Overview
Are you suffering from sleep apnea or any medical condition that affects your breathing cycle? If so, then you might have heard of a bilevel positive airway pressure machine from your doctor. The BiPAP machine is a non-invasive solution that can help you breathe naturally.
Mechanical ventilators are famous globally for being one of the best life support systems for patients suffering from breathing conditions. Breathing directly impacts your life, and difficulty with breathing cycles can cause severe damage to the body. However, the availability of these machines makes it slightly easier for you.
The non-invasive positive pressure ventilation or NPVV is active ventilator support. It helps patients with chronic respiratory failures. So, are the BiPAP machines and ventilators the same? They might be similar in functions, but they do have specific dissimilarities.
Interested to understand this distinction properly? Let’s start with the ventilators first.
What Are Ventilators?
A ventilator is a life-support machine widely used in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. It helps the patients to breathe when their body fails to do so. Whether you fail to breathe mechanically or naturally, this machine can help to restore the proper supply of air within the respiratory system.
It is a medical device that has invasive tubes attached to it. The BiPAP machine is similar to this device. It can deliver oxygen to the body organs as these tubes pass through the patient’s mouth, then to the vocal cords, and finally to the lungs.
These are highly advanced machines that offer you multiple settings as per requirements. The doctor or other health specialist will adjust the settings according to age, condition, and patient’s condition. The machines are called life support devices as they give hope as well as time to the patient.
It helps supply oxygen to the brain, heart, and even to the kidneys. Therefore, ventilators help maintain proper oxygen levels in the blood by providing air into the lungs. So, these machines are medically prescribed by doctors for ICU and acutely ill surgical patients with a range of chronic respiratory diseases.
However, not all ventilators are BiPAP machines. Why? Let’s find out in the next section.
Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BIPAP Machines)
As already highlighted, the BiPAP machines are non-invasive ventilation (NIV) therapy that facilitates breathing. Besides hospitals and other healthcare centers, one can use this machine at home. The device comprises a mask and tube that connects to the mask. One needs to wear a mask over the nose and mouth.
Like any other ventilators, the BiPAP machines use two different air pressures to supply oxygen to the lungs. Depending on the selected settings, the device can maintain both carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the patient’s blood.
The BiPAP machine offers you two modes of air pressure settings. During inhaling air, the device will deliver more pressure, and the process is known as inspiratory positive airway pressure.
However, the machine will reduce the air pressure to collect the exhaled air when you exhale air. The process here is known as the expiratory positive airway pressure. If you have difficulty managing the pressure settings, choose the BiPAP machines with a timer. You can set the timer according to the specific number of breaths per minute.
Understanding the Differences Between Ventilators And The BiPAP Machines
The above section gives you a fair idea about both the devices and how they are beneficial for patients with breathing conditions. Although the BiPAP machines are a form of ventilators, not all ventilators are similar. The basic functionality happens to be the same, but they also have some differences.
If you are thinking about getting the best device for home use, understanding the differences can help you make a better selection. Let’s dive into the details:
Equipment Features & Build
A ventilator is known as a life support machine as it helps deliver breathable air to the patients. People suffering from breathing trouble can inhale and exhale naturally with this machine.
It is the medical equipment that offers the user proper mechanical ventilation to inflate as well as deflate the lungs. So in case you have lost your respiratory function, this one can help restore them pretty efficiently.
On the other hand, the BiPAP machine on rent gives you non-invasive mechanical ventilation that can treat sleep apnea that causes disrupted breathing during your sleep. Doctors highly recommend this device for buying time before intubation or treating respiratory distress.
Functionality
A ventilator will help you in restoring the entire respiration process. It helps maintain proper passage and supply of oxygen in the blood by controlling the air movement in and out of the lungs.
However, the BiPAP machines are ideal for COPD and sleep, apnea patients. It helps in minimizing difficulties related to breathing during sleep. It uses two different air pressure modes to maintain the proper flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the lungs.
Working Principle
The ventilator will help with breathing and the entire respiration in the blood. That means it will blow air containing oxygen into the respiratory passage and then into your lungs. The equipment can do so with the help of a breathing tube. Here, one pipe end connects with the machine while the other tube’s end goes directly into the patient’s windpipe.
For the BiPAP machines, the main functionality depends mainly on the dual pressure modes available in the devices. Depending on your selected air pressure settings, the patients can inhale and exhale air without discomfort.
Therefore,
Do you still wonder if the BiPAP machine on rent is similar to a ventilator? Well, mechanical ventilators are widely popular for their uses in ICU and other hospital setups. It is known for treating a broad spectrum of illnesses like:
- Respiratory failure
- Brain injury
- Cardiac arrest
- Collapsed lungs
- Stroke
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome
- Lung infection
- Premature lung development in babies, etc.
However, when it comes to the BiPAP machine, they mainly help with chronic respiratory failure, obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, etc. Therefore, it is ideal for hospital and home uses and offers you a non-invasive solution without any side effects. So, if you are looking for a device to use daily to cure your breathing troubles, get the best BiPAP machine today.
