Mucous Plug in a Trach Tube

Home care

Follow these guidelines when caring for yourself at home:

• Unless your healthcare provider has put you on a fluid-restricted diet, make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids. This means 6 to 8 glasses a day.

• Keep your airway clear by coughing periodically throughout the day.

• Suction your trach tube as advised to by your provider. Do this regularly, as often as your provider suggests.

• Moisten the air that you breathe as directed by your provider. You can use a humidifier, particularly in the room you sleep in at night. This is especially important when it's hot and dry out, or when it's cold and you have the heat on.

• Carry an extra trach tube with you in case one tube gets blocked.

Follow-up care

Follow up with your healthcare provider, or as advised.

Call 911

Call 911 if any of these occur:

• Shortness of breath, trouble breathing, or wheezing that doesn't get better with suctioning or breathing treatments

• Blocked trach tube that you can't clear with suctioning

• Trach tube falls out and you can't put one back in

When to get medical advice

Call your healthcare provider right away if any of these occur:

• Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or as directed by your healthcare provider

• Severe, prolonged coughing spells

• Red, painful, or bleeding stoma

• Swelling of the skin around the stoma

• Coughing up yellow, smelly, bloody, or thick mucus

• Sweaty, clammy skin