Breathing Machine

A breathing machine, usually referred to as a ventilator, is a special device that helps patients who have recently undergone surgery or have a serious respiratory or neurological condition to receive oxygen into their body and remove carbon dioxide from it. Sometimes it is used to help patients breathe easier, and others, it is used in place of their normal lung function when they are not able to breathe on their own. A breathing machine may also be used when a patient is under general anesthesia during surgery, since the anesthesia itself may disrupt a person’s normal breathing. Whether used for short or long-term care, ventilators are used almost exclusively in hospitals and nursing facilities.