Portable Nebulizer

[BabyFu18]

Not sure where to post this, so I thought I'd try here first.

I have had really bad asthma for over 15 years and take several medications, usually when I travel I take my regular home nebulizer with me and use it in the hotel room (morning and night), but my doctor has informed me that I need to get a portable nebulizer to carry on me at all times. I've been looking into them, but I have no idea which nebulizer would be best.

Does anyone else use a portable nebulizer? Any recommendations?

[disfan07]

I have the omron micro air. I actually have two of them. One stays with me at college and one stays at my parents house.

We had to pay OOP for it. Our insurance will not cover portabl nebs. Our old insurance wouldn't even cover regular nebs.

I have four all together. 2 regular and 2 portable.

The portable is a god send. I have had asthma attacks while driving, while at work, and while at school. I've also had anaphylactic reactions where I needed a neb treatment immediately. Both my allergist and pulmonogist have said the portable neb is probably what saved me.

[BabyFu18]

Thankfully I've already contacted my insurance and they will cover 80% of the portable nebulizers cost, so that's not a problem for me.

I've seen the omron microair online but no medical supply company's in my area carry it and they want to only offer me resporonics brand, though the microair looks much smaller. I may have to purchase online, is that how you purchased yours or were you able to find it elsewhere?

[disfan07]

Originally Posted by BabyFu18

Thankfully I've already contacted my insurance and they will cover 80% of the portable nebulizers cost, so that's not a problem for me.

I've seen the omron microair online but no medical supply company's in my area carry it and they want to only offer me resporonics brand, though the microair looks much smaller. I may have to purchase online, is that how you purchased yours or were you able to find it elsewhere?

I got both of mine through our hospital. My doctors ordered them through the hospital pharmacy so we didn't actually deal with any of the process of obtaining the neb.

[RNMOM]

I also have the Omron portable nebulizer. It is great. I haven't had to use it for a long time. I think since I am on all these meds for my autoimmune diseases they depress my reactivity triggers to allergens. Good for me, I guess.

I bought mine out of pocket. I ordered it on a website that sells respiratory equipment, no prescription needed.

Get it, you will be glad you did. It is so easy to clean and maintain. The case is about the size of a very small umbrella, the kind that compress, easily fits in a regular purse.

[Mary976]

My DD uses an Aeroneb Go. It can plug into the wall or run on batteries. We like it a lot but we did pay quite a bit out of pocket.

Mary

[ksh1111]

Just saw this message. I also have Omron Micro Airs. I have 2 currently, because I travel frequently and since I need nebs every 4 hours, I cannot run the risk of it breaking and waiting days for a replacement. These are replacements for an older version, been using portable nebs for 15 years. I did have a portable Pulmo Aide, but it is much heavier than the Micro Air.

I have always ordered on line, but prices vary widely (from $125-$300+) for the same unit, so research carefully.

[jlr9882]

My son has a respironics minielite. It is ths size of my hand and fits in a bag about the size of a fanny pack. They actually make a smaller version, but I wasn't told about it until after they placed the order for the minielite. I was told it was best not to use this one for daily use, because it would wear out faster than the bigger nebs. I like how small it is and that I can use it at home by plugging it in or use the rechargerable battery. It also plugs into the car charger. It was hard finding a company that would order it and use my son's insurance.

[CantWaitToGoAgain]

We have a Trek® S Portable Aerosol System. It has a regular outlet plug in, car/lighter plug in and a battery pack. It's a bit larger than a I-phone.

[CantWaitToGoAgain]

For those of you that neb, what do you do to properly sterilize your neb cup pieces. My son is 3yo and we were instructed to sterilize (using a special microwavable bag, micro and water) his neb cup pieces before his treatments. My question is...how do you do this when out and about at the parks?

[disfan07]

Originally Posted by CantWaitToGoAgain

For those of you that neb, what do you do to properly sterilize your neb cup pieces. My son is 3yo and we were instructed to sterilize (using a special microwavable bag, micro and water) his neb cup pieces before his treatments. My question is...how do you do this when out and about at the parks?

We've never sterilized in the microwave. We've never had a problem and my pulmonologist and allergist have never told me anything different. We do Wash out with vinegar and water.

[CantWaitToGoAgain]

Good to know! After reading your reply, I Googled it. I was concerned about park travel so I will be sure to check with my sons Dr. before our trip to the world.
Thank you again for the info.

[pugdog]

As an respiratory therapist I will put in my 2 cents

I would recommend either the Omeron or my faverate Aeroneb Go. They both give good treatments.

CantWaitToGoAgain as far as cleaning you really only need to do the microwave thing at the end of the day. You do not need to do it before every treatment. I would rinse it out after a treatment with water. perferably not tap water if you can help it.

[CantWaitToGoAgain]

Thank you too for the helpful information.

[firemanslady09]

My son has had three different portable nebs. We always bring it into the park for treatments. I do not sterilize while at Disney, just rinse well with bottled water while we are there. He has the respironics with battery currently.