A nebulizer is a small machine that delivers medicine in a mist to a person’s breathing passages. Breathing in medicines in moist air to the lungs improves the ability to breathe and cough up any thick secretions.
Nebulizers are commonly used for persons with asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, and cystic fibrosis. Medicines given through a nebulizer include bronchodilators (which widen airway passages), steroids(which reduce inflammation and narrowing of airways),and mucolytics (which thin mucus making secretions easier to cough up).
Nebulizers can also deliver humidified oxygen (oxygen mixed with a water mist). Oxygen alone is very dry. However, when given through a nebulizer, the oxygen and water create a mist, which is less irritating to mucus membranes so secretions remain wet and loose. This is a common treatment for people with emphysema and who have tracheostomies.
A nebulizer is easy to use, but it takes about 10 minutes to deliver a medicine. The nebulizer device is powered by a compressed air machine and plugs into an electrical outlet. Portable nebulizers, powered by batteries or automobile cigarette lighters, are available for individuals requiring treatments away from home. A nebulizer weighs under 10 pounds and it is easy to move from place to place.
A nebulizer is easy to use, but it takes about 10 minutes to deliver a medicine.