Traveling with Pari eFlow

[Nervous1]

Hi Everybody,

For those of you who use the PARI eFlow (or other variation's of PARI's vibrating mesh) nebulizer, how do you travel with it. It's true that it's tiny, quiet and amazingly fast. However, you have to use an electric baby bottle sterilizer on the nebulizer heads after each use to sterilize them and keep the heads from getting clogged. The sterilizer is huge, and definitely not something I can take when I travel. Since the heads are metal it's not possible to sterilize in the microwave.

Before buying the electric baby bottle sterilizer I tried soaking the heads in alcohol between uses. That didn't stop the heads from getting clogged unfortunately.

When I sterilized them in boiling water on the stove, I almost burned down the house and I completely melted the heads ... because I forgot about them. My stupidity I know.

Anyway, any advice about how to travel with the eFlow?

Thanks so much!

 

[Melissa75]

What about those microwave bags? If you'll have access to microwaves in a hotel room...
My Avent 4-in-1 sterilizer has two choices of containers that fit on the heating element. One is fairly small. Is this what you have?

 

[stephen]

Nervous1,

Since the eFlow head contains metal, I would NOT put it in a microwave oven!

When traveling, I just rinse the nebulizers in hot water after each use, and thoroughly wash and soak them in hot soapy water once a day. While this may not be "ideal", I don't think it has hurt me during my travels, which have lasted up to three weeks. I also did not have any problem with the eFlow head cloging, since the treatment times remained constant.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[hammerpocket]

Maybe rinse them in hot water to keep unclogged, then sterilize in alcohol?

If you get a new nebulizer handset with each order (as with Cayston from CF Services), you can save them so you have multiple clean nebulizers each day. I use three at a time, so I don't have to worry about cleaning and/or sterilizing between each dose (3x/day). After veery three refills of Cayston, I have a new set of three nebulizers to use (and throw out the previous three).

 

[Nervous1]

Thanks for all your ideas. So far soaking in alcohol when traveling is the only solution I've come up with also.

Unfortunately I'm paying full price out of pocket for the heads (and the unit itself), and they are very expensive. I would imagine that for those of you getting new heads regularly this is much less of an issue. However, I try to take REALLY good care of the heads so they'll last me as long as possible.

Are the heads that you're throwing away really unusable? If not, maybe I could take some off your hands so I could have backups. Although, it's probably not a good idea to share between patients even though we are sterilizing them.

Thanks everybody!

 

[stephen]

I'm surprised that you do not receive a "complimentary" eFlow head with each Cayston refill. Perhaps it's the way your doctor wrote the perscription.

I would speak with your pharmacy to see why you don't get the "complimentary" heads. In fact, the first time I received Cayston, the entire nebulizer was supplied without cost.

 

[Nervous1]

Hi Stephen,

I'm on colistin and hypertonic saline, and I am not currently living in the US. Thus, unfortunately I pay out of pocket.


Also, I have bronchiectasis but not CF so my insurance doesn't cover many of the treatments I would be entitled to if I had CF.

 

[Chipper]

I have several strategies as I travel a lot:

1) DON'T! I use the Pari Trek S and bring a bunch of cups. Use once and sterilize when you get home. Make sure to bring the car charger if you are on business trips requiring you to rent cars, etc. Sometimes I bring an inverter if the car lighter does not crank out enough amps. You can get these at any auto shop or truck stop.

2) I'm told by Foundation Care (FC) that you only need three things to maintain the eFlow: Alcohol, distilled water and dish soap. They even say that any transparent liquid soap will do. therefore:

- Use the hotel shampoo instead of dish soap as long as it is transparent. (I bet it 's the same product)
- Use bottled water. This raised the question of what is the difference between AquaFina and distilled water? I've not looked it up but but I bet the difference is minimal. I would think the issue is mineral content. I'd imagine you would not want to use tap water if you're in an area with high mineral content or where water softener is used. (I look forward to debate on this topic)

- Now comes the alcohol. FC says I should keep the metal piece in a small container filled with enough alcohol to cover the metal disk. This is way below the TSA 3oz limit, so problem solved. I've tried carrying little bottles of alcohol but they seem to open in flight.

Charles

 

[Liza]

We bring along a plastic bowl with a top and a cup that is microwaveable. After washing the parts with hot soapy water and rising, I will boil a cup of water in the microwave. I then pour the water into the bowl with the lid and put in the mesh piece, cover and swirl. I leave it in for 5 or so minutes. I consider that "sterilized" enough for travel. It takes approx. 2 -2.5 min to bring a cup or water to a boil depending on the wattage of the hotel microwave.

 

[Nervous1]

Those are all really good ideas. Greatly appreciated!

Some interesting observations regarding the eFlow. When I first got it a couple of months ago I cleaned in soapy water and then rinsed the heads with distilled water (lots of mineral deposits in local tap water) and soaked in alcohol between uses. Within 3 days the unit had stopped turning itself off after treatments and treatment times started to increase.

A little over a week ago I bought an electric baby bottle sterilizer, which I use after each treatment after I clean and rinse the heads. So far so good! Machine continues to turn off when treatment is complete, and so far treatment time has remained short.

 

[Beccamom]

When I don't have a microwave to boil water I have a collapsible goal meant for camping and a plug in metal coil that I place in the bowl with water. It takes about 4 minutes to boil and I use this water in my sinus rinse bottle after it cools. I use bottled water if available to decrease how much bad stuff I am trying to boil out.

Those are all really good ideas. Greatly appreciated!

Some interesting observations regarding the eFlow. When I first got it a couple of months ago I cleaned in soapy water and then rinsed the heads with distilled water (lots of mineral deposits in local tap water) and soaked in alcohol between uses. Within 3 days the unit had stopped turning itself off after treatments and treatment times started to increase.

A little over a week ago I bought an electric baby bottle sterilizer, which I use after each treatment after I clean and rinse the heads. So far so good! Machine continues to turn off when treatment is complete, and so far treatment time has remained short.

 

[rebeccarph]

Has anyone tried Control III solution? It is a disinfectant that has been approved and actually recommended by Pari for the Altera (eFlow) system. However, the metal head cannot be disinfected in this solution and you will have to rinse and place in alcohol for disinfecting. Is a great solution to use for all the other pieces and parts that need disinfecting. You can buy an 8OZ bottle for about $10 and once you mix with water it can be used for up to a week for disinfecting. There is a good video on how to clean and use the Trio or the Altera on Foundation Care's webstie at www.foundcare.com