Breathing Treatment Tools

All breathing problems involve difficulty getting a sufficient amount of air into the lungs. These problems typically occur as the result of disease, trauma, injury, allergy and panic attacks. Lack of exercise also contributes to breathing problems. Breathing treatment tools are specific to the cause of the problem.

Supplemental Oxygen

• Breathing problems resulting from low blood oxygen require treatment with supplemental oxygen. The Mayo Clinic reports that chronic bronchitis and emphysema, the main forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), often require treatment with supplemental oxygen as well as bronchodilators and inhaled steroids.

CPAP Machine

• The sleep disorder known as sleep apnea causes airway obstruction. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines provide continuous airflow at the air pressure determined by your doctor during your sleep study. The continuous airflow helps to keep your airway open while you sleep, according to CPAP.com.

Chest Tube

• Treatment of trauma-related breathing difficulty related to a collapsed lung involves insertion of a chest tube to re-inflate the lung and drain any blood accumulation.

Emergency Treatment

• Patients experiencing breathing difficulty or respiratory distress related to injury, trauma or illness often require emergency treatment. To administer oxygen and help the patient maintain an airway, paramedics use rapid sequence intubation (RSI). After administering medication that renders the patient unconscious and induces a state of paralysis, paramedics who have received special training in the use of this procedure place a tube in the patient's trachea to protect and control the airway, according to EMS Magazine.

Illness-Related Breathing Problems

• Breathing treatment tools used to alleviate breathing difficulty occurring from infections, pneumonia, asthma and other respiratory diseases include asthma inhalers and nebulizers. They are used to administer medications that open airways, such as bronchodilators prescribed for asthma, bronchitis and emphysema. Other medications like antibiotics and corticosteroids are administered by mouth, intramuscularly or intravenously. Vaporizers and humidifiers also aid in improving breathing difficulty.

Paper Bag

• A paper bag makes an effective tool for alleviating the breathing difficulty that results from hyperventilation or anxiety attack. By inhaling the carbon dioxide you exhaled into the bag, you increase your blood levels of oxygen and correct your blood's chemical balance, according to Family Education.