Contents:
- Medical Video: Helping Your Child Use a Nebulizer Machine
- What are the benefits of using a nebulizer for the treatment of asthma?
- 1. The drug can be directly channeled to the lungs
- 2. Minimal risk of side effects
- 3. How to use it easily
- 4. Can be more painstaking treatment
- 5. At the same time prevent asthma attacks
Medical Video: Helping Your Child Use a Nebulizer Machine
Asthma medications are available in the form of inhaled drugs, drinking drugs, or injecting drugs. Among all choices, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) says that inhaled drugs are considered more effective for treating asthma. Most inhaled drugs are initially liquid which must be converted into steam so that they can be inhaled into the lungs. Nebulizer is one of the engine choices. Asthma treatment with a nebulizer provides many great benefits for the wearer. No wonder the nebulizer therapy is always used as a mainstay by health experts.
What are the benefits of using a nebulizer for the treatment of asthma?
1. The drug can be directly channeled to the lungs
Most substances in the air will be filtered directly by your airways so they don't get into the lungs. Well, the steam particles produced by the nebulizer are very very small, around 1-7 µm (micrometers), so that the drug will be able to escape from the filter and absorb more quickly into the targeted part of the lung.
Nebulizer therapy is a faster and more efficient method for delivering drugs to the lungs than drinking drugs. If you use a medication, the effect of the drug will appear longer because the drug substance will be digested first in the stomach and flow through the bloodstream before reaching the lungs.
The report from the American Association for Respiratory Care states that albuterol, a drug commonly used as a bronchodilator, can start working within 5 minutes after being inhaled through a nebulizer. In comparison, oral albuterol will begin to produce the effect of the drug 30 minutes after drinking.
2. Minimal risk of side effects
Inhaling drugs through a nebulizer will directly target only the problematic lung area, not to spread to other unnecessary lung tissue.
A more efficient method of delivering drugs means that the drug will work faster to treat problems in lower doses. Giving a low-dose drug will reduce the risk of side effects.
The drug dosage needed in nebulizer therapy is even less compared to drugs given orally. This means the risk of side effects from the same drug when inhaled using a nebulizer is lower than when taken.
The use of bronchodilator drugs through the nebulizer reduces the risk of side effects such as headaches, tremors, or palpitations. Long-term complications of steroid asthma drugs such as weight gain, high blood pressure, brittle bones, increase in blood sugar, or susceptibility to infection will also be reduced if you use a nebulizer.
3. How to use it easily
How to use a nebulizer is very easy. Different from an inhaler that requires you to have deft coordination of motion.
When using an inhaler, you should be able to quickly press the can of the drug while taking a deep breath at the same time. With a nebulizer, you just need to draw and exhale relaxed as usual.
That's why nebulizers are more often used as the main asthma therapy for babies, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, or people who have difficulty moving their hands or breathing deeply. In fact, people are very weak and must bed rest can still undergo total therapy with a nebulizer.
The use of a nebulizer also makes it easier for nurses to help patients complete their therapy when they are unable to do it themselves.
Moreover, many nebulizer manufacturers issue portable machines so that they can be easily carried everywhere and used whenever needed.
4. Can be more painstaking treatment
A recent study reported that out of 8,000 people with asthma, nearly 50% of them were not diligent in using drugs to prevent their asthma attacks from recurring.
How to use a non-convoluted nebulizer helps make it easier for people with asthma to be able to regularly meet the daily drug dosage set by the doctor.
Comfort and ease of use of a nebulizer will affect patient satisfaction. Several studies have shown that patients who are truly satisfied with the ease of use of their breathing apparatus report being able to be more adherent to therapy and ultimately have a better quality of life.
5. At the same time prevent asthma attacks
Nebulizer therapy can simultaneously treat and prevent asthma attacks.
The easy use of a nebulizer makes the wearer more patient. In the long run, this also can prevent asthma recurrence.
Long-term bronchodilator drugs that are used routinely every day will help relax the airway muscles so you can breathe more easily. Meanwhile, inhaled steroid drugs relieve airway swelling and inflammation. Steroids also work to reduce the production of lung mucus which makes it difficult for you to breathe.
In the end, regular use of a nebulizer can help prevent asthma symptoms from recurring easily.
