How to Use an Incentive Spirometer

What is an incentive spirometer?

An incentive spirometer is a device that helps you learn to take slow, deep breaths and fill your lungs with air. It is used after surgery or a procedure to keep your lungs healthy during your hospital stay and after you leave the hospital. Taking deep breaths will exercise your lungs to help prevent pneumonia.

When to use an incentive spirometer

You need to use your incentive spirometer at least 8 times a day. Each time you use the incentive spirometer, you should try to breathe through it 10 times. We recommend that you use the incentive spirometer every hour while you are awake. Of course, if you want to use it more often that is OK. The more you do this breathing exercise the healthier your lungs will be.

Benefits of breathing exercises

The incentive spirometer will help you see how well you are doing with taking deep breaths. It helps open the air sacs in your lungs and may reduce future problems.

Using the incentive spirometer should help you:

• Maintain or increase your inhaled lung volume (amount of air you breathe in on a single breath)
• Improve how well you rid your lungs of mucus
• Possibly avoid serious lung infection, especially after surgery or a procedure.

Instructions for using the incentive spirometer

• Hold your spirometer with the “smiley” faces toward you.
• Attach the open end of the clear “slinky” tube to the opening at the bottom right of your spirometer and stretch it out. The mouthpiece is at the other end of the tubing.
• Your respiratory therapist will move the yellow slide on the left side of the spirometer to the correct level for you. The level (mL of air) is based on your age, height, and how deeply you are able to breathe now. This shows how much you need to breathe in to fill your lungs. This number will be set by your doctor.

• Before starting, blow all the air out of your lungs. Then, close your lips tightly around the mouthpiece.
• Breathe in slowly and deeply through the mouthpiece.
• While breathing in, watch the “smiley” face marker. Keep the yellow marker floating in the box with the “smiley” face for at least 6 seconds. Try to keep the marker away from the “sad” faces.

• Then, remove the mouthpiece and breathe out slowly. The top of the yellow marker inside the cylinder will allow you to see the highest number you reached.
• Breathe normally for a few breaths, and then repeat the exercise.

If you start to feel lightheaded or dizzy, slow down your breathing, and take a longer time for the exercises with normal breaths between the deep breaths.

If you find that you can breathe in deeper than the number set for you, move the yellow slide up and proudly show that you have improved.

To learn more about using the incentive spirometer or about taking care of your lungs, talk to your doctor, nurse, or respiratory therapist.