Hi,
My husband is 87 with dementia and is now having more difficulty with swallowing. He can still chew and swallow but there are more occasions now when he does choke and it is frightening. He is bedridden and the hospice nurse has said that the Heimlich maneuver would be difficult to perform and if the paramedics were called and they got here in time to do the Heimlich they would almost certainly break bones since he is very very thin. The alternative is not pleasant to think about. I have not heard of the Life Vac device being used on the elderly in this situation. Does anyone have an advice or experience with this? Thank you.
He is on In Home Hospice care. Recommendations have been made but all final decisions on food, medications, etc. are all left up to me.
My husband does have a health directive and he does not want a feeding tube so thankfully he has taken that decision out of my hands. He also has a DNR. I know what I'm facing ahead but your answers have made it easier for me going forward. Thank you!!
If you intend to approach this with life prolonging measures you are down to a peg tube, and tube feedings, and while there is still SOME ability of the bowel bacteria to give form to stools, there's very little. You will be down to liquid in and liquid out and constant diaper changes, bed sores and eventual sepsis.
I as an RN so fear tube feedings that it is expressly forbidden in my advance directives. When I can no longer take nourishment I would much prefer to die.
Do your know your husbands wishes in the prolonging of his life?
I am so sorry. There's no good answer to feeding ANYTHING at this point.
Many lay people have difficulty learning to to hold the mask on the face with only one hand. You will need practice.
If you use the device and still cannot dislodge the food, are you prepared to still do the invasive Heimlich maneuver? It will be a judgement call to decide when to give up on the device.
There is no need for FDA approval for this device as it is listed as Class 2 assistive.
device.
Now my major question to you is if he has had a swallow study done? From your description, he should only be on pureed substances at this point, period. If you go this route then there is no need for the device because it is only meant for choking of objects. Liquids behave in different ways and a vacuum device will not provide any help at all.
Best of luck with a difficult situation.