Is there a problem using CPAP with a cold/sore throat?
Question:
Greg, I grew up with an RN, (my mother) and she was aggressive to the point of frustration with respect to cleanliness and preventing germ spreading. Hence, I use distilled water in my heated humidifier. I go further with the distilled water and I boil the entire gallon for five minutes. It is my belief that since the apnea patient’s relationship with the water in the humidifier is so "intimate", it makes sense to sterilize it prior to use. I must say that someone in this newsgroup did point out to me that there are no microbes in distilled water, so boiling it might be overkill. I also wash my humidifier’s reservoir at least every other day with an anti-bacterial soap. But, you must decide. Greg G <slowg…@mindspring.com> wrote in message news:819tt5$miq$1@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net… Hi, I got my CPAP earlier this month, 11/4, but the humidifier(passover) didn’t come in for some reason. Using the machine for very long left me dried out. Then the pain in my left shoulder, elbow and neck set in, necessitating a MRI two weeks ago. I set it aside for a while. On Thursday I finally got a passover humidifier in, then Friday I woke up with a really bad sore throat and lots of congestion. I had a cold when I did my titration in August and that was the first time in a long time that I had congestion in my lungs. Could CPAP spread the infection from my throat to my lungs? — Greg G
Response:
Greg G wondered: > Could CPAP spread the infection from my throat to my lungs?
Greg, my experience is that xPAP decreased the incidences of cold/brochitis! But when I do get a cold, I must be very aggressive at treating symptoms. Regards, =jbf= John B. Fisher
Response:
My GP said that it was ok. I had to see him about something else today. I’ll try it tonight. — Greg G In article <72i_3.856$%46.3…@news4.mco>, "John B. Fisher" – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -<john_b_fis…@bellsouth.net> wrote: >Greg G wondered: >> Could CPAP spread the infection from my throat to my lungs? >Greg, my experience is that xPAP decreased the incidences of cold/brochitis! >But when I do get a cold, I must be very aggressive at treating symptoms. >Regards, >=jbf= >John B. Fisher
Response:
Hi, I got my CPAP earlier this month, 11/4, but the humidifier(passover) didn’t come in for some reason. Using the machine for very long left me dried out. Then the pain in my left shoulder, elbow and neck set in, necessitating a MRI two weeks ago. I set it aside for a while. On Thursday I finally got a passover humidifier in, then Friday I woke up with a really bad sore throat and lots of congestion. I had a cold when I did my titration in August and that was the first time in a long time that I had congestion in my lungs. Could CPAP spread the infection from my throat to my lungs? — Greg G
Response:
Greg – Colds certainly have caused me a problem when I have had them. My pressure is 16cm, which is a high enough pressure that it blows anything in my nose throughout every air passage – lungs, ears, and everywhere else. But I have a real problem sleeping without the CPAP. What I have learned to do is to dry up my nose by taking an OTC cold medicine like Contac or an anti-histamine like Actifed, but only to cover the sleep period. During the day I keep blowing my nose to rid myself of as much of the crud as I can without taking daytime doses of medication. If my nose clogs, I use a saline nasal spray to loosen it up so I can blow my nose. I do this for only 2-3 nights in a row because I don’t want any rebound effects. Fortunately this is usually enough to get through the worst part of the cold. There have been recent posts on nasal irrigation. I have never tried it but those who have, have reported that it is very beneficial. I plan to try it myself. Kent Taylor (Mongo) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Greg G wrote in message <819tt5$mi…@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net>… > Hi, > I got my CPAP earlier this month, 11/4, but the humidifier(passover) >didn’t come in for some reason. Using the machine for very long left me >dried out. Then the pain in my left shoulder, elbow and neck set in, >necessitating a MRI two weeks ago. I set it aside for a while. On Thursday I >finally got a passover humidifier in, then Friday I woke up with a really bad >sore throat and lots of congestion. I had a cold when I did my titration in >August and that was the first time in a long time that I had congestion in my >lungs. Could CPAP spread the infection from my throat to my lungs? >– Greg G
Response:
Filed under: Nasal irrigation
Leave a Comment
XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
TrackBack URL | RSS feed for comments on this post.