Nebuliser and travelling abroad

[Zstar]

Hi

I have just been to seen my consultant and he has prescribed a nebuliser at home.

Just wondering has any one traveled abroad with one, what did you need to do ? And any recommendations for travel insurance?

Thanks

[Hidden]

I have taken my nebuliser on ships and to Europe. You may need a european plug adaptor for Europe. America is more difficult as their electricity is different. Most airlines will give you free extra hand baggage weight allowance to take in the cabin. I have a small portable one which I can take on short holidays or to US as it has a battery and is less bulky to carry. Insurance companies have not been interested whether I nebulise or not when I have declared my bronchiectasis. Others may have a different experience with COPD.Have a great holiday.

[Zstar in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your response, really helpful 😊

[Balloo]

Yes to Africa Egypt in suitcase have to explain not bomb I hope u use asited passage ..

[Hidden]

Hi,

Depending on what type of nebuliser you have, some airlines require it to be declared if you’re going to use (or carry) it in the cabin, so best to check the website of the airline you’ll be using. We recently travelled to the US with my daughter’s eflow in handluggage, but sonic nebulisers don’t need to be declared to the airline (but you should notify security staff when you put your bag through x-Ray) and we weren’t going to use it in flight but at the layover airport, primarily because cabin air is recirculated and I didn’t want to expose other people to mucolytic and antibiotic particles if it wasn’t absolutely unavoidable. I’d also suggest you consider whether or not you might need to be assessed as fit to fly by your gp or the respiratory team. If you’re carrying medication in your hand luggage, then make sure it’s in officially labelled boxes - I transferred 5 days worth of nebs and tabs into smaller, plain boxes provided by our chemist, but affixed official pharmacy labels to the front of them taken from the original containers. I also kept a repeat script slip and a hospital letter with them. Even so, at Heathrow, I was frisked, scanned, swabbed and the bag was inspected and swabbed to ensure it wasn’t illicit substances. The remainder carried in the hold were in a Tupperware box with a copy of her repeat prescription and copies of the letter from her consultant detailing her medication and diagnoses.

In terms of insurance, we used Towergate and they came out almost £400 cheaper than the next best price for 2 weeks in the US for both of us - I have a relatively minor heart condition and prior intracranial surgery, my 10 yo has multiple diagnoses including cystic fibrosis, and had had multiple unplanned admissions for IV antibiotics in the 12 months before we travelled as well as a recent portacath replacement: it cost about £200 for £5m medical cover, which I was really pleased and impressed with, although I was surprised to find that the premium was higher for my existing conditions than hers. Their medical screening team also seemed to know what I was talking about and asked a lot of pertinent questions to understand the extent and impact of her cf that other providers I’ve tried didn’t - quite often, the minute you’ve had more than 2 admissions for IVs in 12 months, regardless of whether or not they were planned to maintain good health or unplanned to treat an unexpected infection, they instantly add a massive premium.

Good luck, hope that’s been at least somewhat useful.

Charlie

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Charlie, thank you for the travel insurance recommendation. I have gone through dozens of them and am sick and tired of their deliberate ignorance of bronchiectasis and reliance on stock tick box questions designed for copd. I will try Towergate next time.

[Zstar in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for reply, your information was so helpful . what is a sonic nebuliser does it mean battery powered I have been looking at the omron micro air 100

Thanks again 😊

[Hidden in reply to Zstar]

You’re very welcome!

Sonic (short for ultrasonic, and sometimes referred to as vibrating mesh) refers to the way the nebuliser turns the fluid into vapour. There are two main types: ultrasonic, such as the Pari Eflow or the iNeb made by Phillips, and atomiser or jet nebs that are often referred to as compressor nebs - most nebulisers fall into the compressor category, and are commonly what are given out by the NHS for many respiratory conditions. Nebs like the world traveller, pariboy, sprint etc. are compressors. The omron microair is a sonic, but I don’t have any experience or real knowledge of how good it is, what it’s limitations are, nor how it stacks up in terms of spec and drug delivery performance against the much more expensive iNeb and Eflow, although it seems to be quite popular.

Sonic nebs generally have no moving parts and don’t draw air from the atmosphere to create vapour, instead they use an electrical current to generate very high frequency sound waves, which then oscillate a mesh at high speeds that vaporise the fluid to create a mist. The pros are that they’re very compact and, when working well, they’re extremely quick - you can deliver 4ml in under 5 minutes with an eflow. They run virtually silently too, and some can run off both mains or battery, and don’t need servicing the way hospitals do with compressors. I know the eflow and iNeb are suitable for virtually any neb available on prescription (over the years, we’ve used our eflow for mucolytics, antibiotics, HT saline, salbutamol, and I think on a couple of occasions we even put atrovent through it in hospital), but you’d need to check before buying that the one you’re looking at will meet your needs in terms of what you want to put through it.

[Zstar in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much, the hospital have given me a nebuliser for Home but it’s really heavy and bulky so wanted one to take away and the omron microair kept coming up.

You have been so helpful thank you 😊

[andyrrc]

Hi I travel a lot with work and so far have not had any issues - I just keep a small sonic portable one for my regular use and it seems to work ok.

[Zstar in reply to andyrrc]

Hi thank you for your reply, does a sonic one mean it’s battery operated like omoron compact thanks

[andyrrc]

Just had a look at them and yes very similar. At the moment mine is in a box that I had shipped here to Kazakhstan so cannot check the make but from memory I got it from the pharmacy in the town I live in the UK

Can't even remember the name of the pharmacy but it is the one that advertises on tv for 'we deliver your prescription'

[Zstar in reply to andyrrc]

Thank you that’s really helpful, I just didn’t want to spend a lot of money abs it not be the right one 😊