Nebulizer

In medicine, a nebulizer or nebuliser (see spelling differences) is a drug delivery device used to administer medication in the form of a mist inhaled into the lungs.

Nebulizers are commonly used for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, asthma, COPD and other respiratory diseases.

Analytical nebulizers are another form of nebulizer and are used primarily in laboratory settings for elemental analysis.

Nebulizers use oxygen, compressed air or ultrasonic power to break up medical solutions and suspensions into small aerosol droplets that can be directly inhaled from the mouthpiece of the device. The definition of an aerosol is a "mixture of gas and liquid particles," and the best example of a naturally occurring aerosol is mist, formed when small vaporized water particles mixed with hot ambient air are cooled down and condense into a fine cloud of visible airborne water droplets.

Medical uses

Guidelines

Various asthma guidelines, such as the Global Initiative for Asthma Guidelines [GINA], the British Guidelines on the management of Asthma, The Canadian Pediatric Asthma Consensus Guidelines, and United States Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma each recommend metered dose inhalers in place of nebulizer-delivered therapies. The European Respiratory Society acknowledge that although nebulizers are used in hospitals and at home they suggest much of this use may not be evidence-based.