[B's to D's]

This might sound silly but I read on one of the forums that somone made a homemade nb type thing. Would that be possible and if so has anyone done it? I would really like to try it, thanks

[CHDchest]

Nope - not silly at all. I made one with parts of my old asthma spacer and tubing from a breathing exercise machine and hooked it up to the vaccum cleaner. It was really cumbersome to use so I got a noogleberry which is way easier. I think it is a good idea to make one to try it out: see if you can get suction, and make sure you don't bruise etc.

[B's to D's]

Could you go more in depth about how you made it? And why did you use for the domes etc? Was it effective at all?

[CHDchest]

I used an asthma spacer for the domes. Basically, they can be taken apart into two pieces for cleaning, and I used one half each as a dome.

There is a picture of a child using an asthma spacer on this page:
http://www.asthmafoundation.org.au/Spacers.aspx

I put packing tape around the edges to make a tight seal and to stop the edges from digging into me.

Then I used some tubing about 3/4 inch in diameter and poked it into the end of the spacer (where your mouth or the inhaler would go) and taped it in place, making sure to seal it off properly. I did this for both halves of the spacer.

I used tubing like the one from my cliniflo (picture on this website):
http://www.smiths-medical.com/catalog/lu...ntive.html

I taped the two ends of the tubing together so I could use both domes at the same time, and pushed the whole lot into the end of a vacuum cleaner. I ran the vacuum cleaner on the lowest setting with the domes on my chest.

It seemed to work - I was getting sucked into the 'domes' and turning a little red, like what happens with the noogleberry, but it was very cumbersome and also required the use of power. The asthma spacer was only about 10cm in diameter as well.

So in short, I guess it worked but for the cost of running power and the annoyance of not really being able to move while using it, a device specifically designed for the purpose is probably better.

[Karren H]

I've made a number of them over the past few years.... each time I enhance them and make them easier to use and less obtrusive.... and cheap.... some rubber tubing... a hand operated vacuum generator from an automotive store and cups... from funnels to PVC pipe caps... depending on your breast size... latest version has no tubes and self adheres to the breasts and will stay attached for hours...