Abstract:
A nasal flushing device includes a catheter unit, a connecting unit, and an injection unit. The catheter unit includes a catheter body, and the plural of openings formed in the body of the catheter, the catheter body has an open end and a closed end. The connection unit includes a connect part and a combination part. The end of the set of the connect part connecting pipe connected with the open end, opposite the other end of the combination part connection. The injection unit including the combination part syringe connected together, and a putter set in the syringe.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a nasal flushing device, and more particularly to a portable nasal flushing device. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Recently, with climate change and over development, air population becomes a serious issue in our daily life. According to Medscape website (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/232791-overview#a0156) in USA every 1000 people, there are 146 people have chronic nasosinusitis, and roughly estimation there are about 18 to 22 million doctor visits and 3.4 to 5.0 billion direct medical spent. However, the numbers still increase every year. So far, according to Medscape and Mayo Clinic websites, there is no cure for chronic nasosinusitis. The main symptoms are nasal obstruction, post nasal drip and cough. Surgical solution is only suitable for some cases, and antibiotics are effective for acute bacterial infection rather than chronic conditions. The only recommendation treatment for patients have chronic symptoms to keep the nasal cavity moisten all time as home treatment. 
         [0005]    Please refer to  FIG. 1 . In the nasal cavity between the nasal vestibule and nasopharynx is divided by the superior turbinate A, the middle turbinate B, the inferior turbinate C, the upper nasal meatus A 1 , the middle nasal meatus B 1  and the lower nasal meatus C 1 . All secretion from the paranasal sinuses is exited from the several openings located in the upper nasal meatus A 1  and the middle nasal meatus. Therefore, thick tenacious secretion generated by chronic nasosinusitis mainly builds up the upper nasal meatus and the middle nasal meatus nasal congestion, which causes nasal obstruction. 
         [0006]    In order to moisturize the nasal cavity, the options are warm damp facial cover, warm steam inhalation and nasal irrigations such as neti pot can be applied. However, the first two solutions cannot bring the moisture directly into the nasal cavity. 
         [0007]    Furthermore, most of improvements for the nasal irrigation devices in the market are related to supplying mechanisms instead of changing water flow direction. 
         [0008]    Please refer to  FIG. 2 . As Taiwan patent No. M418689 discloses a nasal irrigation device has: an applying portion  10  and a nozzle  20 . The applying portion  10  has an inner space  11  and the nozzle  20  has an opening  21  and an extending tube  22  reaching towards to the inner space  11  of the applying portion  10 . When the inner space  11  is filled with water and compressed to push the water into the extending tube  22  and exit from the opening  21 . 
         [0009]    As previous description, nasosinusitis patient needs to moist the upper nasal meatus A 1  and the middle nasal meatus B 1 , the above mentioned nasal irrigation device can bring water to the nasal vestibule. However, due to the dimension of the nozzle  20 , it can only provide a single direction spout at the nasal vestibule, which can just reach to the lower nasal meatus not deep into the upper nasal meatus A 1  and the middle nasal meatus B 1  to treat the symptoms correctly. 
         [0010]    Moreover, the spout provided by the device might be too strong for nasal and nasopharyngeal mucosa or choke the patient. 
         [0011]    Therefore, it is desirable to provide a nasal flushing device to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    An objective of the present invention is to provide an easy nasal flushing device. 
         [0013]    In order to achieve the above mentioned objective, the nasal flushing device includes a catheter unit and an injection unit. 
         [0014]    The catheter unit has a catheter body and a plurality of apertures formed on the catheter body, the catheter body having an open end and a closed end opposite the open end. The injection unit has a detachable syringe and a putter set provided in the syringe. 
         [0015]    The nasal flushing device utilizes the catheter unit to deeply rinse the nasal cavity, and the combination of the catheter unit, the connecting unit, the injection unit, and the travel kit provides portability to the user. 
         [0016]    Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is anatomy cross-sectional view of the nasal cavity. 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a nasal irrigation device disclosed in Taiwan patent No. M418689. 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a nasal flushing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing showing the nasal flushing device of the first embodiment being applied to the nasal cavity. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is another schematic drawing showing the nasal flushing device of the first embodiment being applied to the nasal cavity. 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the nasal flushing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the nasal flushing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0024]    Please refer to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a nasal flushing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The nasal flushing device comprises a catheter unit  3 , a connecting unit  4 , and an injection unit  5 . 
         [0025]    The catheter unit  3  has a catheter body  31  and a plurality of apertures  32  formed on the catheter body  31 . The catheter body  31  has an open end  311  and a closed end  312  opposite the open end  311 , and the closed end  312  curved such that the catheter body  31  is capable of entering deeply into the nasal meatus. 
         [0026]    The catheter body  31  from the open end  311  to the closed end  312  is divided into a connecting section  313 , a reaching section  314  and a flushing section  315 . The connecting section  313  has a length from 1 to 5 cm, the reaching section  314  has a length from 1 to 5 cm, and the flushing section  315  has a length from 3 to 10 cm. The plurality of apertures  32  on the catheter body  31  are disposed on the flushing section body  315 , and wherein the apertures  32  further far away from the closed end  312  have larger inner diameters than the apertures  32  closer to the closed end  312 . Furthermore, the catheter body  31  is made of silicon or latex such soft material, which can easily be bent to enter into the curved nasal meatus. Since average nasal meatus of patient with chronic sinusitis is not wider than 3 mm, a diameter of the catheter body  31  is not larger than 3 mm. 
         [0027]    The connecting unit  4  has a connecting portion  41  and an assembling portion  42 . One end of the connecting portion  41  is provided with a connecting tube  411  connected to the open end  311 , and another end of the connecting portion is connected to the assembling portion  42 . 
         [0028]    In addition, since the diameter of the connecting tube  411  is smaller than the diameter of the catheter body  31  and it causes resistance to passing fluid, a length of the connecting tube  411  should be shorter to reduce the resistance. 
         [0029]    The injection unit  5  has a detachable syringe  51  and a putter set  52  provided in the syringe  51 . The syringe  51  and the putter set  52  are used for compressing the fluid in the container, to form injecting spout. There can be various combinations of the syringe  51  and the putter set  52  should not be limited by this embodiment. 
         [0030]    Please refer to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  together. As showing the drawings, the nasal cavity has a nasal vestibule E, a superior turbinate F, a middle turbinate G, a inferior turbinate H, a upper nasal meatus F 1 , a middle nasal meatus G 1  and a lower nasal meatus H 1 . The nasal vestibule usually is about 4 cm long, the upper nasal meatus F 1 , the middle nasal meatus G 1  and the lower nasal meatus H 1  are usually about 5 cm in length. Therefore, in the first embodiment, a length of the flushing section  315  of the catheter body  31  is 5 cm, the plurality of apertures  32  are arranged apart about every 0.5 cm to 1 cm and around the surface of the catheter body  31 . A total length of the catheter body  31  is about 17 cm, the length of the flushing section  315  is 5 cm, the length of the reaching section  314  in the nasal vestibule E is 4 cm, the remaining length of the connecting section  313  is 8 cm, which can be held by the user and provide further reaching length. 
         [0031]    For actual application, the user inserts the flushing section  315  of the catheter body  31  into the upper nasal meatus F 1  or the middle nasal meatus G 1 , fills the syringe  51  with flushing fluid, then pushes the putter set  52  to push the flushing fluid in the syringe  51 , such that the flushing fluid spurs out from the aperture  32  on the flushing section  315  of the catheter body  31 . Therefore, multiple thin spouts spur out with injecting angles nearly perpendicular to the catheter body  31 . With injecting angles nearly perpendicular to the catheter body  31 , the catheter body  31  is more likely free from counterforce movement during the injection, and the flushing fluid can quickly fill up the nasal meatus. 
         [0032]    Since the flushing section  315  is configured to be disposed in the upper nasal meatus F 1  of the nasal cavity, the flushing fluid can directly rinse the mucus or crust built up in the upper nasal meatus F 1 . Similarly, when the flushing section  315  is configured to be disposed in the middle nasal meatus G 1  or the lower nasal meatus H 1  the flushing fluid can directly rinse the mucus or crust built up in the middle nasal meatus G 1  and the lower nasal meatus H 1 . 
         [0033]    Moreover, the catheter body  31  is made of silicon or latex material and has a small dimension, when the user insert the catheter body  31  into the nasal cavity, if he or she feels any discomfort, he or she can immediately stop to avoid damaging the tissue of the nasal cavity. Furthermore, if the catheter body  3  is not completely inserted into the upper nasal meatus F 1 , the spouts with injecting angles nearly perpendicular to the catheter body  31  injected from aperture  32  of the flushing section  315  are capable of rinsing most of the area. In addition, some spouts might reach up to a 30 cm distance, which can pass through some thin gap into deeper area for a better cleaning result. Even though, some spouts might reach up to a 30 cm distance, but the numerous number of spouts do not have high pressure to damage the mucosa. 
         [0034]    Please refer to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the nasal flushing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is substantially similar with the first embodiment, the difference is, every aperture  32  disposed on the flushing section  315  has an identical diameter, but the apertures  32  disposed further away from the closed end  312  on the flushing section  315  are arranged more closely together with respect to each other than the apertures disposed closer to the closed end  312 . 
         [0035]    Since the compressed spouts first release to lower pressure area, the spouts move towards to the closed end  312  and come out from the apertures. Because the apertures  32  disposed further away from the closed end are arranged more closely together with respect to each other than the apertures  32  disposed closer to the closed end  312 , the entire flushing section  315  have relatively even flow and larger rinsing area. 
         [0036]    Please refer to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the nasal flushing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment is substantially similar with the first embodiment, the difference is, the nasal flushing device further has a travel kit  6 . 
         [0037]    In the third embodiment, the travel kit  6  has a container  61  to provide fluid  611  for the injection unit  5 , a salt package  62 , a spoon  63 , and a bag  64 . The salt package has a plurality of salt crystals  621  for being dissolved in the fluid  611  in the container  61 . The bag  64  is used for storing the catheter unit  3 , the connecting unit  4 , the injection unit  5 , the container  61 , salt package  62 , and the spoon  63 . 
         [0038]    Moreover, the container  61  in the third embodiment is provided with a measurement scale  612 , and the container  61  is capable of storing 220 c.c. fluid. The spoon  63  has a scoop portion  631  and a handle  632 , and the scoop portion  631  is capable of holding 1 g salt crystals  621 . Preferably, an inner dimension of the scoop portion  631  is about 0.8 cm×0.8 cm×0.72 cm=0.4608 cm 3 , and 0.4608 cm 3 ×2.165 (salt specific weight)=1 gram. 
         [0039]    Adding 1 gram salt crystals  621  into 100 c.c. water can make 0.9% normal saline most close to human body fluid. Therefore, with a correct amount of fluid in the container  61  and a correct amount of salt crystals  621 , user can bring the travel kit  6  anywhere. 
         [0040]    The user just needs to easily assemble the catheter unit  3 , the connecting unit  4  and the injection unit  5  together, mix correct amount of salt crystals  621  and water  611  in the container  61  of the package  6 , pull the mixed fluid into the syringe  51  of the injection unit  5 , and then push the putter set  52  in the syringe  51  deeply into the nasal cavity. 
         [0041]    Since the length of the flushing section  315  of the catheter body  31  is between 5 to 10 cm, and the apertures  32  on the flushing section  315  further far away from the closed end  312  have larger inner diameters than the apertures  32  closer to the closed end  312 . The flushing fluid can rinse the upper nasal meatus F 1  and the middle nasal meatus G 1 , and the plurality of apertures  32  with different diameter on the flushing section  315  can provide even pressure sprouts for more comfortable feeling to the user. After flushing, the user pulls the syringe  51  and the putter set  52  apart and stores the syringe  51 , the putter set  52 , the catheter unit  3  and the connecting unit  4  into the travel kit  6 . 
         [0042]    According to the above-mentioned description, the nasal flushing device utilizes the catheter unit  3  to deeply rinse the nasal cavity, and the combination of the catheter unit  3 , the connecting unit  4 , the injection unit  5 , and the travel kit  6  provides portability to the user. 
         [0043]    Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.