Importance Of Ventilators In Times Of Covid-19

• Jul ,28 2021
• BY 8health

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the necessity of ventilators. This guide will help you understand how ventilators work and why they are often necessary for battling a Covid-19 infection. If you are associated with a hospital or medical facility that needs to stack up against its Covid-19 combat gears, make sure to contact a high-rated oxygen machine manufacturer.

Use of a ventilator for this purpose

A ventilator pumps extra oxygen into patients’ airways when they are unable to breathe adequately on their own. If lung functioning has been severely impaired due to Covid-19, patients may need a ventilator. Ventilators, also known as life-support machines, can keep patients alive while they fight the pandemic infection.

Impact of Covid-19 on the lungs

One infected with the novel coronavirus is likely to get a fever, cough, and sore throat, among other symptoms. If the body’s immune system does not fight off the infection, it can travel to the lungs and cause a potentially fatal condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Thus, the alveoli (tiny air sacs) fill with fluid, diminishing the lungs’ ability to provide vital organs with enough oxygen. This can become a very serious concern that will require a patient to be on a ventilator.

How does a ventilator function?

When a person is sick and can’t pull the breaths in on their own, a ventilator creates positive pressure that forces air into the lungs. A ventilator is typically used in a hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU), though those who need it for a longer period of time may be in a different part of the hospital, at a rehabilitation facility, or even at home.

The first step in putting a patient on a ventilator is general anesthesia. Then, a medical professional will place a tube into the mouth or nose and snake it into the windpipe. This is called intubation. The tube is connected to an external machine that blows air and oxygen into the lungs. The ventilator can also help hold the lungs open so that the air sacs do not collapse.

While patients are on a ventilator, doctors monitor their heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation. Other tests, such as X-rays and blood draws, may be carried out to measure oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.

If your health care facility needs to avail of ventilators, you must connect with the best among medical ventilator manufacturers to access functional and well-constructed ventilators.