Purchasing a nebuliser for use at home

I have been advised to buy my own nebuliser for use at home not by my GP but by a Dr I know. They are going for about £30 on-line. Is this wise & will my GP give me the medicine to go in it? Thanks for reading.

S.Mama

[angievere]

Hi Shoppingmama, The subject of home nebs comes up quite often. There was a long thread on it not all that long ago - if you put Nebuliser in the Search box on left hand side that will bring up all the posts.

Doctors are generally against home nebs now - I was talking about it with my GP on Friday when I took my son for an appointment. He said they give a false sense of security and nebs should be administerd at hospital.So you will probably find that your GP/Consultant won't prescribe the nebules for home use. Best to discuss it with him though, just to check what your position is.

By the way, thanks for the PM, I am ok thanks apart from yet another cold !! I can't send you a PM because you have elected not to receive them. Hope you are feeling better. xx

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Hi

I would very much doubt it, I finally got one after many many years but it came with strings attached, I can only use it on hols as my experience in the Maldives left a lot to be desired! and when I go to a log cabin in the woods which is 30 mins drive before you get a phone signal!, I have also had permission to use it recently as the cold weather sets me off so going to A&E etc will only make it worse but I know when its worth the risk and dont use it as an alternative to seeking help just to help me get over attacks and the way my GP manages this is she wont put the vials on repeat prescription so I have to tell her if I have used it and when or take in the full expired ones to get new ones and only then do I get 5 at a time, this works well for us! but it has taken a few years of trust to build up between us to get to this stage.

Snowy

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It really depends on what your GP thinks, he may want to refer you to a chest consultant for more investigation or even to clarify your diagnosis. Thats what my GP did and I was sent to a localised specialist centre for asthma.

After it was OK'd by my GP I was finally given a nebuliser for use at home, but it was on the condition that I didnt leave my attacks too late before heading to A and E. It is quite right that GPs are wary of the subject as they can offer a false sense of security and can result in people leaving it too late and tragically deaths can occur this way.

Hope this helps

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im like the others in that i was told that i would rely on it too much and not go to hospital in time. it has been suggested a few times but it prob is best i dont have one as i hate hospitals and would just hammer that instead. hope you get sorted x

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Hi shoppingmama,

Like the others I would love to have a home neb but have been told no by my GP and my hospital consultant - the thinking they have is that if I'm poorly enough to need a neb then I need medical supervision. The thinking now seems to be against having home nebs and I'm pretty sure that if I bought one no-one would prescribe for me - best to discuss it with your own doc before spending the money I would say.

Feejay

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Unless it is prescribed by you chest dr dont go there it can be so dangerous having a neb at home as you become over complacent and end up not seeking help soon enough.

I was prescribed 1 many years ago and no i rely on it to keep me out of costa as i neb atrovent 4 times a day and am on 3hrly salbutamol as prescribed by my resp con -without this i would never escape!!

A home neb is really the last resort unless there are some very strong reasons for one-is you crash very quickly and live a long way fromhelp.

As for buying one for 30 pounds i certainly wouldnt trust one that cheap.

Finally after looking at your profile i see you are on minimal medication so if your asthma is problematic then you need to be reviewed by your GP or asthma nurse but certainly from my knowledge and experience there is no way a GP would prescibe nebs without trying different meds first

please do listen to everyones advice for your own safety- stay well