Tips for travelling with MAC

Posted by terryb1 @128128terry11t, Mar 6, 2018

Would appreciate any tips for traveling: How do you clean the aerobika and nebulizer? How do you handle weekly sterilizing? Can you just use a nebulizer (with saline solution) without an aerobika (one less piece of equipment to clean) along with a travel size compressor? Looking forward to hearing how all this is handled. Thank you.

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I use microwave bags for steaming and carry a medium sized Rubbermaid bowl with a small container of dish liquid for daily cleaning. NJH said do not use motel sinks because they might harbor bacteria. If you aren't flying you could take some distilled water with you or buy at destination. My nebulizer is small enough to travel with. It's a Phillips. You can get small ones that even have car adapters.

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@jenblalock

I use microwave bags for steaming and carry a medium sized Rubbermaid bowl with a small container of dish liquid for daily cleaning. NJH said do not use motel sinks because they might harbor bacteria. If you aren't flying you could take some distilled water with you or buy at destination. My nebulizer is small enough to travel with. It's a Phillips. You can get small ones that even have car adapters.

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What great advice.

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@jenblalock

I use microwave bags for steaming and carry a medium sized Rubbermaid bowl with a small container of dish liquid for daily cleaning. NJH said do not use motel sinks because they might harbor bacteria. If you aren't flying you could take some distilled water with you or buy at destination. My nebulizer is small enough to travel with. It's a Phillips. You can get small ones that even have car adapters.

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Thank you. I have a follow-up question: did NJH say that you could skip using the aerobika for a week or so and just use nebulizer with the saline? If this is the case, I guess you could bring a few nebulizers and simply clean when you get home. Cleaning would be even easier with less equipment to clean. I presume that you don't heat the distilled water used for cleaning and rinsing but simply use at room temperature. That would make it easy if you just needed a microwave once a week for sterilizing. Thanks again for the tips. We need all this helpful information so that we can have the freedom (and courage) to leave our homes.

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@jenblalock

I use microwave bags for steaming and carry a medium sized Rubbermaid bowl with a small container of dish liquid for daily cleaning. NJH said do not use motel sinks because they might harbor bacteria. If you aren't flying you could take some distilled water with you or buy at destination. My nebulizer is small enough to travel with. It's a Phillips. You can get small ones that even have car adapters.

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Could someone recommend a small, easy to use nebulizer...maybe handheld. Thank you.

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@jenblalock

I use microwave bags for steaming and carry a medium sized Rubbermaid bowl with a small container of dish liquid for daily cleaning. NJH said do not use motel sinks because they might harbor bacteria. If you aren't flying you could take some distilled water with you or buy at destination. My nebulizer is small enough to travel with. It's a Phillips. You can get small ones that even have car adapters.

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@128128terry11t When I was going camping, Dr. Huitt from NJH said I could go ahead and just use the Aerobika without the saline so kind of opposite of what you said. I happen to have two Aerobikas so that makes it easier. I can let one dry and use the other. As far as the distilled water goes, I really only use it to sterilize. Otherwise I use hot tap water and dish soap and let it soak in the bowl I brought. Some people though, don't use tap water for drinking or anything but I always have.

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@jenblalock Interesting. So you just bring the aerobika and do it for 10 minutes or so without saline or compressor? That would be handy and easy. I find it sometimes difficult for aerobika to dry unless I let it drip dry on a kitchen drainboard. Any helpful hints on drying without use of drainboard while away? I presume that you rinse in tap water as well as clean -- do you use the hot tap water to do that as well? Did NJH say how many days we could get away with just using the aerobika? Thanks so much for the tips.

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@jenblalock

I use microwave bags for steaming and carry a medium sized Rubbermaid bowl with a small container of dish liquid for daily cleaning. NJH said do not use motel sinks because they might harbor bacteria. If you aren't flying you could take some distilled water with you or buy at destination. My nebulizer is small enough to travel with. It's a Phillips. You can get small ones that even have car adapters.

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You shouldn't be using tap wAter to clean. Water should be boiled 10 minutes to kill MAC..

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@128128terry11t

@jenblalock Interesting. So you just bring the aerobika and do it for 10 minutes or so without saline or compressor? That would be handy and easy. I find it sometimes difficult for aerobika to dry unless I let it drip dry on a kitchen drainboard. Any helpful hints on drying without use of drainboard while away? I presume that you rinse in tap water as well as clean -- do you use the hot tap water to do that as well? Did NJH say how many days we could get away with just using the aerobika? Thanks so much for the tips.

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I was camping for about 4 days so that's all the time we discussed. I bought this portable drainer for travel. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019Z7UM9C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I rinse it in hot tap water then drop it into the bowl with dish soap and hot tap water. I do use tap water but as you can see by others' responses. Some do not. If you don't want to then carry the distilled water or sterilize it in a microwave first. I'm not super strict about the whole water thing since we are surrounded by NTM anyway but that's me. Each to their own there. Here is the link to the sterilizer bags I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035LQNNE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

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Going to Cuba in a few days...what do people do to clean and sterilize aerobika and a nebulizer....I bring a jug of vinegar and boiled water in water bottles to clean equipment and drink water...also bring an electric kettle to heat water...add some spring if I have to...any suggestions✌️

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Hi @megan123 you may have noticed that I moved your post to this existing thread on travel tips with mac so that you can see what other connect members have done in the past.

I wanted to tag fellow members @jenblalock and @flib to see if they have additional advice for you.

A trip to Cuba sounds wonderful! How long with you be in Cuba?

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