Talk:Iron lung

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Contents 1 Comment 1 2 question 3 question 4 question 5 Iron lung is not necessarily an old ventilator 6 How'd they "go to the bathroom"?

[edit] Comment 1

The line: 'The use of iron lungs has almost completely ceased' prompted me to go to google to search for who's still using one. How about listing those few living individuals who are still using an iron lung?

I wanted to ask first, since it would be my first post, and I'm unsure of protocols.

Negative pressure ventilators are still made (at least two different brands), so I think the sentence you mention is a factual error. --Ekko 11:24, 24 Feb 2005 (UTC)

According to an article in the July 2005 National Geographic, "...about 40 people in the US still depend on iron lungs to give them the oxygen they need to stay alive." More information on polio and iron lungs can be found in the article "The Polio Battles", in the Geographica section of this issue.

Jennifer Duarte Seattle, WA

For a "typical" iron-lung patient, did they need the maching 7x24, or was it a supplementary tool only used part of the time? --TheJeffMiller 01:27, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

As far as I know, iron lungs are still used for postoperative ventilaton of children after certain kinds of heart surgery --Ekko 10:56, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] question

Are there any lifestyle alterations required due to treatment or technique?

What would you think? They are stuck in an iron lung with only their head sticking out. Do you think they go down to the bar every night at 9:30? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.2.13.83 (talk) 21:23, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] question

For how long are patients required to stay in the apparatus? How do they live in the lung if they are required to stay in it for 24 hours daily. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.203.251.58 (talk) 02:03, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] question

Why would anyone be in an iron lung when modern ventilators are available?

I cite from the article: the iron lung mimics the physiologic action of breathing: by periodically altering intrathoracic pressure, it causes air to flow in and out of the lungs. The iron lung is a form of non-invasive therapy..The key words are physiologic and non-invasive. --Ekko 08:42, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

However, in certain rare conditions, such as Ondine's curse (in which failure of the medullary respiratory centers at the base of the brain result in patients having no autonomic control of breathing), the machine still finds use. I cite from the article too. Does that answer why? AllStarZ 02:34, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Those who have Ondine's Curse do not need a ventilator when they are awake, only when the sleep. The iron lung works well for them because there are no tubes to insert or remove, and they can sleep lying in the iron lung.--RLent 19:44, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Could it be helpful to patience of Gullien Barre Syndrom ?

[edit] Iron lung is not necessarily an old ventilator

Negative pressure ventilators are still manufactured. So when the article says that they are still used, despite the problems with replacement parts, this is nonsense. And positive pressure ventilators are not a new thing either. Heinrich Dräger patented his Pulmotor (a simple positive pressure ventilator) in 1907. --Ekko 07:39, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

• The University of Virginia has a great web exhibit on the iron lung that gives documented examples of artificial ventilation dating back to 1782. And at least some models of iron lung have been discontinued in the last years and decades, and here's a source that indicates that at least one patient was advised to buy a new model because replacement parts would become hard to find for her old one. I do agree with you that the article is misleading on these and other issues, probably wrong on others, and in general unreliable because there are no sources given. It needs to be revised… please feel free… or I will if I find some time. EsdnePyaJ 21:06, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

So many articles, so few hours.... In my schedule I plan to have my excellent (norwegian) article ready by autumn, so after that perhaps... --Ekko 07:43, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How'd they "go to the bathroom"?

Just curious about how iron lung patients managed to, well, you know, if they were in the iron lung 24/7... — Rickyrab | Talk 17:12, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Since the diseases that put them in an iron lung often involve paralysis, I would assume they are catheritized like other paralyzed patients.LiPollis (talk) 17:03, 1 June 2008 (UTC)