Nebulizers at First Aid

[karajeboo]

My FIL has COPD but won't take his breathing treatments on a regular basis and I doubt he'll bring his nebulizer into the park. Does First Aid have these in case of emergency?

 

[kimsuenew]

I look forward to the answer as well, as both our son and myself have asthma, which can be triggered by allergies, exercise, humidity, ect... It would be nice to simply bring the tiny medication vials as opposed to all. Everyone would need a new mouth/tube apparatus each time though, so I bet not, however I am hopeful and will eagerly await a resonse as well!

 

[LauraVV]

I don't know the answer to this but would find this doubtful unless they are staffed by physicians. Nurses cannot dispense medications without a physician order. It wouldn't be responsible of a provider to dispense medication without a thorough examination a health history.

 

[kimsuenew]

I don't know the answer to this but would find this doubtful unless they are staffed by physicians. Nurses cannot dispense medications without a physician order. It wouldn't be responsible of a provider to dispense medication without a thorough examination a health history.[/QUOTE]

I think you are a bit confused by the post perhaps. No one would dispense medicine, people that use neb machines have small, sealed, one time use vials that are emptied into the conected hose/breathing apparatus.

Our (DS & I) asthma meds come 100 vials in a box and are very transportable, our nebulizer is not. If I were to put it into a backpack, basically it and our tubing, would be all the backpack could carry. I know there are smaller ones, the one we have is all that our insurance would provide.

All that a provided nebulizer in a First Aid station would do is A. Simply be the way medicine is delivered to that person and B Keep the person using it from having to provide their own/carry it at the parks! The person needing to use it would always have their own meds!

 

[mikehn]

This doesnt answer your question but I thought Id mention it. This year my wife got an Omron Micro NEU22 that is cordless, tubeless, battery operated, silent, and fits in the palm of her hand. She takes it everywhere with her. Awesome product. Your insurance might cover some of it and they can be found on the internet fairly cheap.

 

[LauraVV]

No one would dispense medicine, people that use neb machines have small, sealed, one time use vials that are emptied into the conected hose/breathing apparatus.

Our (DS & I) asthma meds come 100 vials in a box and are very transportable, our nebulizer is not.

All that a provided nebulizer in a First Aid station would do is A. Simply be the way medicine is delivered to that person and B Keep the person using it from having to provide their own/carry it at the parks!

I didn't misunderstand the post. My daughter has severe persistent asthma and I'm a nurse. We don't go anywhere without a nebulizer. One needs a script for the nebulizer itself, not just the medication. If you have asthma you need to keep a nebulizer with you at all times. In the middle of an asthma attack it would be dangerous to take the time to find a first aid station.

We have a portable nebulizer. It's small and convenient. I found it was less expensive to purchase it myself on ebay than to get it with insurance as they didn't want to pay for the battery. The battery from the DME company cost less than a new one on ebay. We've been through 3 portable Omrons and currently have portable Pari.

I am a bit anal about good control and being safe with asthma. My daughter, at ten, takes more than the highest adult dose of Advair.

 

[mechurchlady]

Can a person go to First Aid for a free nubulizer treatment?
That was answered with NO because they require presciption medications that are set for each individual person. Adding to that I say that a nebulizer one person might need more or less medicine than another person.

What would happen if the Father-in-Law had a need for a nebulizer while on vacation? The rescue squad would be called and he would go to the hospital, probably. It would be like a diabetic person with sugars at 400 and not having insulin.

Thus the original poster will have to get the Father-in-Law to take his nebulizer and copies of prescriptions with him on the trip. His going to the parks without a nebulizer is like a diabetic person going to the parks without insulin.

 

[Mary976]

We have rented a nebulizer before for DD, so we didn't have to take it on the plane. I can't remember which company we used, but we've done this several times with medical supply companies around the US. Usually they would have the doctor fax something and then they have you bring your own meds (saline, albuterol, or whatever you use). You also bring your own tubing. That being said, this was back in the day when the smallest nebs were big and heavy. If you have the option to get a small portable neb, I would second the opinion that they are great for travel.

Mary

 

[BeckyScott]

Hmmm.

We have a nebulizer at home. But at DS's school (and the other two public schools he's attended) the nurse's office has a nebulizer.

You have to provide your own vials and mask/tubing, with a script. But the actual physical nebulizer itself, the machine, is already there. So I'm not so sure that in our case, the nebulizer itself is prescription. The albuterol, yes. And the tubing and mask has a cootie factor so we have to supply our own. Fortunately, the ER lets us keep any that we've used, so we have a tidy stockpile of them. We prefer the dinosaur-face ones.

Having said that, we take ours with us. Well, we take it on big trips, and then we have an inhaler that I have with me all the time. But my fear, as another poster pointed out, is that it would take too long, be too far away. We haven't ever had a problem finding places to "borrow" an outlet, once people know why you need it they have no problem letting you hook up, and we have a power inverter in the car just in case.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

They do not have nebulizers at First Aid locations at the parks. However, if you need one it will be stored for you at no charge, and you can be given a private area for use.

 

[BabyFu18]

I second the Omron Micro NEU22 portable nebulizer, I have really bad asthma and that's what I'll be taking to the parks with me. If not, and you don't want to purchase a portable nebulizer then I suggest keeping a normal nebulizer at the hotel in case your FIL needs to go back and use it.