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| Solving Rainout Hose Condensation (Mile High Sleeper) (Humidification) |
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Solving a Common Humidification Problem
Rainout or Condensation in the Hose
A River Runs Through It
Rainout video: http://www.cpap.com/downloadVideo.php?VGID=16
In a cool bedroom, if you have a heated humidifier as part of your PAP (CPAP, APAP, BiPAP) machine, water may condense in the hose running between the humidifier and your mask. It can drip on your face, causing discomfort and mask leaks. Try several of these remedies to eliminate rainout.
- Place your machine and humidifier well below your bed, near the floor on a low shelf or footstool, so the 6 foot hose has a long vertical run before reaching your headboard. (You may need a 10 foot hose if you have a very high bed.) Hold the hose in place with a hose clip or elastic ponytail band pinned to the edge of the mattress, and another on the headboard. This is a first step, but may not work.
- Turn down the heated humidifier to the lowest, coolest setting. If that doesn’t work, turn off the heat but continue to use the humidifier (passive humidification or passover). If your nose gets congested, find another remedy.
- Raise the room temperature. This may work. Can you sleep well at the higher room temperature?
- Common advice is to keep the hose under the blanket, which seldom works. If you are using effective hose management, this is not an option, since the hose is coming from the headboard.
- Wrap the hose in bubblewrap, lightweight socks or tights with the toes cut open, or make or buy a fleece hose cover like the Snuggle Hose http://www.cpap.com/simple-find-cpap-products/cpap-hose-tubing. This may work.
- If your mask has its own hose, you may need to cover that also. A light covering made from old pantyhose or tights reduces weight and drag.
- A reliable way to completely eliminate rainout is to buy a heated hose. A readily available, reliable add-on heated hose is the “Aussie hose” from SleepZone in Australia, http://www.sleepzone.com.au/ . Allow up to 3 weeks for delivery to clear US customs. For appearance, you can cover the heated hose with a SnuggleHose cover. The Aussie hose has its own insurance code number, so it may be reimbursable on insurance. People use the heated hose summer and winter. Since the heated hose is so effective, some people don’t want to be without it in case of breakage, so they have a second, backup heated hose.
- One Fisher and Paykel straight CPAP machine package includes a heated hose and humidifier. See http://www.cpap.com/productpage/fisher-paykel-hc604-cpap.html
Sources: Based on personal experience with obstructive sleep apnea and gleaned from the collective wisdom of cpaptalk.com contributors, and Answers at www.cpap.com.
Want more? See also Common Side Effects in cpap.com Answers section, http://www.cpap.com/cpap-faq/Common-CPAP-Side-Effects.html#FGID-158
See the blog peer coaching articles on Machine Choices and Solving Common Equipment Problems at http://smart-sleep-apnea.blogspot.com .
Not written by healthcare professionals. The information and opinions offered are not intended or recommended as a substitute for professional medical advice. © Mile High Sleeper, September 2006-2008. Permission to use for free educational purposes. |
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