Showing posts with label asthma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asthma. Show all posts

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Finding The Right Treatment For Asthma

Ask a person suffering from asthma about their quality of life and the response could vary from bearly livable to pathetic. This is because of the unexpected bouts of symptoms and recurrence that is associated with asthma. Wheezing, cough and shortness of breath sap away a person’s vitality. Medical science has now made it possible for people suffering from asthma to lead a normal life. Whether oral medications, inhalers or injections the treatment of asthma has progressed tremendously.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that that inflames and narrows the airways. People with lung conditions often rely on certain medications to help treat these diseases or alleviate symptoms. Most often the physician may prescribe the use of a nebulizer making it easy for the patient to inhale the medication. A patient normally uses a nebulizer mask in order to receive the medication in this form.

An adult nebulizer mask is usually made out of rubber or clear vinyl. It consists of a mask that fits over the patient's nose with an adjustable elastic strap that fits around the head to keep it in place. Pediatric nebulizer masks for children also come in a variety of shapes, such as dinosaurs or fish, to make children more comfortable using them. However, recent studies have shown that masks are poorly accepted by babies making companies to come up with other methods that allow inhalation of medicine including creating a hood that makes space allowing for easy inhalation of the medication.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Inhale fresh air with air cleaners

In today’s world of extreme pollution finding fresh air to inhale has become a rarity. Especially in the urban areas fresh air is not even available at the confines of your home and office. With scarcity of clean and pure air to fill your lungs this purpose can be achieved with the assistance of air cleaners. What exactly is an air cleaner? Simple air cleaners are devices that clear the air of viruses, pollutants, allergens, dust and other microorganisms. Air cleaners filter pollutants in the air and releases clean and pure air to breathe. For people suffering from asthma this could help a great deal.

When it comes to air purifiers the market is flooded with loads of air cleaners. It is up to the buyer to choose the best. Air cleaners are designed keeping in mind the needs of the people in general. With such vast variety at the disposal it is easier for an individual to choose an air cleaner that suits their physical needs and their pocket.

There are two types of air cleaners available in the market. The first one is called arrestors and the second is the non arrestor type. Mechanical air filters fall under the former and traps particles that passes through them. This requires proper maintenance. The filters have to be washed regularly for better effect. If the filters are blocked it restricts air flow. Filters that can trap particles bigger than .3 microns are called High Efficiency Particle Arrestor (HEPA). The second type under arrestors is called Electrostatic or Electronic Air Cleaner. Here the particles that pass through the electrical grid are given a charge that makes them sticky. Then the particles are passed through oppositely charged plates. The particles cling to the plates. This requires heavy maintenance as they are covered completely on regular use.

The second type called the Non Arrestors can be divided into three categories Ionic Air cleaners, Ozone Air cleaners and Ultra violet air cleaners. Ionic Air cleaners generate an electrical charge similar to Electronic air cleaners. But here the pollutants cling to the walls, ceilings and other surfaces. Next is Ozone Air cleaners, they produce a form of oxygen combining various pollutants. These air cleaners are used for odor removal. Finally you have the Ultra-violet air cleaners that kill bacteria, viruses and molds. The pollutants are exposed to harmful rays. They normally do not remove pollutants but when combined with a mechanical filtering device can filter particles that come across their way. Since most of the diseases are spread through air it is important to exercise caution.

Read next on electronic nebulizer.