Although a continuous positive airway pressure machine can help you get a night of more quality sleep if you have sleep apnea, there are some times when the breath-assisting device can cause you severe health problems. Are you surprised? You don’t have to panic; there are sure ways to prevent the commonly expected irregularities.
Like every other machine, cpap machines also have downsides that may pose slight complications to your overall health. Unless you seek professional help from specialists, you might not get the correct result after prolonged use.
Also checkout: Eat these foods to recover from lasik eye surgery
There are several issues associated with the use of CPAP machines. One of the most common is the build-up of moisture or mold that may occur when a heated humidifier is used without proper care. That can cause the CPAP machine to make frustrating sounds or the mask to hoard excess water. Both of these issues can wake you up at intervals causing you to have a night of poor quality sleep.
How does it feel knowing that the CPAP machine that is expected to make you solve your sleep problems and improve your overall health can be the reason for your inability to sleep? It happens. That is a reason you need to pay all attention to this guide.
This blog post explains why these common problems occur and how you can avoid them if you keep struggling with your CPAP machine and can’t get much improvement on the treatment.
Humidifier Use With CPAP machines
The build-up of a CPAP machine’s dampness is mainly due to a heated humidifier. That has been a primary concern since many specialists advise CPAP machine users to use humidifiers proficiently to improve breathing. There are numerous reasons to support the operation of your machine with a humidifier:
- Dry air can cause throat irritation, sneezing, and dry mouth in CPAP machine users.
- Dry air can also cause your nasal tissues to collapse, bleed, crack, and become severely infected.
- Certain CPAP medications can promote mouth or dryness.
CPAP machine users over 60 years or those with surgery to treat obstructive or central sleep apnea are at greater risk of developing these symptoms. A heated humidifier can also improve convenience for CPAP machine users by decreasing dryness in the mouth and nose. However, there is a trade-off when extra moisture is mixed with the air.
Condensation Problems
For your CPAP therapy to work perfectly, you need humidity and heat in the tubes and mask to match the humidity and heat outside the tubes and mask.
When humidity gets into an unheated tube, the temperature can condense the moisture. Smaller beads of water can gather and drip into your face, causing a “rainout.
You can increase the risk of rainout by sleeping in a cold room. When the warm air meets with the icy air, condensation is unavoidable. The risk of rainout can also increase if the humidity setting is high.
Another difficulty is that a cold space drops the air temperature within your mask. Because the air has been pressurized, the air forced into your airways is colder. That is because CPAP machine users are struggling with stuffy or runny noses.
How to Avoid Moisture
The gurgling and spitting of a CPAP machine are common among CPAP machine users. Some easy ways to prevent these problems and make your CPAP therapy more effective.
Use Heated Tubing
A heated tube, called a climate line, is the most trusted way to prevent condensation issues. A climate line supplies the warm but moist air from the heated humidifier and transfers it to the CPAP mask. That balances the internal and external temperature to avoid the moisture being condensed.
Most newer CPAP machines offer a climate line as a regular feature. Some have heated wires or cables that run the tube length to leave the temperature between 78 and 80 degrees. Older models of CPAP machines can work perfectly with a specially built heated tubing attachment, allowing you to keep your current device.
Change the Temperature
A more straightforward option is to turn down the temperature of the humidifier or turn up the thermostat in your bedroom. Getting the balance right sometimes takes trial and error, but it can prevent you from buying a new machine.
You may start by getting the temperature that can make you sleep comfortably. You can gradually reduce your humidifier’s temperature until you get a suitable balance.
Adjust the Position of your CPAP Machine
Another helpful pro tip is to put your CPAP machine on a laminated floor. By doing that, the moisture that gathers in the tubing will not return to your face. (This does not always prevent spitting sounds.)
You can also put the tubing under your bed covers. That way, the tube can warm, so moisture is not likely to condense. Also, you can buy some unique fabric covers that slip over the tubing online to keep them warm. SnuggleHose is among the most trusted and more well-known brands in that regard. You can also make fabric covers.
In a nutshell
One of the most common problems CPAP machine users face is the build-up of moisture in the tubing and mask. That can result in rainout or babbling sounds from the device. Both problems can be caused by the misalliance of humidity and temperature inside and outside the machine.
A heated humidifier can cause condensation. A cold room can also contribute to the issue as icy air causes any liquid in the tube to condense. If you have been experiencing that, there are numerous ways to deal with the situation. That may include buying a CPAP machine with heated tubes that will enable you to adjust the temperature of the humidifier and bedroom, keeping the CPAP tubing under the bed covers, or placing the CPAP unit on the floor.
Finally
Don’t let problems like rainouts keep you from using a CPAP machine because you are on CPAP therapy to solve sleep apnea affecting your ability to have a sound rest and reducing the risk of developing other health complications. If the problems with your machine persist, speak with an experienced sleep doctor or the device supplier/manufacturer. They will offer you tips on how to resolve your health concerns.