Peps, Flutters and Salt Pipes

Our April meeting saw Kiri Moseley from the Respiratory Team demonstrating Pep and Flutter devices as well as Salt Pipes to the group. In a highly informative and very well attended meeting, Kiri explained that the Pep and Flutter devices can be used to help mobilize sputum for those who find it a problem to cough up. The way these devices work is that you breathe out against a pressure (normally breathing out is totally passive) which uses more muscles and causes pressure to ‘back fill’ the lungs getting behind the sputum and splinting the airways open, getting further down and helping to shift the sputum. The advantage of the Pep is that it can be used in any position including lying down whereas the Flutter has to used sitting upright and held in the correct position. Some of the Peps also have variable pressure which you can increase as you become more used to it. The Flutter, however, makes quite a satisfying noise which some people like and it vibrates which may help to shake the sputum loose. Both devices can be quite expensive and a cheap alternative can be to breathe out through a straw into a glass of water blowing bubbles. Kiri stressed however, that although these devices can help, none of them replace the Active Cycle of Breathing which is still the cheapest and most effective way of removing sputum from the lungs. Exercise in general and walking in particular is also extremely important for loosening and coughing up sputum. Kiri went on to talk about the Salt Pipe which is a type of inhaler filled with salt. It’s supposed to help asthma, sinusitis, catarrh, snoring, hay fever and sometimes even eczema. It is thought that the salt removes contaminants from the air we breathe and in the lungs. It was noted that people that worked in salt mines didn’t get respiratory diseases. Inhaling salt and salt moist air cleanses the lungs and nasal cavities, calms and relieves inflammation and also the sinuses. Inhaled salt draws water into the sputum which thins the sputum and also makes it easier to expel.