The short answer
An incentive spirometer is a device used to help you keep your lungs healthy after surgery or with lung conditions. You sit upright, seal your lips around the mouthpiece, breathe in slowly, hold for three to five seconds, and breathe out. Most people are asked to use it every one to two hours.
The spirometer is a device used to help you keep your lungs healthy.
Sit upright, seal your lips around the mouthpiece and breathe in slowly.
Hold your breath for 3 to 5 seconds, then breathe out slowly.
Use it every 1 to 2 hours as directed, taking 10 to 15 breaths each time.
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The full explanation.
When to get help sooner
Call 911 if you are struggling to breathe or have chest pain that does not ease.
Call your care team the same day if you notice increased shortness of breath, chest pain, fever, or increased coughing. Those four are the warning signs listed alongside the instructions for using this device, and they are worth writing on a note by your bed so you are not trying to recall them while feeling unwell.
What the plastic thing on your bedside table does
The spirometer is a device used to help you keep your lungs healthy. It is used after surgery and by people managing lung conditions.
It looks unimpressive — a chamber, a mouthpiece, a length of tubing, a little floating marker. That appearance is misleading. Nurses hand it over on purpose, and they follow up on whether you have been using it.
How to use it
- Sit upright.
- Seal your lips around the mouthpiece.
- Breathe out normally, then breathe in slowly.
- Watch the indicator rise as you breathe in.
- Hold your breath for 3 to 5 seconds.
- Breathe out slowly.
Inside the device there is a small ball or disk. It is not decoration. It should stay centered while you breathe in. If it shoots to the top, you are pulling in too fast. If it sits at the bottom, you are going too slowly.
Slow and steady beats hard and fast. The device is measuring your technique, not your strength.
How often
The usual instruction is every 1 to 2 hours, as directed by your provider, taking 10 to 15 breaths each session.
That is more often than most people expect, and it is easy to lose track of in a hospital day full of interruptions. Setting a repeating alarm on your phone is a reasonable workaround. So is asking a visitor to remind you.
Making it bearable after surgery
Deep breaths pull on a fresh incision, and that discomfort is the main reason people quietly stop doing it.
The suggested fix is simple: hold a pillow against your chest or abdomen while you use the device. The counter-pressure takes the edge off.
Also, do not be discouraged if you do not reach your target marker at first. That is expected early on, and it is not a verdict on your recovery.
If you feel dizzy or lightheaded, stop and go back to breathing normally for a bit.
Keeping it up at home
Many people are sent home still using the device. It is easy to abandon once you are out of the hospital and nobody is checking.
Before you leave, ask how many days you should keep going and how often. A specific instruction is much easier to follow than a vague suggestion to keep at it.
Words to know
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Common questions
What is the ball or disk in the chamber for?
It shows your pace. It should stay centered as you breathe in — shooting to the top means you are breathing in too fast, staying at the bottom means too slow.
How often am I supposed to do this?
Every 1 to 2 hours as directed by your provider, with 10 to 15 breaths per session.
It hurts my incision. What can I do?
MedlinePlus suggests holding a pillow against your chest or abdomen to reduce discomfort from surgical incisions while you use it.
I cannot reach the target marker. Is that a problem?
The guidance says not to get discouraged if you do not reach your target marker at first.
Questions to ask your doctor
Being prepared helps you get the most out of your appointments. Save or print these questions.
Tap a question to save it to your list (kept on this device).
Your next step
Turn this topic into questions for your next appointment.
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Sources last checked: 2026-08-11 what this meansLast updated: 2026-08-11Next planned review: 2027-08-11
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How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and checked line by line against the sources listed on it. That confirms the sources support what the page says. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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