Check out Astronomical Photography Forum section of our forum.
There are Still People Living in Iron Lungs
Nov 21, 2017 08:53:41 #
Nov 21, 2017 08:59:36 #
Its good they have them allows them to stay alive but your sure right "what a way to live"
Nov 21, 2017 09:12:00 #
JohnM wrote:
Its good they have them allows them to stay alive but your sure right "what a way to live"
I'm surprised there isn't a good alternative.
Check out The Dynamics of Photographic Lighting section of our forum.
Nov 21, 2017 09:20:09 #
My wife contracted polio back in the late 1940s and spent some time in an iron lung back then.
Nov 21, 2017 09:46:55 #
Nov 21, 2017 12:52:57 #
jerryc41 wrote:
I'm surprised there isn't a good alternative.
me too and there may be but at what cost and is it as effective?
Nov 21, 2017 21:15:00 #
Good article Jerry. The story gives an interesting perspective. I always looked on those iron lungs as a living coffin, but the unfortunate victims see them as a haven.
The article should be required reading for any anti-vaccine parents.
The article should be required reading for any anti-vaccine parents.
Check out Professional and Advanced Portraiture section of our forum.
Nov 22, 2017 06:33:57 #
Nov 22, 2017 06:56:16 #
Thank you for sharing this article Jerry. As a retired Registered Respiratory Therapist, this brought back memories. We had a show and tell in our RT department at the hospital I was working at back in the late 70's and I had the experience of being inside a working Iron Lung. I didn't think anybody was still using them today.
Nov 22, 2017 07:05:52 #
Thanks for posting this interesting article. It seems more reckless a choice to not vaccinate that it is to just get your kid a shot. I'm glad my parents had to brains to protect us.
Nov 22, 2017 07:32:07 #
I, too, retired as a Registered Respiratory Therapist after 38 years; as far as not being a good way to live, the alternative would be to have a tracheotomy or an endotracheal tube. WHile less unseemly, the risk of infection is far, far greater.
Check out Wedding Photography section of our forum.
Nov 22, 2017 14:58:44 #
02Nomad wrote:
I, too, retired as a Registered Respiratory Therapist after 38 years; as far as not being a good way to live, the alternative would be to have a tracheotomy or an endotracheal tube. WHile less unseemly, the risk of infection is far, far greater.
How would that help? Their airways are not constricted.
Nov 23, 2017 08:48:54 #
SteveR wrote:
How would that help? Their airways are not constricted.
Correct, their airways are not constricted, but by bypassing the body's natural defenses (i.e., the larynx is open with a tube inserted through it, or there is a tube inserted through the neck below the larynx), the potential for infection is greatly increased because there is no way for the patient to build up enough pressure in the lungs (by closing the larynx) to cough. It would be difficult in an iron lung, but the larynx is not bypassed. Were they at home on a ventilator, the environment is not inherently free from bacteria and viruses and the only way to remove secretions from the lungs would be to insert a smaller tube through the endotracheal tube or tracheostomy tube to suction them. In the home, suction catheters are usually re-used and are not stored in a manner that would prevent them from coming in contact with whatever it touches. The next time that the suction catheter is used, it carries along with it whatever it came into contact with.
Nov 23, 2017 22:42:07 #
When I was a kid, in the 40s and 50s, the prospect of an iron lung scared me worse than the atom bomb.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.