Bloody mucous out of Tracheostomy

[Shay522]

I have had a tracheostomy since Aug 2007.  I have been seen and treated time and time again for an ongoing infection- tracheitis.  It causesme to cough violently and break capillaries in my stoma and disrupt the lining of my trachea.  I also have very yellow and brown discharge that I am coughing out.  Last night I was coughing out a large amount of bloody clots.  I was on a series of antibiotics for the tracheitis and have finished them two weeks ago, but my mucous had returned to the green, brown and yellow colors.  I went to see my ENT doctor and he told me not to worry about it unless I had a fever.  But I do have a pain in my upper respiratory that feels like it is shredding on the inside.  I also have had a problem with acid reflux and had surgery for it on 2003.  I had a hiatal hernia and very bad issues from the acids.  Could the acid reflux be causing the pain and infections and blood from aspirating the acids?

Please help with any advice!

Thanks-

Shannon

[Sunny602]

Hi, I am also a fellow trach patient and have had many of the problems that you describe. For one, it is possible to have an infection without having a fever...I would ask that your doctor gets a culture of the secretions to see what is growing there and if there is an infection. The blood may be from coughing violently, I know that whenever my trach is irritated by an infection or even a trach change, I often have bloody mucous. Another cause for blood in your secretions is irritation of the trachea or granulation tissue caused by the trach itself. This type of tissue is very friable and bleeds easily, it wouldn't hurt to check it out.
I find that as far as relieving a violent cough, a squirt of 2%Lidocaine down the trach an into the trachea works wonders by numbing the irritation. My ENT routinely does this for his trach patients because of me (I first learned of this trick when I was first trached and in the hospital where they did this for me often as I had a very twitchy trach) even before a trach change. At home, I have lidocaine to administer if I have a severe coughing spell. It works instantaneously. I would ask your ENT if this can be done for you.
I hope this helps...ask any questions that you may have. :)
Sunny