Breathing Aids
Breathing Aids
Paper Bag – used when hyperventilating or when having a panic attack. When hyperventilating the person gets rid of too much carbon dioxide from the blood and takes in too much oxygen causing them to find it difficult to breathe. Breathing into a paper bag helps them hypoventilate to the point where they are calmed and can breathe at a normal rate again. This is because you exhale 17% oxygen, 4% carbon dioxide and 89% nitrogen so rebreathing this air will help you inhale more carbon dioxide and helps it to be quickly added back into the bloodstream. This restores the balance of gases in the blood stream which in turn slows breathing rate and gets it back to your steady breathing rate.
Nebulizer/Inhaler – most commonly used in the treatment of asthma. They use oxygen, compressed air or ultrasonic power to break up medical solutions and suspensions into small aerosol droplets that are inhaled directly into the airways when you breathe in. This means a much smaller dose is needed than if you were to take the medicine as a tablet or liquid by mouth as just the airways and lungs are treated but little of it goes to other parts of the body.
Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) – a cushioned mask fitted over the nose alone or both mouth and nose which in attached to an air pump machine. NIV is used by people suffering from lung conditions who often find it difficult to breathe due to not being able to take in enough oxygen and also occasionally don’t expel carbon dioxide efficiently. With NIV, a slightly pressurised airflow is blown into the mask while you breathe which enables more air to get in and out of the lungs more
Paper Bag – used when hyperventilating or when having a panic attack. When hyperventilating the person gets rid of too much carbon dioxide from the blood and takes in too much oxygen causing them to find it difficult to breathe. Breathing into a paper bag helps them hypoventilate to the point where they are calmed and can breathe at a normal rate again. This is because you exhale 17% oxygen, 4% carbon dioxide and 89% nitrogen so rebreathing this air will help you inhale more carbon dioxide and helps it to be quickly added back into the bloodstream. This restores the balance of gases in the blood stream which in turn slows breathing rate and gets it back to your steady breathing rate.
Nebulizer/Inhaler – most commonly used in the treatment of asthma. They use oxygen, compressed air or ultrasonic power to break up medical solutions and suspensions into small aerosol droplets that are inhaled directly into the airways when you breathe in. This means a much smaller dose is needed than if you were to take the medicine as a tablet or liquid by mouth as just the airways and lungs are treated but little of it goes to other parts of the body.
Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) – a cushioned mask fitted over the nose alone or both mouth and nose which in attached to an air pump machine. NIV is used by people suffering from lung conditions who often find it difficult to breathe due to not being able to take in enough oxygen and also occasionally don’t expel carbon dioxide efficiently. With NIV, a slightly pressurised airflow is blown into the mask while you breathe which enables more air to get in and out of the lungs more