The nebulizer business is confusing because it seems like every doctor who recommends nebulizing for COVID (or other respiratory viruses) gives different instructions. I had to patch together info and instructions from several different sources including my family's doctor. Here's what I distilled and ultimately did:
The nebulizer business is confusing because it seems like every doctor who recommends nebulizing for COVID (or other respiratory viruses) gives different instructions. I had to patch together info and instructions from several different sources including my family's doctor. Here's what I distilled and ultimately did:
You need the kind of nebulizer that sits on the table and plugs into an outlet. (The handheld, battery-operated kind isn't good enough.) Where I lived, the pharmacy wouldn't sell a nebulizer without a prescription, so my family's doc prescribed a good nebulizer (we got the Omron Comp A-I-R Compressor Nebulizer NE-C801). The doc ordered a mask kit for each family member. (Don't use a mouthpiece or a nosepiece; you need a mask.) The doc also ordered a box of sterile saline in little 3 mL pods; the label says "Sodium Chloride Inhalation Solution, USP 0.9% for Respiratory Therapy, Rx Only, Sterile, One 3mL Unit-Dose Vial." The pods are individually wrapped. I bought a small bottle of 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide at a local health food store (don't use very old peroxide. because over time, peroxide reverts back to plain water). We got a 1 mL oral syringe from the pharmacy to measure the peroxide.
One saline pod, plus peroxide, works well for a 10-15 minute treatment. According to one doc, the strongest solution most people tolerate is 0.6 mL of 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide in 3 mL (one pod) of saline solution. (He said this is a 0.5% solution.) I started right out with this solution and did fine; my lungs loved it. But if you want to be cautious, you could start with just 0.2 mL of peroxide for a treatment and work up. It's a good idea to do a 10-15 minute treatment four times per day (one upon waking, one at bedtime, and two nicely spaced in between).
I wash mask and rinse the tube well after each treatment, shake as much water as possible out of the tube, then hang things up to air dry. I don't do the fancy disinfection procedure the nebulizer instruction book talks about, because I'm lazy. Maybe you should do better than I do, and ask your doc for guidance on this aspect of things.
I find the mask doesn't fit well to my face, even with the head strap uncomfortably tight, so I skip the strap and hold the mask on using both hands (one on each side). The nebulizer is noisy. 10-15 minutes of this is seriously boring. I recommend nebulizing in front of your computer with funny cat videos playing for entertainment.
OMG why do you need a f*cking chemistry degree to do this? I asked my sister about it (a PA) and even she was like, "I don't do it because it's too confusing." THANK YOU so much for taking the time to write this out; I am going to print it and try to track down all of the appropriate pieces...
I'm glad you saw my comment and found it helpful, Jenna! I think you'll be able to get everything you need online without a prescription. If you have questions as you go along, post them in a comment and I'll answer them if I can.
YOU ARE SO KIND I COULD CRYYYYYYYYYY THANK YOU! (And I do try to read every comment and respond when necessary/appropriate... but this week I *am* sort of fuzzy so all bets are off...)
The nebulizer business is confusing because it seems like every doctor who recommends nebulizing for COVID (or other respiratory viruses) gives different instructions. I had to patch together info and instructions from several different sources including my family's doctor. Here's what I distilled and ultimately did:
You need the kind of nebulizer that sits on the table and plugs into an outlet. (The handheld, battery-operated kind isn't good enough.) Where I lived, the pharmacy wouldn't sell a nebulizer without a prescription, so my family's doc prescribed a good nebulizer (we got the Omron Comp A-I-R Compressor Nebulizer NE-C801). The doc ordered a mask kit for each family member. (Don't use a mouthpiece or a nosepiece; you need a mask.) The doc also ordered a box of sterile saline in little 3 mL pods; the label says "Sodium Chloride Inhalation Solution, USP 0.9% for Respiratory Therapy, Rx Only, Sterile, One 3mL Unit-Dose Vial." The pods are individually wrapped. I bought a small bottle of 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide at a local health food store (don't use very old peroxide. because over time, peroxide reverts back to plain water). We got a 1 mL oral syringe from the pharmacy to measure the peroxide.
One saline pod, plus peroxide, works well for a 10-15 minute treatment. According to one doc, the strongest solution most people tolerate is 0.6 mL of 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide in 3 mL (one pod) of saline solution. (He said this is a 0.5% solution.) I started right out with this solution and did fine; my lungs loved it. But if you want to be cautious, you could start with just 0.2 mL of peroxide for a treatment and work up. It's a good idea to do a 10-15 minute treatment four times per day (one upon waking, one at bedtime, and two nicely spaced in between).
I wash mask and rinse the tube well after each treatment, shake as much water as possible out of the tube, then hang things up to air dry. I don't do the fancy disinfection procedure the nebulizer instruction book talks about, because I'm lazy. Maybe you should do better than I do, and ask your doc for guidance on this aspect of things.
I find the mask doesn't fit well to my face, even with the head strap uncomfortably tight, so I skip the strap and hold the mask on using both hands (one on each side). The nebulizer is noisy. 10-15 minutes of this is seriously boring. I recommend nebulizing in front of your computer with funny cat videos playing for entertainment.
I hope this is helpful!
OMG why do you need a f*cking chemistry degree to do this? I asked my sister about it (a PA) and even she was like, "I don't do it because it's too confusing." THANK YOU so much for taking the time to write this out; I am going to print it and try to track down all of the appropriate pieces...
I'm glad you saw my comment and found it helpful, Jenna! I think you'll be able to get everything you need online without a prescription. If you have questions as you go along, post them in a comment and I'll answer them if I can.
YOU ARE SO KIND I COULD CRYYYYYYYYYY THANK YOU! (And I do try to read every comment and respond when necessary/appropriate... but this week I *am* sort of fuzzy so all bets are off...)