Travel Nebulizer

thank you Sue. Yes microscopic plastic particles are worrisome, I agree. I have been wondering about switching to mask, not sure yet. I am allergic to all kinds of plastic unfortunately, so the mask would not be better in that respect. However I seem to develop a tongue irritation from all those nebulizer cups, so the mask could help with that. It takes time to find the right path.

Also, I read about your success story with NAC and 10% saline. My doctors do not push NAC at all, they say it is a cough suppressant and they want me to cough. Also I read online that NAC can trigger bronchial bleeding, so that is a bit scary to me. Have you ever experienced that?

With the mask you must still use the plastic nebulizer cup that holds the saline or medication, so I don't know if that would be any different.
When I asked my pulmonologist about mask vs mouthpiece, she said she thinks the mouthpiece is more effective for adults because the drugs are delivered directly to the lungs. Using a facemask results in a portion of the medication depositing in the nasal passages, and some loss of medication due to the volume of air in the mask.
My kids' pediatrician (MANY years ago) had them transition to the mouthpiece as soon as they were able to hold it and close their lips to make a seal.

@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.

Thank you Scoop. Do you use a Bololo sterilizer? I will replace after 6 months, just to be on the safe side.

Sue- In your trials did you ever use the eRapid or eFlow by Pari? If so, what was your outcome and experience with one or the other or both?
Do you know if there are compressors that should be considered, better, for harder to fight infections??
Do you know if there are compressors that should be considered, better for a particular medication??
Hope all is well for you this Sunday.
Barbara

thank you Sue. Yes microscopic plastic particles are worrisome, I agree. I have been wondering about switching to mask, not sure yet. I am allergic to all kinds of plastic unfortunately, so the mask would not be better in that respect. However I seem to develop a tongue irritation from all those nebulizer cups, so the mask could help with that. It takes time to find the right path.

Also, I read about your success story with NAC and 10% saline. My doctors do not push NAC at all, they say it is a cough suppressant and they want me to cough. Also I read online that NAC can trigger bronchial bleeding, so that is a bit scary to me. Have you ever experienced that?

I was cleaning my Pari Sprint cups in alcohol and having a lot of issues with them. I called the company and they said do NOT use alcohol but rather boil them for 5 minutes. Since switching to boiling I no longer have issues with the cups. I boil every other day and have two sets. One for am and one for pm nebulizing.

Yes, so far the Bololo been great!

Hi Barbara - I haven't used any of them, if a particular medication requires a specific compressor, the prescribed will tell you.
What I have used are the Park Bios Big (loud and inexpensive) machine covered by my health plan, the DeVilbiss Traveler, The Innospire Go (until it died) and a few others that were so unsatisfying that I have forgotten the names.

This is off topic, but I can't find an appropriate place to ask it....
I'm wondering is anyone has found a way to get rid of the bad odor left from nebulizing Acetylcysteine?? I tried an air purifier that listed odors as one of it's purifying capabilities, but found that it did not work.
Thanks for any ideas!
Jan