Essay On Noninvasive Ventilation

Noninvasive ventilation is a practiced method which uses devices, such as the nasal-oral mask and the full-face mask, that allows patients who have respiratory dysfunctions to breathe easily and more comfortably. As the names imply, the nasal-oral mask covers the nose and mouth while the full-face mask covers a large portion of the face. Unfortunately, the ventilation masks are not always one-hundred percent therapeutic; since patients who require ventilation masks may have their immune system suppressed to a degree depending on the nature of the respiratory dysfunction that they have and their healthy status, they are highly prone to skin breakdowns. This can lead to pressure ulcers. “With the comparison of the 2 noninvasive ventilation masks, patients in the full-face mask group had significantly fewer pressure ulcers develop and reported being more comfortable than the nasal-oral mask patients.” (Schallom et al., 2015) Pressure ulcers from nasal-oral mask are more likely to develop on areas of the skin - the bridge of the nose, the chin, and bilaterally on the cheeks - which is where the edges of the mask press against boney areas of the face. With the
Moreover, being aware of the first stage of pressure ulcers, which are non-blanchable, can help reduce further irritation from ventilation masks and improve comfort. The non-blanchable stage is redness on the skin without any integument breakdowns. Often, this redness is also a sign of intolerance to the mask due to hydration status. Many patients who are dehydrated can have a reaction to the masks because their skin is too dry. Furthermore, rehydration is necessary for these patients since the skin under the mask can further dry