Travel Nebulizer

Hello to those who responded to my travel nebulizer inquiry,
So much apprecitated. I will look into the couple models suggested.
Thankyou so so much,
This is a wonderful support venue.
Sue, (volunteer) can you put me intouch with the Philadelphia support group they meet monthly and I dont have their email address. I think they would meet at Lankenau Hospital.
Keep moving and looking forward,
Deborah

@debminuet - That seems to be the big question recently. When my Innospire Go dies, I tried 3 different less expensive mesh nebulizers - all lasted less than 3 months using saline/levalbuterol before they clogged, leaked or died. It turns out that if you looks closely on line, almost all are similar or identical, and cheaply made.
I threw them away and vowed to stop wasting time and money until a reputable company came out with one.

Every month or so I go on a search to see what is available, with the amount of travel I do, I am willing to pay for a quality unit. BUT...everyone I think "might be the one" gets rejected when I use the User Manual - described as "self-cleaning" with using distilled water, with no provision for sterilizing. Many manuals say "do not boil, steam or microwave components" (for example, the TruNeb is just what I would like)

So as of today, I stick with my small compressor model DeVilbiss Traveler - it's a workhorse.

Hi Sue -- I ordered the DeVilbliss based on your recommendation. Do you know if the cups that come with it can go in the baby bottle sterilizer?

I would read the manual. I use a saucepan of boiling water for sterilization, and except when I accidentally boiled a "single use" disposable cup, I have never had a problem. I thoroughly wash my neb cups after every use, boil after 6-8 uses.

I've been sterilizing everyday and wonder if it's overkill, especially since I'm pretty sure we have copper pipes. Sue, when you throughly wash your neb cups everyday what water do you use?

How do you know when a Pari cup is "done". On the website I bought them, it says to replace them every 6 months, same thing for the acapella. What is the reasoning behind the "6 months"? I sterilize the cups and the acapella after each use in a baby bottle sterilizer, and sometimes I even dip them in alcohol for a few minutes before. I am just trying to understand how they came up with that number.

How do you know when a Pari cup is "done". On the website I bought them, it says to replace them every 6 months, same thing for the acapella. What is the reasoning behind the "6 months"? I sterilize the cups and the acapella after each use in a baby bottle sterilizer, and sometimes I even dip them in alcohol for a few minutes before. I am just trying to understand how they came up with that number.

I do not know the science behind the 6 month recommendation. Like Sue said biofilms are slow growing and maybe that's the reason. We live in such a consumable society and replacing things often seems standard accepted practice. And of course companies would like to count on future [annuity] business.

If you wanted to be fastidious then do as vendor instructions say. What I do is alternate cups a.m. and p.m. After soaking in hot tap water and dawn, and like you, pop in a baby bottle sterilizer where I use distilled water. I've measured the temp and it registers 212+ for over 8 minutes. Technically it's been 6 months for each cup but since I've been alternating I'll continue to use for at least another 6 months or longer. If any of the equipment starts to fail I will replace.

The bottom line it seems to me, when you replace depends on your disease state, I think. If you have MAC or other infection you might choose to follow vendor instructions for replacement for greater peace of mind, knowing you are doing everything you can to help to mitigate the disease.

For the Acapella, the function of the vibratory pieces degrades over time. I was amazed at how much when I did my first replacement - the old one was on the highest setting, and I had to back off to just over half. Now, when I get to the highest setting, I know it will soon be time to order a new one.

For the Pari cups, or any other nebulizer cups, the repeated boiling (or alcohol) degrades the plastic over time. Recommendations for replacement vary from 2 to 6 months. Microscopic cracks and pits for in the plastic, giving bacteria fun places to hide. In addition, I become concerned about whether microscopic particles of plastic are finding their way into my lungs as it wears. So, I wash with HOT water and soap after every use, sterilize after 6-8 uses or weekly. And I discard after 10-12 sterilizations.

All that said, I use sidestream nebulizers from the hospital supply house, not Pari Sprint or AeroEclipse types, so they are not that expensive in the grand scheme of things - around $10 each with new tubing.