Have Bronchiectasis, recently diagnosed with pseudomonas

My Mother had Pseudo...it is rare I see people that have heard of it. I told my mother's doctors when she was in the hospital from August 26th to the end of October please test my mother for pseudomonas. They would not believe me that she had it. She contracted it in the hospital after a gall bladder surgery. Mom was on many antibiotics, drip IV, Toby..etc. Pseudomonas hid for years then returned..it is contagious. (Mom had chronic Bronchitisis all of her life. At age 36 she had 1/2 of her left lung removed.) Finally the pulmonologist came to me after doing the sputum test- with his head down & told me it was pseudomonas. Mom was in & out of the hospital 5 times in 3 1/2 months. After staff knew they were hesitant to be around her.. a few nurses in particular wouldn't come close. If your doctor does not communicate, find another. Be well!

Hi, I have heard also that pseudomonas can hide for years, and no doubt I've had it before it reared its ugly head big time this June. I do know there is a hospital acquired one too that is contagious. We hear/read so much stuff, I even wonder sometimes what all doctors know. I mostly hear from my doctor's medical assistant. Finding another doctor in southern AZ is difficult believe me.
Thanks, Pegs

@windwalker, Terri QUESTION: when you do your Saline .. THEN your Toby .. do you use the SAME nebulizer .. or two different ones? If you use two different nebulizers .. do you sterilize the saline neb daily? Thank heavens for our wonderful Connect Forum!! Hugs! Katherine

@windwalker. I use my nebulizer once a day for clearing mucus, but I was never told to sterilize my nebulizer. Can you direct me to information on how to do that? Thank you.

@windwalker. I use my nebulizer once a day for clearing mucus, but I was never told to sterilize my nebulizer. Can you direct me to information on how to do that? Thank you.

@vmorton
Chiming in: I find the best way to figure out how to clean/sterilize nebulizers etc is to follow manufacturer's instructions. There's great info here on how/when to clean/sterilize but I find everyone manages differently. How rigorous you clean/sterilize all those plastic parts is dependent on disease state/status. For example, if you're fighting pseudomonas/MAC perhaps cleaning/sterilizing daily would provide peace of mind. If you're stable, then maybe once a week is ok. Those who are risk averse will sterilize everyday. Asking your doctor or RT is a good place to start.

@vmorton Welcome to Mayo Connect, where you will find many more helpful members like @scoop.
Don't feel bad about not knowing - my kids and I were "on the neb" for years before a respiratory therapist in the hospital (my daughter had intractable asthma) asked me about it. He was very helpful - and glad that we knew better than to share our nebulizer parts & tubing - just the compressor. He said he often had whole families using a single cup and mouthpiece, and constantly sharing infections.

So I'm not surprised about your doctor not saying anything about sterilizing. "Back in the day" they left those details to the nurse to explain, but now most don't have nurses on staff - usually a medical assistant... Also, since you have had lung issues for a long time, they probably just assumed you already knew.

In your unit's manual, you should find the instructions for cleaning and sterilizing your particular nebulizer. By the way, this is just the cup & mouthpiece. You would not sterilize the compressor, and the tubing should never accumulate moisture - if it does, leave the compressor running for 3-5 minutes after you detach the nebulizer and it will dry out.

By the way, did you know that your compressor probably also has a filter that should be replaced every 3-6 months, depending on use? Again, a little detail in the fine print of your manual.

Nebulizer cups and mouthpieces, as well as the tubing, should be replaced approximately every 3 months. There are many places on line where you can buy the parts, just be sure to get reusable ones, not disposable or one use only - they don't stand up to sterilizing. I usually buy mine 3 at a time, then order another 3 when I open the last one. I replace mine every 3-4 months (I use 3-4 times a week.) Also, if I get pneumonia or another exacerbation and have to nebulize meds and take antibiotics, I replace the nebulizer & tubing as soon as I am feeling better.

Have you replaced your nebulizer cup lately?
Sue

@windwalker. I use my nebulizer once a day for clearing mucus, but I was never told to sterilize my nebulizer. Can you direct me to information on how to do that? Thank you.