Breathing machines are used to help deliver oxygen to a person's lungs when his or her own respiratory system fails in some way. The development of breathing machines and the technology behind them has made all kinds of things possible that once weren't. They also save lives every single day.
Any mechanical device that aids in breathing can be considered a breathing machine. Five major kinds of breathing machines exist. They are:
1) The asthma nebulizer: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway. It has no known cause, but may be related to genetics or to pollutants in the air. A person may develop it if their mother smoked during pregnancy.
A person may develop it at any point in life, from childhood to senior citizen age. It may be mild to severe, may seem to come and go, and may be a minor nuisance or a life-altering condition.
A person with asthma has problems getting oxygen to the furthest points in his/her lungs. This is due to either inflammation of airways ("bronchi," the tubes that deliver oxygen to the lungs) or to spasms in the muscles surrounding the airways, or both.
Mild to moderate asthma can usually be treated with an asthma inhaler. More severe cases may require the occasional or regular use of an asthma nebulizer. This is a type of breathing machine that helps an asthma sufferer get more oxygen to his or her lungs.
The nebulizer consists of a tank or chamber filled with medicine. The nebulizer concentrates the liquid into a mist and pushes it through a tube with a breathing mask on the end.
The user places the mask over his/her mouth and nose and inhales the medicine. The medicine opens up constricted airways and calms muscle spasms so that oxygen flow to the lungs isn't restricted.
2) The C-PAP: This breathing machine is used to treat people who suffer from sleep apnea. This is a dangerous condition in which a person's breathing actually pauses during sleep, due to sluggish airways that close up during sleep.
It may stop for a second or two up to a minute or more. This may occur one, two, several or up to 30 times in one hour of sleep.
Pauses in breathing mean that crucial oxygen isn't getting to the lungs. The longer and more frequently this happens, the more damage can be done to the body.
Sleep apnea can also be disruptive enough to cause a sufferer to be chronically tired during the day. A long enough pause in breathing may even result in death, heart attack or brain damage.
C-PAP (for "continuous positive airway pressure") breathing machines deliver mild air pressure to the airways via a mask worn over the nose and mouth during sleep. The mask is attached to a tube leading to a device which blows pressurized air through the tube to the mask and into the users mouth/nose. The air blows the airways open so that oxygen can get through in a manner more like normal, daytime breathing.
3) The Bi-PAP: Bi-PAP breathing machines are similar in design to C-PAPs and are also used to treat very severe cases of sleep apnea. The major difference between C-PAP breathing machines and Bi-PAPs is that C-PAPs rely on the user to exhale against the extra pressure delivered by the device.
Some sufferers cannot do this. This may be due to being excessively overweight, or with neuro-muscular conditions that prevent it. In cases like these, a Bi-PAP machine must be used.
4) The respirator: This is a device that helps people with chronic lung conditions, very severe asthma or bronchitis to get oxygen to the lungs. The respirator has a chamber containing pure oxygen and a water bottle for humidifying the oxygen. All of this is delivered to a user through a tube attached to a mask.
Respirators come in different sizes, and can be used in a hospital or at home. Travel-size versions are even available for use in an automobile.
5) The oxygen concentrator: This device is similar to a respirator. The main difference is that it delivers a much higher concentration of oxygen to the body.
It may transmit this oxygen via a mask, like a respirator or other breathing machine. It may also deliver oxygen via a cannula, or tubes which are inserted into the nostrils.
These types of breathing machines are used to treat severe cases of chronic lung diseases (cancer, COPD). It may also be used to treat sleep apnea that is due to chronic lung disease or neuro-muscular conditions.
Breathing machines can be purchased at medical surgical supplies stores or through online medical surgical equipment suppliers.
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