Posted by Amy on 1/22/2008, 9:39 am, in reply to "Re: PM valve"
12.110.109.254
Hello, I had the same problem with my son. His face would turn red, and he'd cough until we took th PM valve off. It was very discouraging b/c this went on for about 2 months, we thought we'd never see decannulation day!
However, everything changed when we had the bright idea to go out in the shed and grab a drill. We took a VERY small drill bit and drilled a tiny hole in the side of the valve- to let some of his exhalation air leak out of the trach rather than forcing it ALL up thru his mouth and nose. It was truly a miracle. He tolerated this very well.. and we were eventually able to move up to the regular, air tight PM valve. He was decannulated 3 months later.
I think it'd be great if there were "multi-step speaking valves" available to the public that would be make it easier for kids to be able to tolerate the PM valve, and simply make the whole process a lot less stressful. Goodluck!!
Amy
--Previous Message--
: Hi,
:
: My daughter also has PRS and she was given
: the passe muir valve, that lasted about ten
: minutes, she quickly learned how to blow it
: off and refused to wear it after that. even
: after repeated attempts to get her to wear
: it. However, she is five now and still has a
: trach and can say many things over the trach
: without plugging it up. my suggestion to you
: before you use the passe muir valve is to
: start putting your finger over the trach
: after he takes a breath and then seeing if
: he can push the air out his mouth. also you
: may tell him to try and talk to you while
: your doing this. my daughter was almost
: three when they put one on her and believe
: it or not she knew what to do with it, she
: realized quick it could let her make noises,
: but then she started having difficulty with
: it and would blow it off if she couldnt make
: any noises. It can be a wonderful tool to
: teach them how to breath on thier own but at
: the same time they need to be ready to do
: that. hope this helps,
:
: --Previous Message--
: Ok, y'all, we need help. Our son NEEDS to
: be
: on the PM valve as soon as he can possibly
: tolerate it. This isn't because I want him
: to talk, but it is because the doctor is
: recommending it for several medical reasons.
:
: Long story short -- any tips on helping my
: kid to tolerate the valve? I'll take all
: suggestions.
:
:
:
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