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My wife has trouble clearing throat of excessive phlegm. Can I have provided a suction device for treatment being a patient in Hospice House?


Is there a State regulation with direction for a suction device provision in a Hospice House setting?

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You can use a swab to clear some of the excess fluids.
You can roll her on her side and excess will drain out.
Hospice provided me with drops that would dry secretions. (The product was "off label use" of Atropine) You can ask Hospice what they can prescribe to help with secretions.
If you use a swab do not go back real far in the throat as that can trigger the gag reflex.
And keep your fingers out of the mouth you can get very hurt if she decides to clamp her jaws shut
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When my dad was home on hospice, he often seemed to have excess phlegm or mucus that he couldn’t clear. Our hospice nurses told us that using suction was invasive and uncomfortable for him, and that what was happening was completely normal. Their belief was that the sound was disturbing to us, not him. The only time suction was used by them was to make the family feel better, more involved, or less bothered by it. I don’t think you’ll find a regulation on this, it varies on what different places do.
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There is no regulation. There are portable suctions, but suctioning often increases need for suctioning and cannot reach those areas where it is needed. Air hunger is common and usually is treated with medications to decrease secretions and with Morphine to prevent discomfort. A lot of "gurgling" sounds you hear at end of life are more a function of body mechanics than of secretions and are difficult for a lay person to interpret.
This is something for you to discuss with Hospice. They are there to answer your questions. Trust their answers.
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When my husband was in a hospice facility(the first time), after almost dying from aspiration pneumonia, they had the suction equipment there, that they and I had to use on him. Then when he came home, I was given by hospice a suction machine to use at home if needed. When he was in his 6 week dying process, I not only had to use the suction machine, but hospice also provided drops to put in his mouth for his excess phlegm, along with patches to put behind his ears. You can ask them to provide all of the above. I am sorry you are having to go through this. God bless you.
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