What are the effects and side effects of a ventilator?

In order to make the body healthier, some patients who have the conditions will choose to use a home ventilator to maintain normal breathing at home. Generally, it can improve the function of the nervous system, lower blood pressure, and improve sleep quality. However, if the ventilator is used for a long time, it will bring some side effects to the patient, such as dry nasal mucosa, nasal congestion, shortness of breath, skin allergies, etc. Generally, these symptoms will disappear on their own after a period of time, but some will become more serious.

1. The role of using a ventilator

Long-term use of a home ventilator can increase the central nervous system's sensitivity to oxygen and improve the respiratory regulation function of the nervous system. Sleep apnea therapy can make patients feel comfortable when sleeping at night, be less energetic and sleepy during the day, and can also lower blood pressure. Especially for patients who have increased frequency of urination at night, after using the CPAP machine, the number of times they get up at night is significantly reduced, which also solves a major problem of rest for patients. Home sleep apnea machine is the most effective, reliable and preferred method for treating breath-holding snoring. It is suitable for patients with various types of sleep apnea syndrome, and the effect is obvious as long as the patients can tolerate it without severe nasal obstruction.

2. Will it cause harm to human body?

During the years of sleep apnea machine treatment, patients and their families often ask this question. The side effects of ventilator therapy include dryness of the oral and nasal mucosa, nasal congestion, breath holding, local compression, skin allergies, conjunctivitis, etc. In our daily use, we found that after using a humidifier, dry nose and mouth will not occur, and the comfort of using a constant temperature humidifier is higher than that of a humidifier.

Nasal congestion is another side effect of home ventilator treatment. Most patients will have it disappear on its own after a period of use, but 10% of people still have nasal obstruction. It can be improved by taking nasal vasoconstrictors or using a heated humidifier before going to bed. Some people have nasal polyps and nasal deviations that require surgical correction. The earliest masks used were prone to injuring the skin, especially at the bridge of the nose, due to insufficient materials. However, in recent years, they have been improved to high-quality, soft and elastic silicone self-sealing masks that rarely damage the skin.

The first people to use ventilators said that everyone would experience the feeling of suffocation, and it would take some time to adapt. Other side effects are relatively rare, and sleep apnea machine treatment will not cause patients to become addicted. Many patients stop snoring and their sleep quality improves after using a ventilator. They feel more energetic during the day and have better memory. However, if the ventilator is stopped before the condition is alleviated or stabilized, the symptoms will reappear, so the ventilator must be worn for a long time. Patients are compliant with the use of ventilators. After long-term use, the required pressure will gradually decrease, and they can eventually be completely independent of ventilator treatment, so they will not become addicted.