OT: Nebulizers?

ccjones

New member
Do any of you own a nebulizer for your children? DH and I are probably going to buy one for J so we don't have to keep borrowing one from the pediatrician's office. I was wondering if anyone could recommend and/or warn me about various brands.

ETA: I was looking at the Mabis Mist II Ultrasonic Nebulizer. It's small, lightweight, and silent. I thought it might be nice in case I had to throw it in J's diaper bag.
 
ADS

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
I have one, but I couldn't even tell you what brand it is. Our insurance bought it for DS when he was 1 and he had RSV. We only used it for a couple days and it has been stored back in our closet ever since then. It just makes me wonder if you can't get your insurance to pay for one or if you could even find a used one (like ours is) much more reasonable. I would even send you ours, but I like to keep it 'just in case' since we plan on having more children and I don't think insurance would be willing to buy us another one. When my brothers were little and had terrible asthma, my mom had to buy one, but then she found a second identical one at a garage sale for $2! I must say, though, having one that is really silent would be very nice for middle of the night treatments (if you ever have to do that).
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I have a nebulizer for myself and hate the one I have. I have a DeVibillis (???). It is HUGE and LOUD. I wouldn't recommend it.
 

Starlight

Senior Community Member
I was just thinking about the one hiding in the back of my closet- 'tis brand new... but our insurance paid for it... I'd offer it to you, but heaven forbid we actually need it, and we have 2, maybe 3 with asthma in our house.

I don't know what they cost new, but what we have would be perfect for just tossing in the diaper bag. It is literally about the size of my wallet, and has available adaptors for the car and everything.

I can barely see the box in the closet, all I can see is TransNeb. I think this is it: http://medindustries.com/pdfs/TransNeb5000Bslick2.pdf

HTH
 

Alicia-N-2SafeBugs

Senior Community Member
Definitely check and see if your insurance will cover the cost. Our insurance company did when dh needed to buy one (all we had to pay was a copay). We have an "Omrom CompAir XLT." It's small, but it's definitely not quiet. I would so get a silent one if I had the choice!
 

Splash

New member
We have one, and insurance paid for ours as well. Charlie hates hates hates it, but it does the thing.
 

ccjones

New member
Thanks for everyone's replies. There's a 24-hour pharmacy that sells medical equipment about 20 minutes from our house, and I sent DH out this morning to buy the Mabis nebulizer. I'm sure my health insurance will cover at least part of the cost of it, but then I got to thinking.

I just checked and I have $200 left in my healthcare flex account. I'm not sure if you all know how those accounts work, but you get money deducted pre-tax from your paycheck and it gets set aside in an account to be used for out-of-pocket medical expenses. The key is you need to use the money by the end of the year or you lose it; you don't get reimbursed for whatever money is leftover in the account. So, the nebulizer was $180 and since it was purchased in 2006, I'll be able to submit a claim and get reimbursed for it. I guess that means I have to make a CVS run today and spend the last $20 in the account on OTC medicine for myself and J! LOL
 

ccjones

New member
Oh yeah, DH tried it out already on J. I was sitting at my computer with my back turned for a good minute until I looked over my shoulder and saw DH sitting on the sofa (about 10 feet away) with J giving him his treatment. I didn't even hear the nebulizer, I just saw puffs of steam/medicine coming out of the face mask. So, it is definitely quiet and it's really small light, under a pound. Looks like it's going to fit great in J's diaper bag too!
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
That is incredible how small and quiet it is!!!

My nebulizer is about 14 inches wide, about 10 inches deep, about 12 inches tall (yes, like a small suitcase!!!) and is EXTREMELY loud. I have to increase the TV volume from 14 to 38 in order to hear the TV while I am giving myself a neb treatment.

I am SO jealous of how small and quiet yours is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
As outdated as my nebulizer is :D, I do have a pretty cool peak flow meter! Up until about a year or two ago, I was using an old-school peak flow meter. Now I have an electronic one! :)

I still use old school spacers, nebulizers, and inhalers, though. :(
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
The one we have is the same brand as Patriot has (DeVilbiss Pulmo-Aide ). Its not that big and loud, but it definitely isn't as small as the Mabis one either. It sounds like you got a very nice small one (and the quiet feature must be SO nice), and yay for you for remembering to use the money in your flex account!
 

ccjones

New member
Patriot,
The nebulizer in your links is the SAME model that my pediatrician's office lends out. It's not a *bad* nebulizer like you said, but it is very big, and oh boy, is it loud! DH and I are ecstatic about this Mabis nebulizer because J doesn't seem to mind (as much) getting his treatments. We think he might have been scared of the nebulizer from the ped's office since it was so loud. I know for a fact one of my dogs (the great dane LOL) was scared of it. Whenever we would fire it up, he would run upstairs with his tail between his legs! LOL

We don't need a peak flow meter for J yet because we're not sure if he has asthma or not. He just seems to wheeze and get a nasty smoker's cough whenever he catches cold and those are the only times we need to use the nebulizer.
 
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Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
You're right-- the Pulmo Aide is not a bad nebulizer. It is just SO loud and pretty big. But it does the job, so that is all that matters. :)

Your poor little guy! I hope he doesn't have asthma. While there are a lot worse conditions to have, I would never wish a chronic medical condition on anyone, especially a child. Most people with asthma can live a normal life, and it is usually a controllable condition, but I still wish no one had to have it. I'll keep my fingers crossed that your little's one reactions to colds are a temporary condition. :)
 

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