Cleaning nebulizers

 

There are a lot of different canisters and tubing kits that come with nebulizers. 

 

Get familiar with yours so you can use it in a hurry. 

 

Even after 11 years of dealing with asthma, one of the kids can have a bad attack and it can still catch me off guard. I have to think 'steady-you can do this, just put the nebulizer together'!

Practice, practice, practice. 

 

And make sure everyone knows how to put it together. (Yes Hubby, that means you!)

After you use the nebulizer, make sure to clean the medicine canister kit well. The way the home health care professionals taught me was to:

 

1) take the canister apart and wash it in hot sudsy water

 

2) rinse thoroughly

 

3) soak the canister parts in 2 cups hot water, 1 cup vinegar for half an hour

 

4) rinse again 

 

5) let the canister and parts air dry on a paper towel. 

 

When completely dry, I put them in a ziploc bag and back in the drawer they go.

It can be a little scary at first, but the more you use it, wash it out, and reassemble, the easier it gets. I have literally put the nebulizer together in the dark in the middle of the night! I was doing a treatment when one of the kids were sleeping and I didn't want to wake them up.

So, take care of your equipment, when you need it, you'll be glad you took care of it! Take care of it, and it will take care of you.