Over Protective mother!!!

Hi all, as some of you may already know I have had a few bad moths with my asthma. I am on my fourth course of preds in the last three months having had 3 courses of antibiotics and my inhaler changed to seretide 500 with Singulair also added last week. I am sooooooo bored with my life revolving around my lungs. My poor mum is constantly worried about me and as we have recently arranged a holiday to the remotest parts of ........ mid Wales with my parents she is adamant that I should have a nebuliser to take with me. I have an excellent doctors surgery and hospital very close to me at home but although I am not at all sure about buying my own nebuliser I can see that it would put my entire family's minds at rest if I had some sort of back up when we are away. I just wondered what other peoples experiences are and also, if I do buy one I assume I get the required medication from my gp, is this right?

[angievere]

There's been discussion on nebulisers on other threads. Experiences and views on the home use of nebs seem to vary. First of all I would check with your GP that he is agreeable to you having one and that he will prescribe the medication to go with it. If he says 'no' that is the end of the matter!

Personally I have found our home nebuliser invaluable for my son and our GP was all for it when I purchased one about 7 years ago. The surgery had lent me one for home use, but wanted it back. I still get the nebules on repeat prescription altho I always inform GP and consultant when we've used it. We havent needed it for over a year but it's nice to have it in the home just in case.

I have just purchased a portable nebuliser, Omron Microair, from Evergreen company (via Internet). This is for use on holiday. Hopefully it will not be needed, but it's reassuring to have backup.

[Hidden]

I live in Wales.

People from England fail to realise that the middle of Wales is one huge hole in terms of emergency services. Yes, there are ambulance stations and paramedic stations positioned throughout Wales but getting a patient to a nearby hospital is often very time-consuming.

The nearest Welsh hospital in Mid-Wales is Aberyswyth but, more often than not, people are brought down to a South Wales hospital from Mid-Wales - usually Morriston Hospital in Swansea as that is the major trauma centre for West Wales. Sometimes, dependent upon location, you go to Shrewsbury or to Hereford but Swansea is usually it.

Of course, it all depends on what the problem is and you could end up in a hospital in Haverfordwest, Carmarthen, Abergavenny or Cardiff all dependent on which part of Mid-Wales this is but it is usually Swansea as taking someone to, for example, Aber only to then have to take them to Swansea is pointless.

What I am saying is, there is not much in the way of hospitals in Mid Wales. Only this week the Welsh Ambulance Trust became bottom of the UK table for response times - not because they are rubbish but merely because of the geography of large parts of Wales.

Where in Wales are you going?