Tracheostomy Care at Home

Reviewed by Renee Calloway, RN · Updated August 18, 2026

Going home with a tracheostomy, whether it is a child leaving the NICU or an adult after a long ICU stay, means learning a set of skills that every caregiver in the house needs. Before discharge, at least two family members should be able to suction, change the ties and do an emergency trach change without help.

Suctioning is done as needed, not on a fixed schedule: when you hear secretions, see them, or the person is working harder to breathe. Measure the catheter depth so it goes just to the end of the tube. Clean the stoma at least once a day and look for redness, skin breakdown or a change in drainage.

Because a trach bypasses the nose, the air reaching the lungs is dry. A heat and moisture exchanger during the day and heated humidity at night keep secretions thin and the tube clear. Thick, sticky secretions are often a sign that humidity needs to go up.

Every trach patient needs a go-bag that goes everywhere, including to school: a spare trach in the current size and one size smaller, ties, a suction machine or manual suction, catheters, saline, scissors and a resuscitation bag. Our private duty nurses check it at the start of every shift.