Just seen a doc.
He reckons you shouldnt have your own nebulizer.
Not only that, he went onto say
If you have an attack, ring 999. An ambulance will be with you in 8 minutes, so yoi are wasting time using your own neb, & could cause more probs unless you have oxygen to mix with neb meds
Anyone any ideas on this??
It sounds like he is talking about using a home neb to treat asthma attacks. My opinion woul be to fone 999 and take neb also. Most people with nebs have instructions as when to seek medical
attention. I also use my neb for daily management of my symptoms. Without it I would b in hospital a Lot more. Does he want to pay for my care. It's cheaper for me being at home !!!! So strongly disagree with him on that one
I also disagree, if it weren't for my nebs, I wouldn't be at home, EVER. Yes there are possible problems without oxygen to mix in, BUT on the other side, I was told you can have too much oxygen and that can cause just as many problems.
I do use my nebs in attacks, BUT I have very strict instructions as to phone an ambulance if I am not better after 2 nebs as that is when my oxygen levels start dropping. Do you already use a nebuliser?
I also disagree, if it weren't for my nebs, I wouldn't be at home, EVER. Yes there are possible problems without oxygen to mix in, BUT on the other side, I was told you can have too much oxygen and that can cause just as many problems.
I do use my nebs in attacks, BUT I have very strict instructions as to phone an ambulance if I am not better after 2 nebs as that is when my oxygen levels start dropping. Do you already use a nebuliser?
hi howie
For general asthmatic care a nebuilser should not be needed. You should be able to get adiqute relief from using an mdi blue inhaler with a spacer. If this is not providing you with relief for four hours then you should seek medical advise as you many need increased preventer. You have not stated what other medication you are on. Are you on a brown inhaler? A purple inhaler? An orange inhaler? A green inhaler? Do you take tablets daily for your asthma?
A nebuilser at home for asthma is considered as a last resort. You should not need one at home unless you are a severe asthmatic is the basic standard guidelines for asthma. If you need a nebuilser it means you should be in hospital receiving treatment and being watched and monitored reguarly. I have personally done a lot of research in to this in the past and wish i could just be treated with inhalers.
Yes some of use on the forum have nebuilsers at home but we have strict guidelines for there use and for when to seek medical advise we are also under respiratory consultants. People with severe asthma generally have a lot more free time so seem to post more reguarly.
Hope that helps you and i have not stood on any ones toes or upset anyone. I tried just to state facts.
Plumie
I agree with Plumie, a nebuliser at home is only ever used as a LAST resort after everything else has been tried.
Do you use a neb already?
i have both oxygen and nebs and use my oxygen 24/7 and my nebs as regular treatmet. In emergency's i neb untill i get to hospital or ambo arrives... i think i would be alot worse if i didnt have my nebs! i diagree too and agree with plumie
Hi, in reply re using home neb.
I use purple steroid inhaler
Also a white one with green lid
Plus my blue reliever.
I have had asthma for too long.
In the beginning when things got real bad, my wife called doc out as surgery was few doors down.
He brought neb & i went through normal process to stabise asthma.
During this time
Doc treated me at home several times with neb & steroid tabs
Ended up in hospital many times due to asthma attacks
Seen specialists at hospital to sort meds to help control asthma
My routine is
2 puffs clenil modulite morn & night
1 puff atimos modulite morn & night
Salbutamol inhaler as needed
Montelukast 10mg tab each night
Yes, i do use spacer chamber for all
If i have attack
40mg prednisolone for 7 days
20mg pred for another 7 days
Antibiotics if needed
My own doc wrote letter for me to buy neb so i didnt need to pay vat
No, they couldnt lend me one
Yes my own doc prescribed ventolin nebules
Yes it took rather a long time to sort out my action plan & treatment
No. I didnt just decide to just go and buy a nebuliser on a whim one day thinking it was magic.
No i dont smoke
Yes. It has taken longer than 8 min to reach me in early hours of morning even when my wife rang immediately
Yes, i do control some little attacks using blue inhaler with spacer
No, i dont just get a little wheezy & use my neb for the sake of it
I know how to live with my asthma.
I do know when im in trouble.
I am waiting for an appointment with the same doc at the same hospital i went to see many times over the years
Yes i have an occasional attack where i use 1 nebule at home
Yes i monitor my peak flow readings
Also, the cold weather seemed to trigger my last attack.
My wife and i were visiting my disabled daughter in Hull, she is 27 years old & cannot get out much on her own. We visit twice a week most weeks. We bring her home whenever she wants. She wants to have her own life which is why she lives in Hull.
My attack was distressing for her. She knows i have asthma, but she still sees me, Dad, the one she can count on to be there when she needs me.
Did i use my neb to treat myself?
Yes, i did.
Would anyone want to wait for an ambulance instead? Would you?
My eldest daughter is a bank manager. She works hard. She is 30 yrs old but they are both still my little girls & i dont want to gamble on a 8 minute ambulance & risk leaving my wife and daughters.
Finally
No, i dont want to die like my asthmatic sister.
She was taken from us 13 years ago, leaving her two sons without their mother. She was only 38 years old.
I think the Doctor was thinking more along the lines of an acute episode rather than the fourly hourly nebs needed by us at the severe end. I too have been told if I'm struggling despite having two back to back then calll 999. If you were under a consultant and told to neb 4 hourly to maintain your asthma that Doctor wouldn't have said that.
Yes i can understand what you are saying flowerfair
I not need meds that often thankfully.
I only use if cant control with blue & spacer
Still call for ambulance & use one neb to help until come.
Not doing instead of normal inhaler etc, only in emergency
The doctors point on with oxygen would have been because when you are having an attack generally your oxygen levels fall. (generally not always) so having a neb with oxygen would in that case be more benefical to you. I guess using the neb while waiting for an ambulance is only something you can decide on yourself. It is up to you whether you follow medical advise in the long run.
You will also be living in fear because of your sister. Just remeber you can hope it wont happen to you but sometimes it is better to be cautious than not. If your doctor prescribes you nebules for in emergencies then he must be in agreeance with you using them.
Sorry if i upset you howie it was not my intention!
Plumie
Howie, I've bumped up an old thread by koolkat (the relevant bit of the first post is pasted below) and I think that the answer to the oxygen question is that there is a ""theoretical risk"" of oxygen desaturation whilst using an air-driven neb in an *acute asthma attack emergency with life threatening features*. But if you've been prescribed nebules a strict protocol is usually given about when to get help and it should then be safe to use your own nebulizer.
""However, later the Guideline does recommend that the nebulised route (oxygen-driven) is used for the delivery of high-dose beta agonists in acute asthma with life threatening features. Nebulisers have however certainly been used in this situation to deliver high-dose inhaled drugs. If a nebuliser is used in the emergency situation, there are theoretical risks of oxygen desaturation whilst using air-driven compressors. Therefore nebulisers should be oxygen-driven with a ""high flow regulator"" fitted to the cylinder in order to provide the necessary flow rate of 6 l/min.
It is strange that they give you nebs and then say its not safe. In the wrong hands, any medicines can be unsafe, and your doctors would have decided and given you the best directions.
Maybe you could ask them to clarify what they meant?
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