An incentive spirometer is a device used to help you keep your lungs healthy after surgery or when you have a lung illness, such as pneumonia. Using the incentive spirometer teaches you how to take slow deep breaths. Deep breathing keeps your lungs well-inflated and healthy while you heal and helps prevent lung problems, like pneumonia.
Full Answer
How can the incentive spirometer be used in pulmonary rehabilitation?
The incentive spirometer can be easily used in pulmonary rehabilitation as a tool in inspiratory muscle training to reduce or prevent postoperative pulmonary complications and exercise the lungs.
What has the practitioner ordered the patient to do to prevent pneumonia?
The practitioner has ordered the patient to use an incentive spirometer along with directed coughing and deep breathing to decrease the chance of pneumonia. Which outcome related to IS should the nurse expect for this patient?
What is the difference between volume-oriented and flow-oriented incentive spirometers?
Studies have proposed that there are significant differences between the volume and flow-oriented incentive spirometer. Volume-oriented devices cause less effort with breathing and more exercise of the diaphragm, whereas flow-oriented devices cause increased muscular activity of the upper chest.
How to use a spirometer after surgery?
After that, a spirometer is easy to use. Sit straight on a chair or the edge of your bed. If you’ve had surgery on your chest or belly, you may be sore there. Hold a pillow there to support it and help keep it from hurting. Breathe out completely to clear all the air from your lungs.
What does a spirometer look like?
It has a mouthpiece that looks like a vacuum tube. When you inhale with it, the suction will move a disc or a piston up inside a clear cylinder. The deeper you breathe, the higher the piston rises. Most spirometers have numbers on the cylinder to show how much air you take in.
How to clear mucus from lungs after tracheotomy?
When you finish, cough to clear any mucus from your lungs. If you’re sore from surgery, hold the pillow against you while you cough. Repeat the exercise every hour you’re awake, or as often as your doctor says. You can use a special spirometer if you have an opening in your windpipe because of a tracheotomy.
How to breathe in a syringe?
Close your lips firmly around the mouthpiece. You’ll have to breathe in only through your mouth. Plug your nose if you need to . Breathe in slowly, and make the piston rise as high as you can while you keep the indicator between two arrows to know you are inhaling at the right pace.
Why do you exercise your lungs?
You also exercise your lungs, so that they’re able to put more oxygen into your body. That helps you to heal and avoid lung infections. If you’re having surgery, your doctor may want you to start using your spirometer at home before you head to the hospital.
Can you use a spirometer for a tracheotomy?
You can use a special spirometer if you have an opening in your windpipe because of a tracheotomy. It has a valve instead of a mouthpiece. You hook it up to the tracheostomy tube connected to your throat. When you empty out and refill the air in your lungs, you get rid of fluid and germs that can lead to an infection.
Can you breathe through an incentive spirometer?
The breaths you take may not be as deep as usual. That means the air in your lungs may not move much and may not clear out any infections. You inhale through an incentive spirometer to exercise your lungs and to get air into every nook and cranny. Your doctor may also call it a manual incentive spirometer.
Uses and Benefits
Risks and Complications
Before You Get Started
Step-By-Step Instructions
Tips on Cleaning and Comfort
Summary
- Incentive spirometry is a breathing treatment you can do after surgery or with a lung condition. It can help you strengthen your lungs and prevent infections like pneumonia. You may receive a spirometry device when you're discharged from the hospital. A respiratory therapist or another healthcare provider will advise you how often to use the device...
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