Trach Care

So I've been reading quite a bit on how to care for a kid with a trach. One page devotes itselt to precautions to consider. Here's a partial list:

• Use extreme caution with baths. Use shallow water and prevent water from splashing into the trach. Isn't a rite of passage for babies to splash and splash and splash in the tub until their little hearts are content?
• For hair washing, lay the child back and pour toward the back of head, keeping trach area dry.
• No swimming. Sophia will be bummed as she is on the verge of taking her first lessons at the local Y.
• No showering.
• When holding a child with a trach, be sure the chin is up and that the tube opening is unobstructed. Have you seen Ira's chin? He's got like three of them!
• Check with doc before applying any salves or ointments near the trach.
• Avoid powder, sprays or perfumes near a child with trach.
• Prevent foreign objects from entering the trach tube such as water, sand, dust, small toy pieces, etc...
• Avoid sandboxes and beaches. Sophia will be happy about this as she is pretty sure sand is of the devil.
• Avoid chalk dust.
• Watch play with other children so that toys, fingers and food are not put into trach tube. "Little Johnny, get your pinky out of my son's throat!"
• No contact sports.
• Avoid clothing that blocks the trach tube.
• No plastic bibs.
• No necklaces.
• No fuzzy or fur clothing or stuffed toys. I guess this means I can't wear my new fur coat.
• Avoid animals with fine hair or that shed excessively. Okay, so we're going to fib on this one a bit and keep our Lab Retriever who, um, sheds excessively.
• No smoking around/near child.
• Keep the home as free from lint, dust and mold as possible. This one is just funny. Not that we have an apartment full of mold but...
• During cold weather, avoid allowing child to breathe freezing cold air directly into trach. What cold weather? In the northeast?
• No latex balloons.
• etc...

As Bob the Builder and crew would say: Can we do it? YES WE CAN!