Breathing assistance
Breathing assistance is essential for the patient having spinal muscular atrophy because there is difficulty breathing as the lungs’ function suffers impairment. Some of the breathing assistance programs include the use of a suction machine, which helps with breathing. The suction machine aims to clear the respiratory tract by sucking the extra mucus from the trachea, which might be why the blocking of airways. A tiny plastic tube goes down the patient’s throat to suck the excess mucus and clears the airway for unstoppable breathing. The SMA patient can also try breathing exercises, which are very beneficial in relaxing the muscles involving respiration. The breathing exercises also help make the coughing easy for the patient, thus relieving the breathing difficulties. In the severe SMA cases, the patient might need a machine that assists the breathing either by a tube or a mask. The SMA patient needs to avoid breathing infections like pneumonia and flu by getting injections to prevent them.