Tracheostomy and trach care
A voice while the trach is in.
A tracheostomy or a breathing tube can take the voice away while the mind stays fully present. The person knows exactly what they want to say and cannot make a sound. ExpressAgain puts the words a trach patient needs one tap away and speaks them out loud: please suction my trach, the tube hurts, when does it come out, yes and no, please call my family.
Why it works
Alert mind, silenced voice: the words are ready to tap.
A trach rarely touches comprehension or reasoning. The person can read and point. So the phrases a bedside needs are written in the first person, large and plain, with the most urgent ones first, and one tap says them out loud for the nurse, the therapist and the family in the room.
ExpressAgain has no separate tracheostomy mode. Two of its libraries carry the words: ICU & Breathing Tube, written for the ICU and the ventilator, and Head, Neck & Throat, written for the trach, the stoma, suction and humidity after surgery. Choose either mode in the guided setup and both stay available.
Inside ExpressAgain for a tracheostomy
The words a trach patient needs, as the app holds them.
- Breathing and the tube
- From the ICU & Breathing Tube library: I can't breathe. Please suction me. Something is stuck in my throat. I need to cough. The tube hurts. The tube scares me. Is the breathing machine working? When does the tube come out?
- The trach and the stoma
- From the Head, Neck & Throat library: Please suction my trach. My stoma needs cleaning. My trach tube feels loose. I need humidity. My trach hurts. Please cover my stoma. Please suction my mouth.
- The nurse and the alarms
- Please get my nurse now. Something is wrong. The alarm is going off. I can't reach the call button. Something came loose. Please get the doctor. Please don't leave me alone.
- Pain from 0 to 10, and where
- My pain is 7 out of 10. My pain is getting worse. My throat hurts, my chest hurts, my back hurts: a scale and a place, tapped in two moves, so the people in the room know at once.
- Yes, no and quick answers
- Yes. No. Wait. Stop. Again, please. I don't know. Big, clear answers when nodding is hard, and the questions that follow: Where am I? What did they do to me? Please call my family.
- Letters and Type for everything else
- Letters is an on-screen alphabet board: spell a word or a sentence letter by letter and the board speaks it. Type lets a family member type anything and have it spoken. Medical Words explains hospital words in plain language.
- A voice recorded before surgery
- When a tracheostomy is planned, a short recording in Settings becomes the patient's own cloned voice, so the phrases sound like the patient. Until it is ready, a clear built-in voice speaks, so the patient is never without one. The phrase is in the library too: I want to record my voice before surgery.
- Swallowing, the mouth and talking again
- I can't swallow. Please thicken my drink. Can I eat by mouth yet? My mouth is dry. Please give me a mouth rinse. And when the voice starts to come back: I'm trying to talk. Please give me time. Please read my lips.
Beyond the bedside
The care around the patient, in the same account.
- Two modes, every library one tap away
- Choose ICU and Ventilated in the guided setup for the hospital bed, or Head, Neck and Throat for a trach after surgery or a laryngectomy. The chosen mode's phrases open first in the Phrase Library and at the top of Communicate; changing the mode only changes which phrases come first. ICU and post-surgery: the condition page
- The Care Team at the bedside and after
- Nurses, doctors and therapists join with a per-discipline code and read the same day plan, the same medications and the same notes on the care-team dashboard. A speech therapist adds words to the patient's library and assigns practice. Head, neck and throat: the condition page
- Coming home with a trach
- Coming Home holds the discharge questions, the equipment checklist and the therapy team's home recommendations. Health Tracking keeps the readings, Prescriptions every dose, Supplies the counts, and the Emergency Plan Card is ready for whoever walks in. Every feature, for every party
- The family, close
- Family and friends share photos, audio clips and short videos in the family feed and send notes to the Love Bucket; the patient answers with a tap, in the cloned voice when one is set. Visit planning shows who is coming and when. For families
Who it's for
The person, the family and the team at the bedside.
- For the person with the trach
- Wide awake and unable to make a sound. The words are ready to tap, large and plain, with the most urgent ones first: breathing, the nurse, pain, yes and no.
- For the family
- Set the mode, record the voice before surgery when there is time, add the words only the family knows, and keep the readings, medications and supplies in the same place.
- For the nurse and the therapist
- Join with a per-discipline code, read what changed since the last visit, log the visit, and hear the patient's words as the patient taps them, instead of lip-reading at the bedside.
Common questions
Answered from the app as it is.
- Does ExpressAgain have phrases for a tracheostomy?
- Yes. The Head, Neck & Throat library holds Please suction my trach, My stoma needs cleaning, My trach tube feels loose, I need humidity, My trach hurts and Please cover my stoma. The ICU & Breathing Tube library holds I can't breathe, Please suction me, The tube hurts, Is the breathing machine working? and When does the tube come out?
- Which mode should the family choose?
- ICU and Ventilated for the hospital bed, or Head, Neck and Throat for a trach after surgery or a laryngectomy. The chosen mode's phrases open first; every other library stays one tap away, so nothing is lost by choosing either.
- Can the patient keep sounding like themselves?
- A short recording in Settings becomes the patient's own cloned voice, so phrases speak in that voice. It needs a signed-in account and a little time; until it is ready a clear built-in voice speaks.
- Does the app call the nurse?
- No. The app speaks the words out loud for the people in the room, and the most urgent phrases carry an Urgent tag. It does not ring an alarm, and nothing on the page is medical advice.
Searching for an AAC app? What ExpressAgain does as augmentative and alternative communication.
ExpressAgain is a communication and care-coordination tool, not a medical device or treatment, and nothing here is medical advice. The phrases are the patient's own words and questions. For the trach, the ventilator, suction and every care decision, always follow the medical team.