Vomit Bag with Anti-nausea Aroma Dispenser
A vomit receptacle that includes a nausea relief substance that may be released on demand to relieve the nausea of a user who also must be prepared to contain a vomiting event. The receptacle may be a flexible bag, and the relief substance may be contained in a sealed packet in the bag, or in a kit with the bag. The substance may be an aromatic essential oil such as peppermint oil.
This invention relates to disposable waste receptacles known as “barf bags” and the treatment of nausea.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONVomit bags are disposable receptacles used for receiving and containing vomit in a range of environments, including vehicles, aircraft, homes, ships, and hospitals. Vomiting events often occur in response to conditions that trigger nausea, such as motion, medications, illness, food poisoning, and pregnancy.
Some vomiting events are preventable in many mild cases. If given a little extra time for a wave of nausea to pass, or to change the conditions that may be causing motion sickness (like reading as a car passenger) the sufferer may entirely avoid the need to vomit.
One effective means to ease mild nausea and often avoid vomiting is by inhaling certain aromatic compounds such as peppermint oil. Such compounds are often available as essential oils and include Peppermint, Ginger, Lavender, Roman chamomile, Cardamom, Coriander, Fennel, Nutmeg, Melissa, Aniseed, Star anise, Bergamot, Black pepper, Lemon, Spearmint, Grapefruit, Geranium, among many others. Any scents that relieve or reduce nausea are defined as “nice” for the purposes of this application. However, these are not generally available at the time of immediate need, or in places where vomit bags are generally provided.
An additional problem is that the use of aromatic compounds to relieve nausea can be subject to error, and a misapplication of oil from a kit of oils can worsen the nausea or other conditions. For instance, one suffering from nausea during late pregnancy must avoid certain oils that may be found in selection of aromatic oils and dangerously confused with a nausea-reducing oil such as peppermint.
Therefore, there is a need for a vomit receptacle that includes a nausea relief substance that may be released on demand to relieve the nausea of a user who also must be prepared to contain a vomiting event. The receptacle may be a flexible bag, and the relief substance may be contained in a sealed packet in the bag, or in a kit with the bag. The substance may be an aromatic essential oil such as peppermint oil.
Attached to the bottom of the bag inside the space is an aromatic carrier 26. The carrier contains an aromatic substance that has a “nice” aroma that tends to relieve nausea and prevent vomiting. This is peppermint oil in the preferred embodiment, but may be any of a wide range of other carriers of this scent, or of numerous other scents that tend to relieve nausea. In use, the substance is open to the air in the bag, and diffuses through the air to the user's nose, while remaining relatively contained and concentrated in the bag for a beneficial effect with a limited amount of the substance.
In alternative embodiments such as shown in
To unseal the sealed packet and let the aroma escape to be smelled by the user, a tag 34 extending from the packet is attached at its far end to the top ring 16 of the bag. Thus when the bag is extended to full length, the tag is pulled by the action to remove the cover panel, or tear the packet. In alternative embodiments such as shown in
The procedure for use involves the user being provided with the kit, pouch, or product.
The bag is removed from the pouch, and extended or unfolded to its full length. The aroma packet is unsealed by tearing, or by the act of extending the bag. The user than sniffs or breathes from the bag to smell the aroma, and may experience relief from the nausea so that equilibrium may be restored, or to delay vomiting until the user may get to a private bathroom, safely out of a vehicle, or comfortable away from fellow air passengers. Meanwhile, the bag is immediately ready while dispensing the aroma therapy, and the bag need only be shifted from the nose to cover the mouth, or may cover both.
The released aroma also indicates to a care provider or service personnel that the bag has been used, even if it did not need to receive vomit. This avoids unwanted reuse of an empty bag that has been in contact with one person who may have a communicable disease to a subsequent patient or user.
Claims
1. A nausea-relieving vomit facility comprising:
- a receptacle defining a storage chamber;
- the receptacle having an opening; and
- a nausea-relief element connected to the receptacle.
2. The facility of claim 1 wherein the receptacle is a flexible bag.
3. The facility of claim 1 wherein the relief element includes an aromatic treatment for nausea.
4. The facility of claim 1 wherein the relief element is within the chamber.
5. The facility of claim 1 including an impermeable enclosure containing the relief element.
6. The facility of claim 5 wherein the impermeable enclosure is a packet having an opening facility.
7. The facility of claim 1 wherein the relief element is an essential oil.
8. The facility of claim 1 wherein the relief element is selected from a group of aromatic compounds including Peppermint, Ginger, Lavender, Roman chamomile, Cardamom, Coriander, Fennel, Nutmeg, Melissa, Aniseed, Star anise, Bergamot, Black pepper, Lemon, Spearmint, Grapefruit, and Geranium.
9. The facility of claim 1 wherein the relief element includes a mint compound.
10. The facility of claim 1 wherein the receptacle is a flexible material with limited permeability to aromas.
11. The facility of claim 9 wherein the flexible material is selected from a group including paper, fabric, foil and plastic.
12. The facility of claim 1 wherein the relief element includes an absorbent carrier element.
13. The facility of claim 1 wherein the relief element is a sealed packet having a manual release facility.
14. The facility of claim 13 wherein the manual release facility is selected from a group including pull tabs, pre-scored edges, tear strings, and tear tapes.
15. The facility of claim 1 wherein the relief element is contained within the receptacle when the opening of the receptacle is occluded by a user's face, such that an aroma from the relief element is maintained for inhalation by the user.
16. A method for relieving nausea in a user while maintaining readiness for vomiting, the method comprising the steps:
- providing a bag having an opening;
- providing a nausea-relief compound connected to the bag in a sealed packet;
- unsealing the packet;
- positioning the compound in the bag;
- positioning the opening of the bag proximate to the user's nose;
- the user inhaling and smelling the compound.
17. The method of claim 16 while inhaling, the user maintaining the user's mouth proximate the opening.
18. The method of claim 16 wherein positioning the compound in the bag comprises providing a bag with the packet in the bag and the user maintaining the compound in the bag after unsealing the packet.
19. The method of claim 16 including providing the bag in a compact condition and including the step of expanding the bag to an expanded condition, and wherein unsealing the packet included unsealing the packet in response to expanding the bag to the expanded condition.
20. A bag comprising;
- a barf bag with an inside;
- a nice scent inside.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 12, 2016
Publication Date: Mar 15, 2018
Inventor: Bennet K. Langlotz (Dallas, TX)
Application Number: 15/262,095