Tips to Take Care of Home Ventilator

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The need of home ventilator arises for the patients who have different incurable illnesses and injuries that disrupt the breathing process. Patients who are in coma or have severe fatigue or serious spinal cord injury have to depend on ventilators to survive. Companies engaged in medical equipment provide nurse or therapists who visit their home on regular basis. However, it is advisable that instead of being dependent on these people every time, make sure that even you know some tips to take care of home ventilator, so that you can handle the problems if any comes up.

Tips to Take Care of Home Ventilator

• Respiratory therapist gets the necessary supplies for maintaining the home ventilator machine and will check the ventilator to ensure its working. This equipment has the feature of alarm system which is sensitive to high and low pressure in the circuit. Problem like coughing can result to high pressure alarm to sound. In case if the patient gets disconnected from the ventilator, the low volume alarm will sound. You must take care of this alarm system and have a regular check on its working system.
• The machine should be checked regularly to make sure that patient is on proper settings as per prescribed by the physician. During this check, the respiratory rate, system pressure, tidal volume and alarm function must also be done.
• You must also have a look to verify if there is any kind of bend or curve in the patient�s tubing and should confirm about its working.
• Maintaining and regular check of ventilation devices consist of:

1. Check on date and time
2. Oxygen Concentration (FiO2 or LPM). In case the patient is not getting enough oxygen, the concentration would be 21%.
3. Note down the breath rate display and record the number of breaths the ventilator delivers to the patient.
4. Counting the number of times the patient is breathing in 60 seconds which gives you an idea of the patient�s respiratory rate.
5. Keep an eye on the humidifier set and record its setting
6. Caregiver initials are the initials of the individual who checks the person. If your device runs primarily on electricity, talk to the company about it and suggest on having an emergency generator on hand.
7. Keep an eye on the temperature of the thermometer
8. Regular battery check is necessary. The battery should be always charged. Have a check on the internal battery charge mentioned by the manufacturer�s instruction.
9. Check the inspiratory time control and record the time observed regularly
10. Usually, ventilators have availability of battery in the form of backup electricity. Make sure that you check the batteries regularly.
11. Ensure that you have the emergency devices at home in case the ventilator stops working properly.

    Necessary Advice to Follow

    1. Portable oxygen tank is used to give breaths to the patient till emergency arrives. Make sure that the ventilator and all the machines that the patient needs must be easily available to the reach and should be used quickly.
    2. An ambu bag and portable oxygen tank can be used to give breath to the patients until medical help arrives. In case of you don�t have any idea, talk to the nurse appointed who can help you in arranging the devices in the patient�s room.
    3. Make sure that you keep the ventilator away from sunlight and avoid placing it near any fire hazards like open flame, stove or lighters which can increase the chances to catch fire as oxygen is flammable.
    4. Avoid blocking the inlet filter on the ventilator. If the filter gets exposed to moisture, then make sure you replace it.
    5. There should be a safe distance between the external battery and ventilator. If the battery gets heated up, it can get damaged also.
    6. All the necessary emergency equipments must be readily available
    7. A cell phone or any other phone in working condition is a must. To make emergency calls, you should not waste your time in searching for the phone, so ensure that emergency numbers are kept near the phone for quick accessibility.

    While considering tips to take care of home ventilator, make sure that you have detailed knowledge about the equipment and the process of ventilator. In case if you have even the smallest doubt, feel free to talk with your doctor.