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What Are the Benefits of Nebulizers?

Nebulizers are breathing devices worn as masks over the face and connected to a canister with compressed air and medicine. They commonly are used to treat patients of all ages with breathing afflictions such as asthma and other respiratory diseases. These devices administer medicine to the lungs to help the patient with breathing. There are a variety of benefits in using nebulizers, including physical results, ease of use and costs.

  1. Direct Support

    • Nebulizers work by mixing medicines with compressed air to make a mist. By doing this, the patient inhales this mist and delivers it directly to the lungs, making it the fastest process in delivering the medication.

    Children's Use

    • Nebulization is beneficial for children because it's an easy and effective way to administer medicine for childhood illnesses like asthma. Nebulizer masks are custom-designed to fit infants and allows them to breathe normally rather than attempting to inhale the medicine purposely, as with an inhaler. An inhaler also requires an inhalation technique that may be hard for younger children to understand and perform.

    Advent of Technology

    • Hand-held inhalers once held an advantage over the bulkier nebulizer masks and units, but the nebulizer units have become smaller and lighter over time. The ultrasound nebulizer is more efficient than the standard compression-type nebulizer because it's much smaller and portable. The ultrasound unit is battery powered and hand-held while the compression-type nebulizers are powered by electricity and aren't mobile. The other benefit of the ultrasound unit is the fine mist delivered into the lungs. This is beneficial because inhalers spray the medicine, and sometimes larger droplets don't reach the affected lung tissue.

    Cost

    • For elderly patients, Medicare covers the use of nebulizers and many of the medications administered with the nebulizer. Patients with emphysema, bronchitis, asthma or other breathing conditions can be approved for a nebulizer by their physician.

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