Patient was educated on the process to use an incentive spirometer as follows:
- Sit up and hold the incentive spirometer up straight, so that, you can see the readings on the main chamber of the spirometer. Sitting straight up will add gravity to help better lung expansion.
- Place the mouthpiece of the incentive spirometer in your mouth.
- Make a tight seal over the mouthpiece with your lips.
- Exhale normally to empty your lungs.
- Inhale slowly and as deep as your endurance allows, through the mouthpiece held with your lips.
- A slow and deep breath will help to open the airways better and sustain them in an open state longer. This will also help to loosen clogged mucus and secretions in the airways.
- There is a flow meter attached to the device indicating the rate of airflow. Maintain the indicator on the flow meter in the middle of the graduation, indicating a slow and consistent flow. Indicator too low on the graduation indicates too slow breath and too high on the graduation indicates too rapid breathing. Too slow and too rapid breathing will not help expansion of airways and sustain them in an open state for long time.
- Watch for the piston in the main chamber rising to the top of the chamber. This reading gives the volume of air inhaled during this step.
- When the maximum volume of air is inhaled, hold your breath for a count of 5 seconds.
- Remove the mouthpiece from your mouth and exhale slowly and normally through your nose.
- Rest for a few seconds before taking another deep breath using the spirometer.
- Maintain a log of the volume of air inhaled during this breath. The target for the next breath would be to breath in a higher volume of air than the current.
- Perform a set of 10 deep breaths once every hour.
- After every set of 10 deep breaths, cough to clear the dislodged mucus and secretions from your airways.
