What is BiPAP

Biphasic positive airway pressure – BiPAP

One of the most significant systems in the human body is the respiratory system. When breathing, the human body takes the air through the respiratory system. The oxygen is very important for the functioning of the body; what is more, it is essential for the survival. Without oxygen, as we all know, we would die.

However, there are many people who have breathing problems, especially those people who suffer from sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The people who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have the difficult breathing as a major symptom. On the other hand, those people who suffer from sleep apnea have constant stops in breathing while sleeping due to a collapse of upper respiratory system.

BiPAP and CPAP

Biphasic positive airway pressure, whose abbreviation BiPAP is more commonly used, is a machine that helps those people who have problems with breathing. This machine is an adaptation of continues positive airway pressure, whose abbreviation is CPAP. The main difference between BiPAP and CPAP is that the CPAP has only one outlet for the inhaling and exhaling, while BiPAP has two outlets for inhaling and exhaling. Therefore, BiPAP is considered a much better solution.

BiPAP machine

The main role of BiPAP is to provide easy breathing by pushing the air into the lungs. When a person has problems with breathing, s/he has to go to a doctor, who will have to measure the lung capacity before prescribing this machine. First of all, the mask should be attached to the device that provides the air pressure. Then the mask is placed over the mouth, or over the mouth and nose. The level of air pressure is not the same during inhaling and during exhaling.

IPAP is the air pressure in the device when the patient inhales, and it is called inhalation pressure. EPAP is the air pressure in the device when the patient exhales, and it is called exhalation pressure. Furthermore, this machine measures the number of breathes per minute. For example, when a patient who suffers from sleep apnea fails to take a breath during sleep, the pressure in the machine increases and forces the patient to inhale the air. After that, the pressure within the machines decreases gradually and the patient can exhale.

BiPAP is a very practical machine because it is small and can be easily fit on a table or nightstand. Some types of BiPAP even have a humidifier, which serves to eliminate the dryness when the patients breath from a machine.