Today, there are now different kinds of medical air ventilators that can help with breathing problems such as the BiPap ventilator. But what’s good about it? In here, I will tell you all about the BiPap ventilator.
So what is a BiPap ventilator? A BiPap ventilator is a medical device that provides air pressure to help patients with breathing problems. It stands for “Bilevel positive airway pressure” and also known as “BPap” for short.
Your lungs expand whenever you breathe in and this is if you are breathing normally.
The main muscle that moves when you are breathing in your chest is called the diaphragm and it goes in a downward direction as you breathe.
The diaphragm’s movement causes the pressure to drop inside the tubes and sacs of your lungs.
Because of this, the decreased pressure sucks air into your lungs and gets filled in with oxygenated air.?
When you are having trouble breathing, a BiPap machine will help push air into your lungs, it will provide positive air pressure as you wear a mask or nasal plugs that is attached to the ventilator.
The BiPap machine will continue supplying pressurized air into your airways, helping you breathe normally.
It is called “positive pressure ventilation” because the machine helps open your lungs with the air pressure it gives.
Though it provides positive air pressure as you breathe in and out, there is a slight difference in the pressure levels that you will receive.
When breathing in, you will receive higher air pressure but the opposite happens as you breathe out which helps normalize a person’s breathing pattern.
This type of setting is actually different compared to other types of ventilators, the CPAP machine being one. CPAP delivers the same amount of pressure as you breathe in and out.
There are also different health problems that may be treated better when using BiPap compared to CPAP.
But what exactly is BiPap good for? What kind of health conditions can it cure? Don’t worry, as you read on, you will find the answers.
Why do you need to use BiPap Ventilator?
You need to use BiPap if you have any medical conditions that might interfere with your breathing, especially during sleep. Difficulty in breathing during sleep can lead to other problems that can be dangerous.
- Using the BiPap device can be very helpful if you have the following conditions:
- Pneumonia
- Asthma flare-up
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Obesity hypoventilation syndrome
- Poor breathing after an operation
- Neurological disease that disturbs breathing
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
However, just because BiPap works great just like other medical devices doesn’t mean it’s perfect for you.
Depending on your condition, you may or may not need BiPap and you need help from a medical expert to determine what kind of treatment is best for you.
If you happen to have reduced consciousness or swallowing problems, BiPap may not be a good choice for you.
But once you’ve been using BiPap for quite some time and it’s been effective for you, you may be able to stop using the BiPap treatment if it manages to cure the breathing problem.
When do you need to use BiPap Ventilator?
- When you snore heavily
- Maybe, it can be a sign of fatigue but snoring loudly and usually can be a sign of sleep apnea.
- Sudden weight gain or loss
- Losing control of your weight can be a sign of sleep apnea.
- Gasping for air during sleep
- The feeling of drowning without knowing it and suddenly you’re out of air.
- If you have insomnia
- Having trouble going to sleep because you have breathing problems that you may not notice
- If you experience hypersomnia
- Having trouble staying awake in the morning because you were unable to sleep well due to your sleep apnea
- Waking up with a headache
- Sleep apnea can disturb your body’s “charging” state. Since you can’t sleep well, your body will use energy for means that can help you breathe which may lead to headaches.
- Waking up with a dry mouth
- With sleep apnea, the person tends to snore and keep their mouth open when gasping for air which leads to a dried up mouth once we awaken.
- Decreased ability to focus
- Sleep apnea can give lack of sleep which will also result in difficulty to focus on anything
- Feeling uncomfortable
- Your lack of energy due to sleep apnea can make you feel uncomfortable and irritable without your knowledge
- Suddenly stop breathing during sleep
- Your housemates should notice this and tell you about it. Sleep apnea can disrupt breathing that may last for up to 10 seconds which is already risky.
What happens when you use BiPap Ventilator?
But what happens if you actually do use your BiPap machine? In case you are wondering, here’s the answer.
- Lessen daytime sleepiness
- Sleep apnea can make it difficult to fall asleep at night. If you use BiPap, you may prevent this.
- Anti-snoring device
- Using a BiPap mask can control snoring tendencies. Sleep apnea patients are often loud and constant snorers but with BiPap, now you can sleep better.
- No more morning headaches
- Sleep apnea also causes headaches. BiPap users report better mornings without headaches after using BiPap.
- Avoid heart failures
- May lead to fatal conditions such as brain damages or even death, BiPap can prevent heart failures caused by sleep apnea.
- Avoid heart attacks
- Sleep apnea can trigger heart attacks and can also be severely threatening however, this can be prevented by using the BiPap machine.
- Stop irregular heartbeats
- Irregular heartbeats worsens the ability to breathe and it can trigger anxiety but BiPap can bring your heartbeat pattern back to normal.
- Prevent stroke
- Getting hit by stroke can leave permanent damage that may lead to paralysis. Sleep apnea can also be the cause of stroke but the help of BiPap machine can lessen the risk of stroke.
- Improved control for emotions
- Sleep apnea can cause irritability and mental or emotional problems because it affects our physical health and our brain but BiPap can prevent it.
- Helps the body control your hormones
- Being sleep deprived can actually trigger diabetic tendencies! This is because your hormones will lose control due to lack of sleep which can be prevented or fixed by BiPap machines.
- Avoid uncontrolled weight gain or loss
- Sleep apnea also messes with the body’s hormones, causing the patient to usually gain weight uncontrollably. For rare cases, patients lose weight too. BiPap machines can prevent this.
- Avoiding high blood pressure
- Aside from your physical health, hypertension can also affect your mental health and relationship with people around you including your work. BiPap treatment can prevent this.
- Better ability to focus and memorize
- Sleep apnea reduces your ability to focus and worsens ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), but using BiPap machine can improve your ability to focus!
- Avoid driving accidents
- People with sleep apnea are prone to daytime sleepiness and can get sleepy while driving or lose focus which can lead to accidents, using a BiPap machine can prevent that.
- Wake up with full energy
- With sleep apnea, your energy will be reduced since you are unable to sleep well. The BiPap machine can fix that for you.
- Eliminates risk of seizure
- Sleep apnea patients are more prone to seizures during sleep compared to epilepsy patients without sleep apnea.
- Reduce medical expenses
- Untreated sleep apnea can lead to worsened health conditions or bring in other risky illnesses that can be prevented by using a BiPap machine, this way, you can avoid extra medical bills.
Why you need to use BiPap Ventilator if you have OSA
BiPap is also good for treating obstructive sleep apnea or OSA in short. OSA can be very dangerous for your health and it has a lot of threatening risk factors that you should consider treating.
- Here’s a list of OSA risk factors that will need the use of BiPap for treating:
- Death
- Sleep apnea interrupts breathing that can affect the heart and the brain which can lead to sudden death during sleep.
- Difficult breathing
- Sleep apnea can occur when there is an obstruction in the airway or the brain is unable to function well that helps the body breathe, causing difficult breathing.
- Snoring
- If there is an obstruction in the airway, the muscles around the throat may vibrate and cause snoring.
- Worsens other illnesses
- Being unable to breathe well during sleep disrupts your entire body’s functionality and eventually attacking the other diseases a patient may already have.
- Heart problems
- With sleep apnea, you are more prone to heart problems such as heart failure or heart attacks. This is due to the lack of blood oxygen levels.
- Irregular heartbeat
- Due to the low blood oxygen levels or the air is unable to reach your heart, it can lead to an abnormal heartbeat or pauses in breathing during sleep.
- Stroke
- Similar to heart problems
- Depression
- Being unable to breathe well during sleep and get the proper rest can mess up your emotions or eventually lead to depression.
- Weight gain or loss
- Sleep apnea messes up your body’s hormone production. You can end up gaining weight faster due to sleep apnea.
- Diabetes
- Having sleep apnea disables the body’s ability to control the sugar level which can lead to diabetes.
- High Blood Pressure
- Sleep apnea can potentially cause or worsen hypertension in people.
- Increases ADHD
- Being sleep deprived decreases the person’s ability to focus, worsening conditions such as ADHD.
- Headaches
- The lack of air that enters the brain can lead to other brain problems, but usually results in morning headaches.
- Daytime sleepiness
- Difficulty breathing at night can lead to restless sleeps, making you feel the need to stay asleep even during the day because your body couldn’t rest well at night.
- Insomnia
- Difficulty in breathing can lead to insomnia. Instead of waking up randomly at night, you will end up being unable to sleep.
- Seizures
- Sleep apnea patients are more prone to seizures during sleep compared to epilepsy patients without sleep apnea.
- Irritability
- When you are sleep deprived, you will unconsciously lose control of your emotional stability. You can become irritable or easily frustrated with sleep apnea.
- Poor memory
- Sleep apnea causes sleep deprivation which may lower your brain’s performance as it affects the brain activity, causing poor memory in patients.
- Respiratory diseases
- Sleep apnea is a respiratory disease that may cause other diseases or worsen them.
- Driving accidents
- The lack of concentration and daytime sleepiness can lead to driving accidents when you have sleep apnea.
- Death
As you can see, sleep apnea can be really scary and should not be taken lightly. If left untreated, it can lead to fatal situations such as death. This is exactly why you should consider using BiPap machine to treat it.
Related Questions
What are normal BiPAP settings?
- V.Protocol: Start BIPAP settings
- Allow patient to self-apply mask and start with 2 to 3 cm inspiratory pressure (IPAP) between 10 to 15 cm H20 or centimeters of water pressure.
- Expiratory Pressure (EPAP) starts from 4 to 5 cm H2O or centimeters of water pressure.
- FIO2: 1.0 (100%)
- Inspiratory to Expiratory Time (I:E)
- Respiratory Rate (back-up)
Is it painful to be on a ventilator?
No, ventilators normally do not cause pain. The equipment may cause discomfort or mobility problems, but it will not cause pain.
If you are experiencing pain while on a ventilator, you should consult your doctor to determine the cause behind it.
