DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Following a business trip to Houston several years ago, the first
inventor, W. Banning Vail, Ph.D., returned to Seattle and caught
a dreadful form of flu. During this severe illness, the first inventor
spent several weeks gasping for breath and nearly died. After several
trips to a pulmonary specialist, it was found that about 1/3 of
the first inventor's lung capacity had been "eaten up"
by some sort of infectious agent. Therefore, the first inventor
was diagnosed with a form of emphysema.
The physician further informed the first inventor that if one more
such infectious episode should occur, and should that episode result
in another 1/6 or more of the first inventor's lung capacity being
"eaten up" by an infectious agent, then the first inventor
would thereafter become a good candidate for use of oxygen tanks.
Further, the first inventor was also diagnosed with asthma. The
physician provided additional warnings of potential disaster in
light of the first inventor's many childhood bouts with pneumonia
that left scars on the lungs. Such warnings were also compounded
by the first inventor's stupid habit of smoking, which he quite
some 20 years ago.
The first inventor's father, William Banning Vail, Jr., had emphysema,
and had used oxygen tanks for perhaps five years. Accordingly, the
first inventor feared emphysema and the use of oxygen tanks. The
terms such as "emphysema", "asthma", and related
diseases are defined and described in Weinstein, 1988, an entire
copy of which is incorporated herein by reference. The clinical
manifestations of emphysema, asthma, and other respiratory infections
are defined and described in Luckmann, 1997, an entire copy of which
is incorporated herein by reference.
For many years, it seems almost every time that the first inventor
had taken an airplane flight, or had otherwise gone into a public
place with a large number of people, he had often caught a cold,
a flu, or some other "bug". The terms such as "cold",
"flu", "infectious disease", "pathogen"
"pathogens", "pathogenesis", "pathologic
microorganisms", etc., are defined in Anderson, et. al., 1994,
an entire copy of which is incorporated herein by reference. Here,
colds include diseases caused by any strain of a rhinovirus. Here,
flus include diseases caused by any type of influenza, including
those of the respiratory system. Therefore, the first inventor came
to fear airplane flights, being in places with many people, etc.
because of fear of being infected again with pathogens that could
possible result in death by terminal emphysema.
In Anderson, et. al, 1994, on page 808, the term "risk for
infection" is defined as "a state in which an individual
is at increased risk for being invaded by pathogenic organisms".
Anderson, et. al, 1994, page 808, further states: "Risk factors
include inadequate primary defenses, such as broken skin, traumatized
tissue, decrease in ciliary action, . . . , tissue destruction,
. . . ".
Luckmann, 1997, page 868, also states under the topic of "Nonspecific
Body Defenses Against Infection", and under "1. Physical
barriers" the following:
"a. Physical, or anatomic, barriers are the 1st line of defense
against infection." and
"b. Physical barriers include intact skin and mucous membranes
lining the respiratory, gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts."
Therefore, Luckmann, 1997 specifically refers to the mucous membranes
lining the respiratory system as being important to prevent infection,
and any less than optimum condition of these membranes would provide
another "risk factor" favoring infection by some pathogen.
The first inventor has set forth an hypothesis that his respiratory
system and lungs are subject to such "risk factors", and
that the first inventor had to invent a new method to prevent invasion
by such pathogenic organisms. Consequently, the first inventor has
concluded that to minimize the possibility of ending up on oxygen
tanks, that it is necessary to prevent the infection of his respiratory
system by common pathogens such as pathologic bacteria, viruses,
and fungi. It is clear that any one of these pathogens may cause
disease. However, the first inventor has the additional hypothesis,
that in analogy with many biological systems, it is likely that
human diseases can also be caused by a combination of such pathogens
that form symbiotic relationships, similar to well-documented mycorrhizal
relationships or the like, which may also change in time. For a
description of such mechanisms in biology, for example see Audesirk
and Audesirk, 1996 on these and related subjects. Therefore, from
the first inventor's point of view, it is possible that any one
disease may involve bacteria, viruses, and fungi all at one time,
and the mix of these may change vs. time as the disease progresses
through various stages.
From
the
first
inventor's
point
of
view,
many
of
his
illnesses
had
begun
with
either
cold-like
symptoms
or
flu-like
symptoms.
If
he
got
very
sick,
this
often
progressed
into
symptoms
mimicking
those
of
pneumonia.
So,
an
initial
predominant
viral-like
infection
may
evolve
into
a
predominantly
bacterial-like
infection
as
time
progresses.
So,
the
first
inventor
views
the
development
of
some
diseases
as
progression
of
various
stages,
where
any
one
stage
may
have
a
peculiar
mix
of
pathogens.
The
progression
of
colonies
of
pathogens
vs.
time
may
in
fact
involve
viral,
bacterial,
and
fungal
elements
called
for
the
purposes
herein
"symbiotic
pathogens"
that
may
make
"symbiotic
pathogenic
colonies".
Typically,
the
composition
of
those
"symbiotic
pathogentic
colonies"
vary
with
time.
As
has
often
been
the
case
in
the
past,
when
the
first
inventor
had
problems
with
his
respiratory
system,
standard
antibiotics
rarely
helped.
In
the
first
inventor's
view,
this
is
because
the
antibiotics
only
addressed
part
of
the
problem
in
a
typically
complex
case
when
"symbiotic
pathogens"
are
causing
disease
that
has
at
least
two
components
among
the
three
that
are
viral,
bacterial,
and
fungal
components.
The
view
that
a
given
disease
is
often
caused
by
a
time
varying
mix
of
bacterial,
viral,
and
fungal
pathogens
provides
the
precise
reason
why
the
first
inventor
rarely
found
commercial
antibiotics
to
be
of
effective
help
in
overcoming
his
various
lung
diseases.
Accordingly,
the
first
inventor
has
theorized
that
to
be
able
to
routinely
prevent
colds,
flus,
etc.,
it
is
necessary
to
locate
substances
that
have
antiviral
and
antibacterial
and
antifungal
elements
that
may
be
applied
to
the
respiratory
system
simultaneously.
The
first
inventor
further
hypothesized
that
microscopic
portions
of
his
respiratory
system
at
any
one
time
are
subject
to
increased
risk
of
invasion
by
such
pathogens.
Any
such
increased
risk
site
for
the
purposes
herein
is
defined
as
a
"likely
pathogenic
invasion
site".
Once
a
pathogen
"invades"
such
a
"likely
pathogenic
invasion
site",
for
example
within
tissue
within
the
lungs,
then
the
pathogens
may
multiply,
causing
an
infection
that
may
"eat
away"
the
lungs
of
the
first
inventor.
The
first
inventor
has
concluded
that
he
needs
new
methods
and
apparatus
to
prevent
or
block
the
invasion
of
pathogens
into
a
likely
pathogenic
invasion
site
within
his
respiratory
system.
Put
another
way,
the
first
inventor
sought
to
find
a
practical
method
to
reduce
the
risk
of
infection
of
the
respiratory
system
by
infectious
agents.
This
is
a
tall
order.
The
first
inventor
had
theorized
about
using
certain
face
masks,
filtering
the
air
inhaled
by
the
lungs,
and
passing
inhaled
air
through
U.V.
light
(with
the
energy
of
the
U.V.
below
the
threshold
to
produce
ozone).
Then,
the
first
inventor
decided
to
investigate
inhaled
chemicals
to
prevent
the
invasion
by
pathogens
of
a
likely
pathogenic
invasion
site.
Such
chemicals
need
to
be
highly
volatile,
non-toxic,
and
capable
of
killing
bacteria,
viruses,
and
fungi.
The
second
inventor,
Marilyn
L.
Vail,
suggested
using
eucalyptus
oil
and/or
tea
tree
oil
as
potential
candidates
because
of
her
prior
research
on
these
substances
in
her
attempts
to
control
Candida
albicans.
The
inventors
identified
a
class
of
chemical
compounds
that
may
be
used
to
prevent
the
invasion
of
pathogens
into
the
respiratory
system.
They
include
eucalyptus
oil
and
tea
tree
oil.
The
first
inventor
has
found
that
routinely
inhaling
these
substances
has
prevented
him
from
getting
any
colds,
flus,
or
pneumonia
during
the
last
6
months
of
his
personal
experiments.
This
is
truly
remarkable,
because
the
first
inventor
has
often
been
sick
every
several
months
or
so
during
the
last
several
years.
The
first
inventor
performed
experiments
on
himself
with
very
crude
apparatus.
A
small
bottle
of
"eucalyptus
rectified
essential
oil"
made
by
"aroma-vera"
was
purchased.
It
had
a
blockage
near
the
top
of
the
bottle.
Typically,
the
first
inventor
shook
the
bottle
with
the
blockage
"down"
which
caused
eucalyptus
oil
to
catch
in
the
blockage
near
the
top
of
the
bottle.
Then,
with
the
bottle
held
with
the
blockage
"up",
and
while
holding
one
nostril
closed,
the
first
inventor
would
inhale
very
deeply
through
the
other
nostril
thereby
inhaling
concentrated
vapors
of
eucalyptus
oil.
Then
the
process
was
repeated
with
the
other
nostril.
The
first
inventor
estimates
that
the
amount
inhaled
ranged
between
0.001
milligrams
to
100
milligrams,
depending
upon
the
circumstances,
and
the
number
of
repetitions.
The
first
inventor
performed
this
inhalation
immediately
before
he
went
"into
public",
such
as
into
an
enclosed
public
area
having
one
or
more
human
beings
within
that
enclosed
area.
If
there
were
sick
people
present
that
were
coughing,
or
otherwise
admitted
that
they
had
a
cold,
the
flu,
or
pneumonia,
the
first
inventor
would
thereafter
similarly
inhale
concentrated
vapors
of
eucalyptus
oil
every
30
minutes
or
so.
By
following
this
process,
the
first
inventor
has
not
had
a
cold,
the
flu,
or
pneumonia
during
the
entire
winter
season
spanning
late
1999
and
early
2000.
The
first
inventor
alternatively
used
tea
tree
oil
in
the
above
experiments
and
had
similar
results.
The
tea
tree
oil
was
in
a
small
bottle
marked
with
the
legend
"100%
PURE
AUSTRALIAN
TEA
TREE
OIL"
made
by
Desert
Essence.
It
is
important
to
note
that
very
strong
vapors
of
either
eucalyptus
oil
or
tea
tree
oil
were
inhaled
each
time.
This
happened
because
of
the
close
proximity
of
the
nose
to
a
pool
of
highly
volatile
fluids.
However,
there
were
several
drawbacks
to
this
method.
As
a
first
drawback,
on
occasion
the
fluids
themselves
got
sucked
up
into
the
nose
causing
a
very
unpleasant
situation.
As
a
second
drawback,
if
the
fluids
got
on
the
hands,
and
then
into
the
eyes,
this
was
also
an
extraordinarily
unpleasant,
and
perhaps,
a
dangerous
situation.
As
a
third
drawback,
inhalation
through
the
mouth
seemed
relatively
ineffective
from
vapors
emanating
from
a
simple
bottle.
Accordingly,
the
inventors
have
designed
an
apparatus
that
provides
very
strong
vapors
that
may
be
inhaled,
but
which
also
overcomes
the
above
first,
second
and
third
drawbacks.
Embodiments continued below:
|
