WO1999007427A1

WO1999007427A1 - Method and device for administering a quantity of fluid to the nose

Info

Publication number: WO1999007427A1
Application number: PCT/SE1998/001337
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bo Nordebo
Original assignee: Bo Nordebo
Priority date: 1997-08-05
Filing date: 1998-07-07
Publication date: 1999-02-18
Also published as: SE9702861L; AU8365598A; SE9702861D0; SE509708C2

Abstract

The invention concerns a method and device for administering a quantity of fluid to the nose. The device utilised comprises an inhaler with which a specific quantity of saline solution or other fluid can be introduced and thereafter inhaled in the nose. The inhaler consists of a tube-shaped element whose one end is arranged as a holder for containing a specific quantity fluid by being immersed in a fluid, whereby the said holder is preferably developed from the said tube-shaped element being bent at one end to form a curve or a water trap, and whose other end is arranged as a nostril-shaped nozzle to press against the said nostril and form an air-tight seal. During a cold or when there is another reason to inhale saline solution into the nose, the tube's curved end is immersed in the said saline solution so that the curve fills with fluid, after which the nozzle is pressed against one nostril and the fluid is inhaled into the nose while the other nostril is sealed-off.

Description

Method and device for administering a quantity of fluid to the nose

The present invention concerns a method and device for administering a quantity of fluid to the nose.

The device utilised according to the invention comprises an inhaler with which a specific quantity of saline solution or other fluid suitable for the purpose can be introduced and thereafter inhaled in the nose. The inhaler consists of a tube, preferably of plastic material, whose one end is arranged as a holder that acts as a measure and that is preferably defined by the said tube being bent at one end to form a curve or water trap. The other end of the said tube is arranged as a nozzle that is shaped as a nostril so that it can be pressed against the said nostril and form an air-tight seal. During a cold or when there is another reason to inhale saline solution into the nose, the said holder is immersed in the said fluid, after which the nozzle is pressed against one nostril and the fluid is inhaled into the nose while the other nostril is sealed-off .

A device for a similar purpose as that of the present invention is previously known from US 1 544 164. However, this known device is neither shaped like the present inhaler nor intended to be used in the way that the present invention states.

Decongestant (astringent) medicines are used extensively when treating the symptoms of colds and inflammation of the ear or the sinuses. A number of patients with chronic congestion use such means practically continuously. A number of the most frequently used medicines, such as nose drops that are sold without prescription, are based on oxymetasoline hydrochloride or xylometasoline hydrochloride as active ingredients. It has been known for some time that a considerable overuse of astringent medicines exists. The overuse of the said medicines has been shown to lead to chronic nasal catarrh with symptoms such as a blocked nose and irritated nose in a number of people, symptoms that are clearly the opposite of what is intended.

Physicians and specialists have long advocated for a transition to milder decongestant medicines when blocked noses or colds become problematic. Physiological saline solution has been demonstrated to have a good decongestant effect and is totally free from side effects. So far, it has not been demonstrated that saline gives rise to any side effects such as chronic nasal catarrh in the same way that astringent nasal drops do. For this application, the saline should have a concentration of 9 mg/ml sodium chloride and is therefore designated physiological saline solution. The preparation of the saline solution can easily be done by the patients themselves. However, the means of applying the saline solution to the nose has for a long time been the greatest hinder to its increased use. A self-prepared saline solution with a suitable applicator even has a role in occupational medicine. Certain occupational groups such as welders, sawmill or timber yard workers and those working with insulation, for example, all have an increased need to clear the nasal air passages as their work is carried out in particularly dusty or badly polluted environments.

The simple nose inhaler according to the invention is a useful aid when administering physiological saline solution for colds, inflamed sinuses, chronic nasal catarrh and within occupational medicine. It solves in a simple way the problem of obtaining a suitable dose of the solution and of inhaling this. This and other problems are solved according to the invention by it having the distinguishing characteristics that are given in the following claims.

The invention is described in more detail below with reference to the enclosed drawings, where:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a device according to the invention,

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged longitudinal cross-section through a part of a lower section of the invention according to fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention.

With reference to fig. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of the invention is comprised of an elongated tube 1 open at both ends. At one end, the tube 1 is formed as an essentially U- shaped section 2 that is thus adjacent to a long shank 4 and a short shank 3. The U-shaped section

2 defines a holder, generally designated 5, whereby the said U-shaped section, together with the length of the short shank 3 and the device's remaining dimensions, determine the amount of fluid

6 that remains in the curved end of the tube after this has been immersed in a holder containing fluid. At its end, the long shank 4 of the tube is provided with a nozzle in the form of a widened section 7 around the opening of the tube 8 where the widened section is intended to form a tight connection between the tube and the nostril when it is pressed against this. The widened section 7 has an essentially cone-shaped surface 9, at least on the side that is pointed towards the nostril of a patient 10 during use. When the device according to the invention is used, its curved end is first immersed in a holder containing, for example, saline solution, so that the U-shaped section and the shanks are filled up to the length of the short shank 3. The quantity of fluid that then remains in the tube is adapted to that which normally needs to be administered to the nostril. If a smaller quantity of fluid is considered desirable, a part of it can be poured back into the holder by tilting the tube. The fluid is inhaled into each nostril by the widened section 7 of tube 1 being pressed against the nostril while the opposite nostril is sealed-off with, for example, a finger, and the quantity of fluid is inhaled. As the fluid is located in the tube's U-shaped section prior to inhalation and as this acts as a water trap, the whole of the quantity of fluid can easily be inhaled. If the respiratory pathways through the nose are so blocked that it is not possible to inhale, the head can be tilted backwards with the inhaler pressed against one nostril so that the fluid in the inhaler can run down into the nostril. Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention in which, as in the previously described embodiment, the invention includes a tube-shaped element 4' that at one end is provided with a widened section intended to be pressed tightly to seal against a nostril for the inhalation of a suitable astringent fluid. However, with this embodiment, the holder 5 ' that is arranged at the other end of the tube-shaped element 4 ' and that is intended to be filled with a pre-determined quantity of fluid is defined by a preferably cylindrical circular cup-shaped body 11 to which this end of the said tube-shaped element is arranged in such a way that the open end is situated at the bottom of the cup-shaped body so that the fluid present in the cup can be inhaled through the tube-shaped element 4 ' .

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and described here, as other embodiments are naturally possible within the scope of the idea of the invention stated in the following claims.

Claims

1. Method for administering a quantity of fluid to the nose, characterised by the use of a tube-shaped element that has a holder at one end that can be filled with a pre-determined quantity of fluid by being immersed in the said fluid, whereby the fluid can then be administered to a nostril via the other end of the tube-shaped element.

2. Method according to claim 1 characterised in that the tube-shaped element is essentially U-shaped with a shorter and a longer shank (3, 4) and that the U-shaped section is filled with fluid by immersing this and the short shank (3) in the fluid and that the quantity of fluid is then administered to a nostril through the longer shank (4).

3. Method according to claim 2 characterised in that the fluid is then administered to a nostril by the longer shank (4) being held tightly to seal against the nostril while the other nostril is sealed-off and the fluid inhaled.

4. Method according to any of the previous claims characterised in mat the fluid comprises a physiological saline solution.

5. Device for administering a quantity of fluid to the nose, characterised in that it includes a tube-shaped element that has a holder at one end that can be filled with a predetermined quantity of fluid by being immersed in the fluid, and that the opening of the tube- shaped element at one end is located adjacent to the bottom of the holder.

6. Device according to claim 5 characterised in that the tube-shaped element is essentially U-shaped with a short shank (3) and a long shank (4) and that the length of the short shank (3) and the tube's (1) dimensions are adapted to the amount of fluid (6) that is to be administered.

7. Device according to claim 6 characterised in that the long shank (4) is designed with a widened section (7) at one end for sealing against a nostril.

8. Device according to claim 6 characterised in that the widened section (7) has an essentially cone-shaped surface (9) on the side that is pointed towards the patient (10) when being used.

9. Device according to any of claims 5 - 8 characterised in that the fluid (6) consists of physiological saline.