Portable rechargeable nebulizer recommendations

I just bought the "Take a Breath Portable Handheld Mesh Nebulizer" from a local medical supply company. It was about $100. Seems to work well. The brand name was "Blue Jay".

@barrywayne How do you sterilize it? The main shortfall with the inexpensive mesh nebulizers is no way to sterilize, making them unsafe to use.

You raise a good point. The instructions say to disinfect by soaking parts in 2% hydrogen peroxide for 10 minutes. I purchased this for traveling. I did not realize the issue with mesh nebulizers. I am learning more from just being on this Mayo Connect for less than a week. So, I'm kind of back to square one. It seems no two nebulizers are the same.

I use a Pari Trek S ... It's about the size and weight of a pound of butter .... heavy for carrying around but useful if you keep it in car, desk, whatever. I use it when camping. It is rechargeable.... I'm not sure how long a charge lasts. The folks at Nebology are very helpful if you have questions.

I did a lot of research before my last trip, and every portable option has its drawbacks. It's important to define your requirements (gotta have, nice to have) beforehand. Mine were:
Gotta have:
1. Reliable nebulizer system
2. Reliable power supply
3. Reliable cleaning/disinfecting
Nice to have:
1. Not just a one-time use system
2. Inexpensive

Here's my solution, which worked well for me:
1. Omron compressor NE-C801-- very lightweight and doesn't take up much space-- can throw it into a backpack, and it has such a low AC/DC draw that it can be run from either a car (where the cigarette lighter used to be) or from a portable battery pack plug-in. NOTE: I'm only nebbing 7% saline so this compressor might not be appropriate for other meds.
2. multiple nebulizing cups-- wait until I get home and just sterilize the whole bunch of dirty ones, so no sterilization required on the road. I could also use them at home as needed (until they expired, of course.) The cups for that particular compressor are pretty cheap.
3. portable battery pack that's TSA compliant (under 100 Watt hours), that also has an AC plug-in. I got one from amazon.

I saw that the mesh systems were going to be challenging to clean, and they might not survive my rugged on-the-go handing. I also didn't want to spend (and keep having to spend) a ton of money.

Your requirements might be different than mine, so remember to define what you need to begin with.

@barrywayne Cheap and good seem to me to be mutually exclusive for mesh nebulizers.
For many years, I relied on the De Vilbiss Traveler portable compressor with rechargeable battery pack. Before that it was the Pari Trek S. Both fit in a small case in backpack or carry on and have been reliable.

Last year, with 2 of us now using a neb, and planning several long trips, we gulped hard and invested in the Pari eFlow Rapid. It is a hybrid - tiny compressor drives a mesh head (we each have one) that connects with a slim cord. It is FAST, quiet, pricy, but proving to be durable. Saline neb takes about 3 min, as does levalbuterol when needed.

It fits in a tiny bag, runs a long time on one charge, we clean the heads in detergent & water daily, boil once a week in distilled water.

If you can afford it, it is a great luxury, but Medicare and insurance do not cover it unless you are on a specific medication that requires it. We used HSA $$ to buy. Nebology often has it on sale.

I've been considering using disposable nebulizer cups for short trips. I get tired of encountering hard water or other questionable water sources for washing and boiling equipment. In order not to encounter the water problem you have to take a bunch of distilled water with you or track down a source to buy some where you are staying. I hate to add to the throw away plastic problem as well as throw away $ after each one is used. Anyone with a different method to this problem?

@cwal
When I "test drove" disposable neb cups prior to a trip with a Pari Trek portable (and even with the Ombra) I found the saline mist output reduced, adding to neb time. Maybe changing out the tubing that comes with disposable nebulizers might help (like the pari wingtip tubing instead). Not sure where the bottleneck is, maybe the cup intake itself or the tubing or both. There's always a bottleneck, either in neb time, getting distilled water, and/or in cleaning/sterilizing. In US distilled water is pretty easy to come by.

I travel with the EFlow and an old Philips Innospire Go, the latter being past its prime but good for a backup or a fast neb and cleanup. I suspect the newer pocket nebulizers for around $100 are similar in performance. If they can be soaked in hydrogen peroxide for 10 mins why cannot they be soaked in boiling hot water?

@sueinmn Hi sue ~ I just looked for the Pari eFlow Rapid system both on Pari and Nebology and no luck. One site says that it is not available in US and the other says, "No results found". I guess I'm pretty confused right now.

I am looking for a travel nebulizer that is quiet and easy to clean on the road (short trips, 3-4 days at the most) and I'd also like to ask you and the group, if there is another device other than Aerobika for airway clearance. Mine just fizzled out on me. One of the parts is warped. Thanks to all and to you especially Sue for your help.