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Volara nebulizer
For anyone using the Volara for nebulizing: The new nebulizer cups they have started using do not work after sterilizing with a baby bottle sterilizer. The parts don't fit together correctly. Have you had this problem? I'm thinking I'm going to have to send it back. The company only recommends cleaning with soap and water which doesn't kill the NTM.
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Vinegar cleaning might be an option although if it’s not fitting together, sending it back makes sense. I use Aeroeclipse and it does well in Bololo.
I’ve melted a couple things, too.
@yardsend I haven't seen any research on that
@lilianna I emailed Dr Joe Falkinham yesterday. I trust his research. He said any chemical disinfects such as alcohol won't kill the NTM. He said any thing strong enough would hurt the equipment.
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1 Reaction@yardsend For anyone interested, I've been emailing with Dr Joe Falkinham, a microbiologist at Virginia Tech. He has done lots of research with NTM. I asked him about UV light as I know nothing about it. Here is what he said
"UV-light can sterilize water, if the UV-lamp is sufficiently powerful and any water and cells is exposed for a sufficient time to kill the NTM. Further, the use of UV is limited as it only kills cells that are directly illuminated. NTM on the walls of pipe away from direct exposure to the UV will not be killed. Finally, cells of bacteria, including the NTM, have an enzymatic system that repairs UV damage, reviving the cells from dead to living.
I am not a fan of UV use in households."
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@lilianna I stopped using the Volara and went back to just using my percussion vest. After using the Volara for a few months, my sputum tested positive for a bacteria that is commonly found in medical equipment. I can’t say for sure that it was from the Volara, but I decided that since it can’t be completely sterilized, I will not use it anymore. Now I’m sitting here with a very expensive machine in perfect condition, sitting in my closet.
@davis5663
Thanks for checking with Falkinheim. He is correct. The UV light penetrates the bacterial cell wall and causes unwanted linkage in the bacterial DNA. And the cells can repair that damage, up to a point. Municipal UV systems are designed to deliver a high enough dose that the bacteria cannot self-repair. Harder to achieve at home...
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1 ReactionFrom Dr. Falkinham's paper in 2021:
Ultraviolet (UV) Light Disinfection. There are a number of companies
manufacturing and selling whole house or single tap devices to kill microorganisms in drinking water with UV light. Although the results are mixed, it appears NTM may bemore resistant to UV compared to Escherichia coli, the standard; perhaps a 5-fold higher
dosage is needed to kill 99.9 % of NTM cells than to kill E. coli. If a UV system can provide at least a 5-fold higher dosage (the combination of UV light strength and duration of exposure), it will kill NTM. However, UV will only kill cells that pass by the UV-lamp. UV-will not kill cells in biofilms. Further, UV only kills cells that are exposed in the dark. In the presence of light NTM cells, like other bacteria, can repair the damage (called photoreactivation), thus reversing the killing.
Why was the Volara recalled several times?
@reneemc Interesting, I wasn't aware it was recalled.