Use your HMEs 24/7

Key points

• The HME should be worn day and night.
• We recommend changing your HME depending on your activity or situation.
• At the very least, the HME should be discarded within 24 hours or when blocked with mucus.
• HMEs should never be rinsed and reused.

Introduction

Heat and Moisture Exchangers (HMEs) should be used routinely after a laryngectomy. To get all the benefits from an HME it is important that you wear it day and night.

Day and night

The purpose of a Heat and Moisture Exchanger (HME) is just as it sounds. It’s designed to heat and moisten the air you breathe. This humidifies the air and performs the function your nose did before surgery. Therefore the HME should be used day and night, just like your nose.

Different HMEs for different situations

Using an HME day and night is made easier for you by having different HMEs for different situations. You may use Provox Life Go when you're engaging in daily activities and need a little more air, Provox Life Home when relaxing at home, Provox Life Night while you are sleeping and Provox Life Protect when travelling. That way you can use an HME all the time without feeling restricted in your breathing.

We all have different bodies, and different lifestyles, so it makes sense that some will have to change or discard the HME more frequently than others.

When to discard the HMEs

Remember the HME is positioned in your airway, so it is really important that you take good care of it. HMEs are not designed to be used more than once. As a general rule, the HME should be discarded after each use and the longest it should ever be used is 24hrs.

Replace it when it’s dirty

When you cough your mucus can get into your HME. This can clog the HME, making it harder to breathe. When this happens you should change to a new HME. Don't rinse your HME because this will remove the most important ingredient from its foam – calcium chloride. This is needed to humidify the air. It also prevents bacterial growth. Rinsing your HME will render it ineffective and increase your risk of infection.

When you feel a cough coming, try removing the HME and cough into a tissue.

Better breathing is just an HME away

If you haven’t already done so, we advise that you become acquainted with HMEs. Healthcare Professionals working with laryngectomees agree that wearing an HME at all times and changing it regularly is the best for maintaining your overall lung health.