Ventilators 101: What they do and how they work

&quot;<i>There’s an argument that “if there aren’t enough ventilators and patients are being turned away, I’d rather have a slim chance with a hacked solution than no chance with no solution. The reality is closer to “if there aren’t enough ventilators, a hacked solution will most likely do more damage than good, take up too much time from already strained health care resources, and could lead to death.”</i>&quot;<p>This is a difficult point for many people to understand. Sometimes the problem really is too complicated for a simple solution.

My dad died from multiple strokes this Feb. When he was transported to another hospital for a brain surgery he was intubated. A couple of days later, the ICU doctor came and told us to prepare to fulfill his wishes. They said to have him intubated again would cause a great pain for him. Also, chest compress would be lots of pain. We did let my dad go in peace. Here I am, wondering if people know what it feels like to be intubated? It is not something you can do off and on when you feel like it. There was a team of anesthesiologists there to seduce my dad when they shoved the tube in his wind pipe.

I think that since building ventilators is very difficult and beyond the capability of the diy and foss communities and has a fairly low survival rate anyway, I think that we should focus on other ways in which we could help.<p>One way to help would be to aid physical containment. The first thing that comes to mind are online tools for communication, learning and doing basic daily life things. I think that there is still room for improvement.<p>The next thing comes to my mind is that people need to go out to buy food, medicine, etc. They also need to drink something and in some places water needs to be sanitized. Maybe DIY sanitizers are an option?<p>Food and other supplies might be bought online, but companies doing online sale and food delivery seem to have issues handling the load. I think that the biggest issue is finding drivers and delivery man to bring groceries do people&#x27;s doors. Surely, self driving cars and trucks and robots taking packages and climbing staircase or using the elevator aren&#x27;t an option, but I have other ideas.<p>People could order stuff through internet from their local shops and supermarkets and then pick them packaged in boxes from parking spaces or a drive through with store employees putting boxes in people&#x27;s trunks or even a system where people go to a door with a belt, scan a QR code from an app, see the door open and their package arriving on that belt.<p>I remember that when the epidemic was starting, journalists reported that people rushed to shops and all the pictures of people with their carts filled with toiled paper standing very close to each other in a very long queue. To me it seemed like the best way of getting infecded.<p>I have many other ideas for &#x27;improvements&#x27; and notice other &#x27;mayor problems&#x27;, but this comment is already way too long...<p>I hope that this isn&#x27;t off topic in the ventilator thread.

Ventilating a patient with active pleural effusion (fluid in the lungs) is a finicky process. The vent alarms constantly, and the patient frequently needs to be suctioned, which is a team effort often involving several bedside nurses and a respiratory therapist. Even if we stock up our ventilator supply, I have no idea how we will get enough people to operate them effectively.

While I&#x27;m genuinely thrilled to see this on the front page, this article is incomplete and inaccurate.<p>First, mucus is protective of the lungs. Personally, I don&#x27;t believe there really is such a thing as &quot;too much mucus.&quot;<p>As someone with chronic lung problems, I cough up less crap when I can keep mucus production up. So I think that if you have junk in your lungs, it&#x27;s phlegm, not mucus.<p>They can be hard to tell apart. The difference is phlegm is basically infected drainage, sort of like the lung equivalent of pus.<p>Salt and fluids are the two main components of mucus. To support mucus production, you should stay hydrated and get enough salt.<p>Second, there are other ways to improve lung function in the face of pneumonia and inflammation. Many of these methods are medically prescribed and used daily by people with serious, chronic, incurable lung conditions, such as cystic fibrosis.<p>I have talked about this before. I don&#x27;t really want to harp on it or argue with people.<p>I&#x27;m not a doctor. I&#x27;m just someone who has a form of cystic fibrosis, so management of serious lung issues is a daily part of my life.<p>Please see some of my previous comments for additional info:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=22651884" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=22651884</a>

What&#x27;s interesting is I knew about cpap machine (I mean everyone does from the ads for &quot;sleep equipment&quot; right?) but I didn&#x27;t know there is also bi-pap machines which may be suitable for some with covid19.<p>Some also get away with just taking in oxygen, I guess at the hospital they have to evaluate and monitor.

&gt; infection that leads to the lungs filling with fluid<p>&gt; The ultimate goal with these three things is to give the patient time to develop antibodies and fight the virus and clear out the lungs<p>Where does the fluid come from in the first place? Do the viruses (I can hardly believe) or bacteria produce it? Doesn&#x27;t the patients own body do? If it does then why and how? Can that be inhibited?

Really shows you how complicated things are. I wonder if I&#x27;m given enough time if I would be able to do a full solution that I would be willing to use on myself... I don&#x27;t think I would... I don&#x27;t think in all honesty any single person would...

Question: is it possible to oxygenate blood via IV (similar to how toxins are removed via IV in dialysis)? When babies are in the womb they get oxygen without using their lungs.