What can be attached to the walls (medical equipment related)?

[BabyFu18]

Odd question here, but I'm looking for something I can attach to the wall at the resort to hold up the tubing for my nebulizer machine. At home I use large push pins in the wall (2) to hold the tubing of my nebulizer (it has to be held up above my nebulizer or it kinks and stops working), but I don't want to use the push pins in our hotel room for fear they may say something about the small hole it'll leave in the wall.

I was thinking of using a couple command hooks (they are supposed to release from the wall without leaving damage behind) would that be okay? I've never used those before, but did buy a couple packs incase they might be allowed. I usually leave my machine hooked up all the time on the desk in the room and then rope the tubing over the light sitting on the desk but I'm looking for a better solution since we will be at WDW for a longer time this trip.

Aside from push pins or command hooks I can't think of anything else to use, any ideas what I should use that can just be left setup in the room without issue?

 

[SMD]

What about renting an IV pole?

 

[mamabunny]

The thing that worries me about the Command hooks is that some of the Resorts have wall treatments (like wallpaper or texture) that might not do well with a Command Hook.

Depending on the Resort, you might be able to utilize the headboard to drape the tubing, and not need to use pins or Command hooks.

Painter's tape (usually blue in color, available at Wal-Mart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) (get the real stuff - not the beige colored masking tape) might be able to hold the hose up if it is lightweight enough, without damaging any wall treatment, paint or furniture.

Failing that, could you (for example) pile up pillows on the bed to keep the hose kink-free? Housekeeping will bring you all the pillows you need... I can easily imagine ways to keep the hose from kinking, but they would all involve bringing along lots of supplies and/or a trip to the hardware store LOL

 

[OurBigTrip]

What about renting an IV pole?

Best idea yet.

 

[redberyl]

Can you use were masking tape and tape the tubing to the wall?,

 

[Baklava]

Painters tape. Convention hotels frequently write contracts with groups that forbid attaching anything to the wall but leave an exception for painters tape.

 

[Starwind]

I concur with staying away from the Command adhesives. They are great for long-term use at home, but they CAN damage surfaces and you don't want to risk that to property that is not yours. If they are unopened you should be able to return them.

Four suggestions:

The first is to consider trying a different type of tubing, if possible (I realize this is not always an option for many reasons). I have used nebulizers for 30 years and never had a problem with the tubing kinking unless the tubing was at the very end of its life and needed replacing. That said, some brands of tubing behaved much better than others. For example, I really like the Pari masks and tubing (which is what I use now for my compressor neb) compared to the "generic" cheap mask and tubing that was the only thing available when I was a kid.

Second: consider using a small amount of medical tape. In the hospital I see them using medical tape to hold all kinds of things to other things. Nexcare makes a really nice (but not cheap) silicone-adhesive based tape for sensitive skin that I have found leaves next to no residue: http://www.nexcare.com/wps/portal/3...-Sensitive-Skin-Tape?N=4326+3294603848&rt=rud However, you may find better success with just 3M paper tape as it is a better balance between stickyness and releasability than the sensitive stuff (which isn't so sticky). And, it will do double duty in that you will have a roll of it on hand for first aid reasons if needed. I HIGHLY caution against using waterproof first aid tape -- it is horrible for leaving residue on surfaces (probably why it sticks so well!); I have learned this lesson the hard way and wish that you do not repeat that mistake. The painters tape that others have suggested would also be a good choice.

Third: Elmer's Freestyle hooks. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They stick well, though I have found on surfaces like drywall and wallpaper they won't stay up for 24 hours (but they would stay up long enough for a neb treatment, you just may need to put them up each time, no big deal -- I would HIGHLY recommend experimenting at home so you get a good feel for how well they will work and how long they will stay up). They have little micro suction cups instead of adhesive. You could use them alone to string the tubing over, or, for example, put two near each other, string some paracord between them, and then hang the tubing over the paracord. [FYI, on tile surfaces they stay up amazingly well -- on our last DCL cruise we used two of them, one on each side of the alcove in the shower and strung special clothesline cord between them and then used it to hang dry clothes; stayed up the entire 7 days and worked very well].

Four: Stand your suitcase upright and pull the pull-handle all the way up. Drape the tubing over it, using a piece of paracord or tape to hold it in place so it won't slip off. You can move the suitcase around it get it in the optimal position and there is no risk of tape or anything else damaging hotel property. if needed to stretch the tubing a bit, you could even tape (or use paracord all the way around the case to hold it) the tubing near the bottom of the case, string it up over the pull-handle, taping/tying it there, then string it back down the other side and tape it in place before then bringing it over to the mask/human.

SW

 

[Starwind]

lso, depending on what resort you are staying at there may be a wall light overhead or beside the bed or a headboard that has a post of some sort. You could use a loop of paracord around either and then string the neb tubing through the loop. Removable and easy to replace (every time if you wanted to hide it away). There may be other things in the room you would likewise use.

For the suitcase idea in my previous post, you may need to sit it on a chair to get it high enough for your need.

Also, do you need to be in bed to do the treatment ? If not, many rooms have hooks in them (meant as coathooks). They usually are not conveniently located next to the chair in the room, but it is easy enough to relocate the chair over to it to sit on and loop the tubing over the hooks. Not the most comfy, though, depending how long the Tx is.

SW

 

[BabyFu18]

Thanks for all the ideas!

I am going to look into the painters tape and I'll just leave the command hooks at home. I am also going to look into the renting an IV pole and see how expensive that is.

As far as how long the treatments are and whatnot, I don't have to be in bed for them (at home I sit in a chair next to small table that holds my machine) so generally in hotels I put the machine on the desk and sit in a chair at the desk to take my treatments. They do generally last about 30 minutes (multiple times a day), so I like to leave the machine hooked up and on the desk so it's easy to get to when I need it. I think the painters tape or medical tape may be my best option if the IV pole doesn't work out. I'm going to try the tape here at home and see how it holds up, the tubing is lightweight so it should be fine.

I will ask about different tubing, I'm using a Phillips brand nebulizer machine but I'm not sure what brand my tubing is, I think it's the angle I sit at (chair is lower than table which holds the machine) that might be making the tubing kink and the best thing that we were told to do about it was keep the tubing held above the machine. That does work just fine at home but often times on the go in different hotels it doesn't always work.

Thanks again for all the suggestions, very inventive!

 

[minnie mum]

I like the painters tape idea, because it's chap, easy to find, and you could use several pieces if necessary. You can also easily find suction cups with hooks on them. We have them in our shower to hold the squeegee, loofah, and scrubbies.

 

[BabyFu18]

Will the suction cup hooks stick to the wallpaper in the rooms? I'll pick up some of those to test around our house too, but I don't have any wallpapered walls to test that out on (but I'll test it out on our painted walls).

 

[Starwind]

I will ask about different tubing, I'm using a Phillips brand nebulizer machine but I'm not sure what brand my tubing is, I think it's the angle I sit at (chair is lower than table which holds the machine) that might be making the tubing kink and the best thing that we were told to do about it was keep the tubing held above the machine. That does work just fine at home but often times on the go in different hotels it doesn't always work.

An idea that you could try to see if it works; I just experimented a bit here and hopefully it would work for you:

Usually when I use the compressor neb I end up kind of cupping the neb cup in my hand and then my trailing fingers basically trail down to the tubing -- if I get bored during a Tx I can play with the tubing a bit. But if one did that -- cup the neb cup in one hand and let the lower fingers keep the tubing in a proper line (instead of just hanging out or playing with the tubing -- e.g. feed the tubing down between the baby finger and its neighbour), then also add the second hand down around lap level to hold the tubing in proper straight alignment (or even, if you were sitting cross-legged you could use a foot to do that lower holding in place)... then maybe it wouldn't kink ? 'course it could be kinking at another location in which case this becomes moot. And by 30 minutes it might get uncomfortable... but it could be worth a try. And painters tape as a backup plan.

SW

 

[BabyFu18]

An idea that you could try to see if it works; I just experimented a bit here and hopefully it would work for you:

Usually when I use the compressor neb I end up kind of cupping the neb cup in my hand and then my trailing fingers basically trail down to the tubing -- if I get bored during a Tx I can play with the tubing a bit. But if one did that -- cup the neb cup in one hand and let the lower fingers keep the tubing in a proper line (instead of just hanging out or playing with the tubing -- e.g. feed the tubing down between the baby finger and its neighbour), then also add the second hand down around lap level to hold the tubing in proper straight alignment (or even, if you were sitting cross-legged you could use a foot to do that lower holding in place)... then maybe it wouldn't kink ? 'course it could be kinking at another location in which case this becomes moot. And by 30 minutes it might get uncomfortable... but it could be worth a try. And painters tape as a backup plan.

SW

The tubing kinks at the place where it comes out of the machine, the tubing will just fold right over where it's connected to the machine, that's why I have a pushpin in my wall above my machine, I pull the tubing up from the machine and lay it over the pushpin and let it drape down from there. I'll try to see if I can take a picture of it and add it to this thread. I use a mask for my treatments so usually while I'm doing my treatments I'm also doing other things (using my iPad, reading/writing, etc. if I had to sit with idle hands for 30 minutes multiple times a day I'd be so bored!

 

[FortForever]

This is so strange. I've had home nebulizers for about 25 - 30 years and never had this happen. I've had may different brands and styles of nebs and tubing / med kits from anywhere I happen to pick them up. Could it be the way you are storing the tubing? If not, I would consider looking into a different brand or style of nebulizer. This just shouldn't be a problem. Especially with you having to do 30 minute treatments several times per day, seems like a real inconvenience.

 

[Starwind]

Are you storing the tubing attached to the machine or do you take it off each time ?

An idea. Assuming you have some model of a Phillips Innospire, which seems to have nice upright sides per their website pictures:

Take a foot-long stiff ruler (plastic might be best) and tape it (probably in a couple places do it does not sway) to the side of the machine (could also use velcro strap(s), but it would depend on the design of the machine - you don't want to block any vent ports) so it is standing upright above the machine like a little pole. Lay the tubing up along it so it comes "up" off from the compressor and use a couple pieces of tape (or something like paracord or little velcro ties) to hold the tubing to the ruler. This should keep the tubing from kinking as it comes off the compressor because it will be going straight up, and hopefully it won't kink further along the line. And it makes it an easy and portable system so you could use it anywhere, at home or when traveling.

like this:

T
T
RT
RT
RT
RT
RT
RCCCCCC
RCCCCCC

R=ruler
T=rubing
C=compressor unit

Things other than a ruler might do the trick too (e.g. length of wooden dowel from hobby store/home depot/lowes), but I figure a ruler is probably on hand and easy to experiment with. if it works, you could improvise or explore with different things that might work better, especially for travel. Since the compressor vibrates you need to make sure whatever you use stays put and doesn't dance away.

For little velcro ties to hold the tubing to the "pole" you could use something like this: https://www.velcro.com/products/tie...ties#/?shape=59de549d21f74aa4832bae7a2f7a6d0e Velcro also sells them in nice pastel colours. The diagrams show attaching it to a cable, but just do the same in a couple placed to the tubing, then wrap the velcro around your "pole". Easy on, easy off and the velcro can stay tied to the tubing in storage.

Hmmm another idea... instead of on the table, put the nebulizer on the uncushioned seat of a hard backed chair and run the tubing up and over the back of the chair and to you. You could use the velcro ties to temporarily attach it to the chairback if desired.

I hope you are able to find a solution that works for you and is easy to do. And that lets you do things with your hands like read so you don't go stir crazy.

SW

 

[cobright]

If you look at the tube where it connects to the compressor it should be double thick for the first 2 inches or so (see pic). If not then tube has been cut to length and the single wall thickness is not supporting the tube well enough. You may need a new tube or you could get a few inches of the next size up and push it over the end of existing tube.

 

[BabyFu18]

I don't take the tubing off the machine, so I store it by just leaving it hanging on the hook on the wall, when I travel I do disconnect the tubing and roll it up to fit into a bag with the machine and my meds. My tube does look like the one you posted above, but the tubing gets pretty warm and pliable durning my treatments and that's when it wants to kink up on me. So to prevent that I just keep the tubing upright as much as possible so that if it does get warm it isn't a problem.

I'm seeing my doctor next week and it's time for me to get a new machine and tubing so I'm going to get a new prescription and see what the medical supply companies have to offer that might be better than what I currently have.

But in the mean time I've made a list of some items to buy next time I'm out to see if they'll work for me on vacation!

 

[Starwind]

FYI, I like the Just Nebulizers website (http://justnebulizers.com/ ) for getting info about nebulizers and their accessories -- I read what they have to say, then go to the manufacturer's site, and also read other online sites for things like reviews. Gives a good perspective on some of the options.

Good luck in finding a travel solution that works and in choosing a new nebulizer - hopefully you get some input !

SW

 

[CynJ]

Could use a regular old butter knife and some of that sticks to itself velcro (comes in a roll - they sell it in the summer in the garden section to use to tie plants to stakes) to keep that end straight.

But I'll be honest (after dealing with my mom's for years) - it really sounds like the tubing needs replacing. And from a health stand point it really should be changed out a few times a year.

 

[Kidanifan08]

I was going to suggest the suction cup hooks, as well. They are easy to attach to a mirror, picture with glass, smooth tile or window. They are really cheap and easy to find at most hardware stores.