Health Network News

No asthmatic likes having asthma attacks. Besides the agony brought about by hardly being able to breathe, a small fear grows within the asthmatic that the attack may be so severe that medications won’t work. This fear is backed up by the fact that asthma attacks can cause death. This happens when it reaches the asthmaticus stage and no immediate help is around.

To relieve asthma attacks, fast-acting medications are required. There are a lot of drugs and equipment out there for providing quick relief medication. Asthma medicines can be administered in a few ways. There are oral drugs and there are others that need to be injected. The most popular method, and the fastest, is through the use of additional equipment. Equipment can be small, handheld ones, such as those in inhalers; or bigger, sophisticated ones like nebulizers. Technically, a nebulizer is still classified as an inhaler.

The nebulizer is seen as a continuous support for quick-relief of asthma attacks. It can also be used by people of all ages regardless of asthma severity. It is even used for asthmaticus. The nebulizer, also called a breathing machine, turns liquid medications into mist so it can easily be inhaled. It is dubbed as a continuous support because it provides continuous stream of medication. Even after being given oral or IV drugs, nebulizer is still being used.

Nebulizers are often recommended as a substitute, if not a replacement, for asthmatic children. This is because children may not know how to synchronize their breathing with aerosol inhalers. Dry powder inhalers, on the other hand, may provoke coughing for children and worsen an asthma attack.

There are certain procedures that need to be followed in order to achieve the effective quick relief which nebulizers deliver. Proper positioning of the body and the equipment, carefully following the steps in the instruction manual, and disposing and replacing of some parts ensure that the nebulizer stays efficient.