Design and application of a new type of oral humidifier

Abstract

Oral feeding of water cannot be accomplished in some critical patients due to coma, mouth-breathing or long-term indwelling of gastric tube, causing dry mouth which results in oral pain, ulcer, or infection, aggravating patients' discomfort and even affecting the prognosis. To solve this problem, the medical staff of the First Hospital of Jiaxing developed a novel oral humidifier and obtained the National Utility Model Patent of China (ZL 2019 2 0066979.0). The oral humidifier consists of a spraying device and a fixation device. The spraying device is a spraying housing with a water tank, and a spraying port where nanometer water mist can be emitted. The spraying housing is also equipped with a flashlight with a switch, and a schematic diagram of pupil size, which can be used to assess the pupil size conveniently. The fixing device is composed of a fixing frame, an adjustable rod and a clamp. The two ends of the adjustable rod are connected to the fixing frame and the clamp respectively, and can be adjusted to proper shape. The spraying housing can be placed on the fixing frame and installed on the bed and adjusted to the proper position quickly. This novel oral humidifier is a simple device which combines a spraying system with a pupil evaluation tool, implying significant clinical application in improving the convenience of nursing and alleviating dry mouth of critical patients.