Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Making a tracheostomy emergency card | CION Cancer Clinics
A tracheostomy emergency card tells whoever arrives first that this person breathes through a tube in the neck, whether air also passes through the mouth, and exactly which tube they have. Make one with your nurse before discharge, in English and Telugu. Keep copies in the wallet, above the bed, in the emergency bag and on your phones. This page shows what to write and what should travel with it. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Muralidhar MuddusettyConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery, AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- What is a tracheostomy emergency card, and why carry one?
- What should the card say?
- How do you make the card and keep it where it will be found?
- What do the words on the card mean?
- What else should sit alongside the card?
- Why do families skip the card, and what is true?
- Common questions about a tracheostomy emergency card
The short answer
What is a tracheostomy emergency card, and why carry one?
A tracheostomy emergency card is a single sheet that tells a stranger, in seconds, that this person breathes through a tube in the neck and what to do if that tube blocks or falls out. Make one before you leave hospital and keep copies wherever an emergency could happen.
Why a card and not just memory
In an emergency the family member who knows everything may be at work, asleep or panicking. The person who arrives first may be a neighbour, an ambulance crew or a casualty doctor who has never looked after a tracheostomy. The person with the tube often cannot speak. A card speaks for them.
The one fact that changes what responders do
After a tracheostomy, the mouth and nose are usually still connected to the lungs. After a laryngectomy, the voice box has been removed and the person can only breathe through the neck. Oxygen given over the face alone will not reach a neck breather. Your card must say clearly which one applies.
To make a printable copy, print this page or copy the headings below onto a sheet of card by hand. Your nurse can check it before you go home.On the card
What should the card say?
Keep it to one side of one sheet, in large print. Fill it in with your nurse, because they know the details that matter.
Who the person is
Full name, age, the language they speak, and a line saying they may not be able to talk.
Add
- Blood group, if known
- Allergies to medicines
How they breathe
In capitals: tracheostomy, or neck breather only. Say whether air can pass through the mouth and nose, as your team told you.
The tube
Make, size and length, cuffed or uncuffed, and whether it has an inner tube. Add the date it was last changed.
Copy from
- The tube packet
- The discharge summary
The spare
Where the spare tube and the smaller spare are kept, and where the suction machine is.
The treating team
Hospital name, surgeon's name, the ward or helpline number, and the reason the tracheostomy was done.
Family contacts
Two people who can be reached day or night and who have been shown how to care for the tube.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologist
!
If the person cannot breathe
Call 108 for an ambulance at once, then follow the steps your team taught you: remove the inner tube, suction, and change the tube if it is still blocked. Show the card to the crew as soon as they arrive, and say whether the person can breathe through the mouth. Do not wait to see if it settles, and do not drive to a distant hospital when a nearer emergency department can be reached.
Making it useful
How do you make the card and keep it where it will be found?
Write it in two languages
English for hospital staff, and Telugu or the language spoken at home for neighbours and family. Large, clear letters. Avoid abbreviations only you understand.
Protect it
Laminate it or put it in a plastic sleeve. A card soaked by mucus, water or sweat is no use to anyone. Replace it if the writing fades.
Make several copies
One in the wallet or handbag, one taped on the wall above the bed, one in the emergency bag, and a photo on the phones of the carers and the person themselves.
Share it before you need it
Give a copy to the nearest hospital, the family doctor and anyone who stays with the person. A local team that knows in advance can prepare instead of guessing.
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
Words on the card
What do the words on the card mean?
- Cuffed tube
- A tube with a small balloon near its tip that seals the windpipe. The balloon may need letting down before air can pass up to the mouth.
- Uncuffed tube
- A tube with no balloon. Some air can usually pass around it towards the mouth and nose.
- Inner tube
- A removable lining inside the main tube. Taking it out is often the quickest way to clear a blockage.
- Obturator
- The smooth rounded rod that fits inside a new tube and helps guide it into the opening. It is kept with the spare.
- Neck breather
- Someone who can breathe only through the neck, usually after a laryngectomy. Oxygen and rescue breaths go to the neck.
Beyond the card
What else should sit alongside the card?
A card tells people what to do. The emergency bag gives them the means to do it. The two belong together and should travel with the person wherever they go.
The emergency bag
Pack a spare tube of the same size, a spare one size smaller, the obturator, suction tubes, a portable suction unit if you have one, water-based gel to ease the tube in, clean tapes, scissors, a syringe if the tube is cuffed, and a copy of the card. Check it every week and replace anything used.
A way to be understood
Keep a small notebook and pen, or a board with common phrases such as "I cannot breathe", "please suction me" and "call my family". A person who cannot speak and cannot make themselves understood becomes frightened very quickly.
Keeping it current
Update the card every time the tube type or size changes, the team changes, or a contact number changes. An out-of-date card can lead a responder to pick up the wrong tube. This page cannot tell you which tube or steps are right for you. Those come from your own team.
Commonly believed
Why do families skip the card, and what is true?
"The ambulance crew will know what to do."
Many crews and emergency doctors see a tracheostomy rarely. They are skilled, but they do not know your tube, your size or whether you can breathe through your mouth. The card saves the minutes they would spend working that out.
"We live near a hospital, so we do not need one."
A blocked tube cannot wait for the drive, however short. Emergencies also happen on buses, at weddings and while visiting relatives in another district. The card goes where the person goes.
"Someone from the family is always with him."
Even a trained carer can freeze in a real emergency, and the details on a card are the first thing forgotten under stress. The card helps the carer as much as the stranger.
"Once the tube is out, the card can be thrown away."
Replace it with a simpler note that says a tracheostomy was done in the past. Future anaesthetists need to know, because the windpipe may have narrowed where the tube sat.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about a tracheostomy emergency card
Where can I get a printable tracheostomy emergency card?
Ask the ward nurse before discharge. Many hospitals have their own card and will fill it in with you. If yours does not, print this page and copy the headings from the section on what the card should say onto a sheet of card. Ask a nurse to check the tube details before you rely on it.
What is the most important line on the card?
Whether the person can breathe through the mouth and nose, or only through the neck. That single fact decides where responders give oxygen and rescue breaths. Write it at the top in capital letters, exactly as your surgical team explained it to you, and do not guess.
Should the card be in English or Telugu?
Both, if you can. Hospital staff and ambulance crews read medical details in English. Neighbours, relatives and bus conductors may not. A card with the key lines in both languages is understood by whoever happens to be nearby when something goes wrong.
Which number do we call in an emergency?
Call 108 for an ambulance in Telangana, or 112, the national emergency number. Say clearly that the person breathes through a tube in the neck and is having trouble breathing. Then call your treating hospital so they know. Write both numbers on the card in large print.
How often should the card be updated?
Whenever anything on it changes: the tube make, size or type, the surgeon, the hospital or a contact number. It is also worth checking it every few months even if nothing seems different. Throw away every old copy when you make a new one, so nobody picks up the wrong details.
Does a card help if the person travels?
Yes, it matters more away from home, where nobody knows the person. Carry the card with the emergency bag, and keep a photo of it on your phone. Find out before the trip where the nearest emergency department is, especially when visiting a village or a district town.
Should a child with a tracheostomy carry a card?
Yes. Give copies to the school, the school van driver and anyone who looks after the child. Children cannot explain their airway to a stranger. Ask the child's team for any instructions that differ for children, because tube sizes and steps are not the same as for adults.
Can CION help us fill in the card?
Yes. Call the helpline and tell us what has been done and what tube you went home with. We will help you reach the right specialist to check the details. If you were treated elsewhere, the team that placed the tube is usually best placed to confirm it.
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Sources
- NHS — Tracheostomy
- American Cancer Society — Laryngeal and Hypopharyngeal Cancer
- National Cancer Institute — Head and Neck Cancers
- Cancer.Net — Head and Neck Cancer
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Blocked Tube: The Emergency Every Family Must KnowThe steps the card points responders towardsAccidental Tube DisplacementWhat to do when the tube comes out by mistakeTracheostomy vs Laryngectomy Stoma: Not the Same ThingThe difference the top line of the card must spell outCaretaker and Family Guide to SurgeryPreparing the family who will care at home
Talk to us
Need help checking the details on your card?
Tell us what has been done and which tube you went home with, and we will help you reach the right specialist. One helpline serves every CION centre.