My name is Laura Castricone and I am a Certified Respiratory Therapist. I have been practicing in the state of Connecticut since 1992. I have worked in several aspects of respiratory care including sleep medicine, critical care, rehab, and home care. I earned my respiratory certification at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. Prior to becoming an RT, I attended the University of Connecticut pursuing a degree in English but left Uconn in my junior year to work with my father in the restaurant business. I stayed with him for over a dozen years. An education, by the way, that can never be bought! Once I married and had children, the restaurant business no longer fit my lifestyle. When my children were one and two years old, I decided to go back to school and that is where my career in respiratory care began. This career has been very rewarding and I have been blessed to meet some extraordinary people along the way. I grew up in Waterbury, CT, and now live in Litchfield County, CT with my husband and our crazy Jack Russell terrier, Hendrix. My hobbies include antiquing, gardening, writing plays, and painting miniature paintings.
As a hospital protocol, a patient will be put on IST (incentive spirometry therapy) after any type of surgery. The purpose of this therapy is to avoid pneumonia post-surgery. After surgery, most patients are bed-bound for days if not weeks. This takes its toll on the patient’s muscular, cardiac, and respiratory systems. Here we are going to address the respiratory system.
Respiratory therapists guide other providers on the setting and changes of respiratory equipment. They work with the RNs and paramedics on Life Flights. Learn More
No fear is greater than the fear of the unknown! It is up to all those involved in the healthcare continuum to educate patients so that they get the proper information about their therapies, understand their needs, and learn to embrace rather than fear them. Here most commonly myth-buster about oxygen therapy.
Chest Physiotherapy, aka chest PT is a procedure which uses gravity and physical manipulation to help release mucus from the smaller airways of the lungs into the larger airways to facilitate mobilization out of the lungs.
Most of us look forward to spring. Trees are blooming, temperatures are warming, and flowers are beginning to poke out of the soil. It’s a wonderful time of the year. Unless you suffer from spring allergies!
When my children were younger and had to use a nebulizer, I had always asked for a Pari system and kit for them. I was able to administer the full treatment before they became too antsy. They seemed to overcome symptoms much faster as they were getting a full dose of medication and it was able to reach the furthest air sacs to help open them up and rid them of mucus. I would have no reservations about recommending this system to anyone, especially pediatric patients and those patients who are very active but still want to take their breathing treatments via a nebulizer.
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs which causes the air sacs to be filled with pus or fluid. Pneumonia is caused by either a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection. When the lungs get full of debris, it becomes difficult to breathe. As the patient struggles for air, the oxygen level in their blood decreases. As oxygen levels decrease and are sustained at lower levels, the body responds in many negative ways.
Aside from the mental and physical preparation for surgery, you also need to prepare your environment so that once you are discharged you can perform your activities of daily living without injury or incident. Health Products For You offers a wide variety of products to help you during your healing journey.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy exposes wounds and/or damaged tissues or nerves to 100% oxygen at a higher-than-normal atmospheric pressure. The increase in pressure above sea level allows more oxygen to enter the lungs and therefore into the bloodstream.
My name is Laura Castricone and I am a Certified Respiratory Therapist. I have been practicing in the state of Connecticut since 1992. I have worked in several aspects of respiratory care including sleep medicine, critical care, rehab, and home care. I earned my respiratory certification at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. Prior to becoming an RT, I attended the University of Connecticut pursuing a degree in English but left Uconn in my junior year to work with my father in the restaurant business. I stayed with him for over a dozen years. An education, by the way, that can never be bought! Once I married and had children, the restaurant business no longer fit my lifestyle. When my children were one and two years old, I decided to go back to school and that is where my career in respiratory care began. This career has been very rewarding and I have been blessed to meet some extraordinary people along the way. I grew up in Waterbury, CT, and now live in Litchfield County, CT with my husband and our crazy Jack Russell terrier, Hendrix. My hobbies include antiquing, gardening, writing plays, and painting miniature paintings.