!8: Good Bargain Invacare Walker: January 2012

!±8± What are Nebulizers?

When someone receives "breathing treatment" or, in other words, uses a nebulizer, the drug is not prescribed in a canister form like most kinds of pulmonary drugs. Nebulizers are a different form of treatment. A nebulizer creates a misty inhalation, a delivery of oxygen that is simple and refreshing for the patient to breathe in.

When you use this kind of "breathing treatment," it comes in liquid form. Therefore, nebulizers are unlike any other breathing and medical oxygen delivery treatments available. The nebulizer emits a small, aerosol mist to inhale. The drug is often poured into a small cup or container and inhaled by the patient through a mouthpiece

Remember the following information if you are a patient or caregiver and are considering using a nebulizer:

Take slow and deep breaths from your nebulizer. The medicine is meant to be inhaled into your lungs and can sometimes be more helpful - especially when inhaled properly - than any other pulmonary treatment you have tried before.

If you have trouble with the mouthpiece, or a small child is using the nebulizer, a face mask may be more effective than a mouthpiece.

There are nebulizers available in compressors as well as those you can use without compressors. Ask the doctor which is best for the patient.

Using a nebulizer requires about a half-hour of deep breathing. Therefore it can be a very relaxing, reviving time for someone who suffers from asthma. Because it requires so much time - people who use these breathing treatments will usually listen to music, light candles, or create an otherwise enjoyable ambiance while they take in their medication.

On the other hand - some people do not feel as though they have the time for this medication. If you are not sure whether you will have thirty minutes to spare to use a nebulizer, perhaps another treatment will be better.

Especially if you know that you can spare the time on a regular basis, you may really love your nebulizer as your primary (or even secondary) form of home oxygen equipment for pulmonary treatment.

Another very important thing to know about a nebulizer before you purchase one is that it will require regular maintenance. It will need to be maintained and used as prescribed - demanding discipline on the part of the patient or caregiver.

A nebulizer can be great as long as it is kept clean and properly functional. This is, as well as the thirty minute time - commitment for its use, the main reason why some people prefer taking pills, more quick - acting inhalers, or other forms of home oxygen treatments.

Your doctor can tell you whether you will benefit from a nebulizer or not. Sometimes a patient of a pulmonary condition will use a nebulizer as well as another form of oxygen delivery equipment. However, the nebulizer, or "breathing treatment" is often a very refreshing and enjoyable method of treatment for getting the amount of oxygen you need.