DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

          Following a business trip to Houston during April of 1998, 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, or associated 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 pathogenic 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", or destroy, portions of 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 internal infections of 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. Here eucalyptus oil includes the essential oil from Eucalyptus globulus, and here, tea tree oil is the essential oil from Melaleuca alternifolia. The first inventor has found that routinely inhaling these substances has prevented him from getting any colds, flus, or pneumonia in his respiratory system through the date of Apr. 28, 2003--several days before the filing date of this application. The first inventor has been practicing the invention every day commencing on, or before, the first day of September of 1999. As a result of using the invention, the first inventor has had no respiratory infections for over 3 1/2 years as of the filing of this application. This is despite the fact that the first inventor has had extensive business travels during this time. This is truly remarkable, because the first inventor has often been sick every several months or so before he began practicing the invention.

          There is one fine point here of considerable interest. It is stated above that at this point in time, the first inventor has had no respiratory infections for over 3 1/2 years. This is true. Prior to this period when the first inventor caught the flu, it often eventually attacked the lungs in one way or another. When the flu ended up attacking his respiratory system, the first inventor often became very sick and it would often take three weeks or a month for him to recover. When the first inventor returned home from a backpacking trip during December of 1999, the first inventor's wife had a very bad case of the flu. After several weeks, the first inventor actually caught the flu but it never attacked the respiratory system of the first inventor. In this situation, when the first inventor caught the flu, he became sick very rapidly, had a fever, sometimes a high fever, and he became sore, and typically his joints ached. However, in this particular case, the flu never attacked his respiratory system. In this case, all symptoms disappeared within 48 hours. This was not a life-threatening situation to the first inventor. The first inventor has actually caught similar flus several times during the last 3 1/2 years, but in all cases, the flus never attacked his respiratory system while practicing the invention. In retrospect, the first inventor views catching mild cases of the flu to be medically positive, because he is then able to develop suitable antibodies to new strains of influenza without the risk of a catastrophic and life-threatening lung infection. So, when using the phase "the first inventor has not caught the flu since practicing the invention" should rigorously read "the first inventor has not caught the flu in his respiratory system since practicing the invention", which correction applies to any such statements herein, or to any other statements in any other applications by the first inventor on this subject.

          Soon after conceiving the invention, 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, as further explained in other preferred embodiments below, the first inventor has not had a cold, the flu, or pneumonia attack his respiratory system for the last 3 1/2 years.

          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. As a fourth drawback, inhaling from a pool of highly volatile fluids on airplanes, in elevators, and in crowded places resulted in others being subjected to the strong vapors of essential oils. Having open bottles of flammable fluids on an aircraft is not reasonable today. 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.

          FIG. 1 shows a section view of an apparatus to conveniently generate vapors from eucalyptus oil that may be inhaled without suffering the above three drawbacks. Eucalyptus oil is chosen for this preferred embodiment, but the use of other suitable essential oils, such as tea tree oil, are discussed below. The apparatus in FIG. 1 is described as a hand-held "atomizer" that is generally designated with element 2. Eucalyptus oil 4 is shown in container 6. A piston 8 having O-ring 10 seals against the interior of the container wall. The atomizer has top element 12 that acts as a "button" (hereinafter "top button 12"), and the container has bottom 14. With one hand, placing the middle finger on the button 12 and the thumb on the bottom 14, and squeezing, produces the vaporized droplets of eucalyptus oil. One such droplet of eucalyptus oil is designated by numeral 16 that is shown in the location to be inhaled by the user.

          The vapors of eucalyptus oil may be inhaled through the mouth, or through the nose, or through both. Holding one nostril closed at a time allows selective inhalation through one nostril, and then the other, so that the entire respiratory system may be entirely coated with the thin anti-pathogenic film of eucalyptus oil.