Nebulizers have been around for several decades, being used in breathing treatments and medication delivery. They have found increased success among those who are unable to receive treatment from an inhaler, and improve from other inhalation therapies in areas such as patient comfort, simplicity, effectiveness. Under what cases is nebulized therapy preferred over other therapies, in particular inhalers. This blog will highlight the ground this technology has broken for those unable to use other types of inhalation therapy, and in what cases is it preferred for the patient.
How Nebulizers Work
A nebulizer is a device that turns liquid medicine into mist. As you inhale and exhale naturally, mists of medicine are moved into your lungs to administer the dose. Aeroflow Healthcare added to this point, stating that “…treatment works by atomizing liquid medicine into an inhalable gas form, which can then be easily breathed in by the patient as they wear a nebulizer mask” (“How Do Nebulizers…”). Nebulizers also have several applications to several different patients, ranging from home to pediatric nebulizers (“How Do Nebulizers…”). These devices are also commonly used to treat more serious lung-related complications and diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis.
Types of Nebulizers
There are three main types of nebulizers: jet, ultrasonic, and mesh.
Jet nebulizers use compressed gas to make an aerosol. Ultrasonic create this same aerosol through high-frequency vibrations. These types of nebulizers produce larger particles of aerosol compared to their compressed gas counterparts. Finally, mesh nebulizers use fine mesh to form its aerosol. This very fine mesh produces the smallest particles, but comes at a cost with the highest average price of the three.
All information about these kinds of nebulizers came from Dan Brennan’s article “Nebulizer,” available in the works cited.
Nebulizers vs. Inhalers
Nebulizers and inhalers are both used to directly deliver medication into the patient's lungs. Where nebulizers show particular interest over inhalers however, is when considering the patient. Is it a young child or a healthy adult? Someone who suffers from paralysis or an elderly adult? According to the American healthcare website WebMD, nebulizers are easier to use than inhalers “for young children… because all they have to do is breathe normally” (“Nebulizer”). This can also be spread onto other individuals who have trouble using an inhaler correctly or simply prefer the feel of using a nebulizer. Another positive is that nebulizers can deliver more medication to the patient than an inhaler can, relative to time.
There are however drawbacks that come to using a nebulizer versus an inhaler. For starters, inhalers are cheaper. Another issue with nebulizers when comparing them to inhalers is that they are generally larger and clunkier gadgets to carry. Finally, the dosage a nebulizer delivers from the patient is not exact and takes time (“Nebulizer”). Inhalers deliver an exact amount of necessary medication to the patient quickly.
Works Cited
A.s., et al. “How Do Nebulizers Work?” Aeroflow Healthcare, 27 Aug. 2021, aeroflowinc.com/how-do-nebulizers-work/.
“Nebulizer.” Edited by Dan Brennan, WebMD, 15 Mar. 2022, www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/home-nebulizer-therapy#:~:text=Nebulized%20therapy%20is%20often%20called%20a%20breathing%20treatment.,all%20they%20have%20to%20do%20is%20breathe%20normally.
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