Excess secretions

[rob Mac t]

I would be grateful to know if anyone uses any kind of suction machine to help clear excess mucus / secretions from the throat. My wife has suffered from Alzheimer’s for 8 years and this year has become very distressed with being unable to expel secretions.
Robert

 

[Kevinl]

You should ask the GP for a referal to the SALT team (speech and language therapy) they deal with issues like this although their name doesn't suggest it.
There have been residents in care with my wife who used to spit on the floor audit turned my stomach every time they did it.
My wife is under the SALT team as she's losing her swallow reflex and does choke a bit on her own saliva sometimes, as we produce a small amount of saliva all the time we have a built in swallow reflex embedded into us so it may not be an"excess" it's that the body can no longer manage the situation and forgets to do something we all do hundreds of times a day without noticing.
K

 

[TNJJ]

I would be grateful to know if anyone uses any kind of suction machine to help clear excess mucus / secretions from the throat. My wife has suffered from Alzheimer’s for 8 years and this year has become very distressed with being unable to expel secretions.
Robert

Hi.There is a machine that will do this.But it is provided by the District nurse.I'm not sure how advanced your wife is with her Alzheimer's but I would contact her GP and the District nurse as well.Sometimes medication changed helps

 

[canary]

There is a machine that can do this, but I dont think this is something that you can do yourself.
Usually it is caused because you are having trouble swallowing so the saliva that is naturally produced and swallowed gets sort of stuck in the throat. Contact the SALT (Speech And Language Therapy) team as they are the specialists in all things to do with swallowing