E-VENT: Emergency ventilator design toolbox

Re:E-VENT: Emergency ventilator design toolbox by DoreenMichele on Monday March 30, 2020 @08:39PM (#22733837)

Please look up medically recommended air clearance methods. These have a long history of being used by people with serious lung issues to help keep them alive. One news video indicated that Italian doctors are using them before people are so bad as to need a ventilator, but they don't seem to be getting anywhere near as much press as the "ooh, shiny" solution of mechanical ventilators.

Edited for clarity.

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Re:E-VENT: Emergency ventilator design toolbox by brigandish on Monday March 30, 2020 @09:48PM (#22734214)

Can you provide a link? I did a search for "medically recommended air clearance methods" and nothing stood out.

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Re:E-VENT: Emergency ventilator design toolbox by DoreenMichele on Monday March 30, 2020 @09:58PM (#22734262)

https://www.cff.org/Life-With-CF/Treatments-and-Therapies/Ai...

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Re:E-VENT: Emergency ventilator design toolbox by brigandish on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @03:51AM (#22735668)

Thanks. I'm not a doctor so I could be wrong (and happy to be corrected) but from my understanding the problem with those techniques in this situation is that they are for clearing mucus from the lungs (in the bronchi and broncioles) not from alveoli, because mucus isn't the type of fluid in the alveoli. Hence, they'd have little effect.

This video[1] goes into what happens when you have ARDS caused COVID and how it will be treated. It shows why machines like CPAP aren't appropriate too.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okg7uq_HrhQ How Coronavirus Kills: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) & COVID-19 Treatment

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Re:E-VENT: Emergency ventilator design toolbox by DoreenMichele on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @04:46AM (#22735879)

A. One news video indicated Italian doctors are using airway clearance in less severe cases. Not all cases end up needing ventilators.

B. I know ways to also treat inflammation. I've left remarks about that various places, but a few people were following me around and harassing me on the excuse that I'm not a doctor, I'm just someone who lives with serious lung issues.

C. I originally brought this up because people were asking "What can be done at home?" They are de facto rationing health care because there aren't enough medical supplies to go around. So I talked about what I know about managing serious lung issues to say "If medical care is unavailable and you find yourself in serious respiratory distress, there are things you can do on your own." Because no one else was really offering up solutions.

D. I also spoke up to express my concerns that we are posting all these articles about homemade ventilators because ventilators are invasive and promote serious secondary infections that are more likely to be antibiotic resistant. I wish we were emphasizing other measures.

I have a form of cystic fibrosis. I deal daily with serious lung issues. This includes inflammation which is supposed to be chronic and progressive.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ppul.24129

I have, anecdotally, found that it is possible to reverse the inflammation. If you really want to see my previous remarks, there is a link in my profile. I'm disinclined to link it here because of people following me around and harassing me.

I am not interested in having this turn into endless drama. Rest assured, lung clearance is known to help improve lung function, even when there is chronic and irreversible lung inflammation. If you have no other options because the medical system is overwhelmed, it's worth knowing about.

Please note that I am absolutely not suggesting this as an alternative to seeking medical treatment if it is available. I'm only suggesting it as an option in cases where you simply cannot get medical care due to overwhelming demand and find yourself in respiratory distress.

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Re:E-VENT: Emergency ventilator design toolbox by jcims on Monday March 30, 2020 @10:12PM (#22734343)

>with serious

without?

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Re:E-VENT: Emergency ventilator design toolbox by DoreenMichele on Monday March 30, 2020 @10:19PM (#22734382)

For people with serious lung issues. Yes, these are done without causing serious lung issues. They are far safer than ventilators, which can promote antibiotic resistant secondary infections.

I have edited the above for clarity.

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Re:E-VENT: Emergency ventilator design toolbox by jcims on Monday March 30, 2020 @10:27PM (#22734420)

Ah! I thought it was a typo. Thanks for the link to the video btw, my chest has been congested for over a month with a bog standard cold, going to give them a try.

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