Lungs are vital organs. They are responsible for providing oxygen to your body as you breathe in, and releases carbon dioxide when you breathe out. Before surgery, you would breathe through your nose, mouth and throat – called the upper airway. Your nose does more than smell. It conditions the air you breathe by heating, moisturizing, and filtering the air. This is important as your lungs need conditioned air to help them work effectively.
Prior to surgery, the upper airway works hard to heat and moisturize the air you breathe. After a tracheotomy HMEs can help do this for you. An HME sits on top of your tracheostomy tube and you breathe through it.
The HME ‘conditions’ the air you breathe by providing heat and moisture to your lungs. As a result, the HME compensates for the lost function of the upper airway.
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