When using the unit my fingernails are even almost cherry red to show good oxygenation.

Oxygen Saturation Monitors are a prescription item so talk to your doctor to see if it is appropriate for you. I have not found this unit to be covered by insurance but your insurance may cover it.