27/03/2025
💡 Laryngectomy 101: What is an HME?
An HME is placed directly over your stoma, and as air is exhaled, heat and moisture from your breath are captured in the HME. The heat and moisture are added back to the air you inhale before it passes to your lungs. HMEs add slight resistance to breathing to help your lungs function well.
HMEs also help keep large particles out of your lungs, such as insects or food crumbs. It is important to use an HME 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most people who consistently use a Provox Life HME 24/7 experience fewer problems with coughing and mucus production.
How does a HME work?
An HME contains a foam that has been treated with a special compound called calcium chloride. This traps heat and moisture from the air you breathe.
When you breathe out through your stoma, the foam collects and saves the humidity and warm air.
When you breathe in, the humidity and warm air that are saved in the foam are given back to the air you breathe in.
In other words, an HME ‘conditions’ the air you breathe keeping it at the right temperature and humidity. This helps to support your lungs to function well. Never wash or rinse out your HME as it will render the HME ineffective.
Many people find that wearing an HME all the time can help them live a better life and go back to doing many of the things they did before their surgery. This is because an HME helps them produce less mucus, cough less, feel less irritation in their windpipe, and breathe more easily.
There are different types of HMEs specially designed to work better in different situations.
✨ Follow our series for answers to important questions about life after a laryngectomy!
👉 Click here to find more information about HME's: https://www.atosmedical.com/laryngectomy/breathing/heat-and-moisture-exchanger
