BiPAP settings

Bi-level positive airway pressure – BiPAP

Unfortunately, many people have problems with breathing. As we all know, the breathing is one of the most important things for our survival. Through breathing we take the oxygen from the air and oxygen is essential for the proper functioning of the whole body. However, when one cannot inhale naturally enough amounts of the air, there is a particular machine that can help. This machine is known as bi-level positive airway pressure machine, although the abbreviation BiPAP is more commonly used.

This machine is usually recommended or prescribed for those people who suffer from sleep apnea or chronic obstruction pulmonary disease – CORD. The people who have developed chronic obstruction pulmonary disease have to use BiPAP in the treatment because the difficult breathing is one of the most common symptoms of this disease. On the other side, those people who have sleep apnea have constant breaks in breathing because they cope with a collapse of the upper respiratory system.

Continuous positive airway pressure – CPAP, is also a machine that helps in breathing, but it has only one outlet for inhaling and exhaling. On the other side, BiPAP has two outlets that have different levels of air pressure while inhaling and exhaling. Therefore BiPAP is much better.

BiPAP settings

This machine has a mask that is used for inhaling end exhaling. Furthermore, the air that has to be inhaled is set under particular pressure so that the one with the breathing problems does not have to make effort to breathe. For exhaling, the separate level or air pressure is set. In the first stage, face mask or nasal pillows are connected to the device that provides the air. The face mask can cover only the mouth or the mouth and nose. It is then placed on the patient and pressure begins to build and the patient can easily breathe.

IPAP represents the pressure increase when the patient inhales the air, and EPAP represents the pressure decrease when the patient exhales the air. Certain types of BiPAP even have a humidifier that serves for eliminating of the dryness, which can appear when one breaths from a machine. Before the BiPAP is prescribed, the doctor has to measure the patient’s lung capacity and then set the proper pressure in BiPAP. Different patient usually have different levels of pressure in this machine. The setting of this machine should not be changed by the patient alone, since, it can be dangerous.