cpap with a cold

[yawningjoe56]

hi everyone, i have a question for you all last night i went to bed with a heavy cold, put my mask on could not stop coughing, so took it off had it on for about four hours and my AHA shot up to 12.9 when normally my range is 1to5,i was once told you should not use cpap when you have a cold, hope you guys can help in this matter, also can you take cold meds when you use cpap thanking you all in this matter in advance.

[ChicagoGranny]

i was once told you should not use cpap when you have a cold

BS. When your body is fighting a cold, more than ever, it needs sleep and breathing. Gramps says colds use to be really bad for him. With CPAP, when he gets a cold, he is able to sleep and breathe and the cold is not as severe, and he gets over it quicker.

coughing

Maybe try a nasal rinse/Neti pot before bed. You may also need a cough suppressant drug.

Make sure you stay well hydrated. This will help reduce dryness in the throat and coughing.

[OkyDoky]

Over the holidays I had a cold for a week. Coughed all day even with OTC meds. But at night I took my cough med and wore my CPAP and night time was the only time I didn't cough. The humidified air allowed me to get the rest I needed. Preventing it from turning into a worse bronchitis.
You may need to increase your humidity until you get well. And clean your mask with a baby wipe or wash it each morning.

[Okie bipap]

When I had bronchitis over the holidays, I used my machine every night even with all the hacking and coughing that goes with it. The only night I didn't use it was the first night after getting a steroid shot for the inflammation in my chest. These thing always wire me up, and I don't sleep for about 24 hours after getting one of them. Once I was finally able to sleep, I used my machine.

[palerider]

Over the holidays I had a cold for a week. Coughed all day even with OTC meds. But at night I took my cough med and wore my CPAP and night time was the only time I didn't cough. The humidified air allowed me to get the rest I needed. Preventing it from turning into a worse bronchitis.
You may need to increase your humidity until you get well. And clean your mask with a baby wipe or wash it each morning.

likewise, I ended up with the flu, thought thanks to the tamiflu meds, it only got to the chest congestion stage, I added humidity, and slept with the mask, the coughing and gurgling was worse when not wearing cpap.

[raisedfist]

CPAP helps me feel better when sick. My feeling is that sleep will not be great regardless, and not using your prescribed therapy is most likely just going to make things worse.

When sick I personally clean my mask daily and I test out different humidity levels to see if it helps.

If you don't sleep much at night, maybe try napping with the CPAP during the day if you get a chance. When I get really sick sometimes I just lay down and watch TV or use the computer with my bi-level on (nose pillows while awake). For me when I mask up my heart rate declines significantly, and in general I notice my heart rate elevated when sick, so I'd like to think that my body can spend the energy it needs to fight an infection by giving my heart a break. Note: these are just my own personal experiences.

I personally don't take night time cold medications, but I do take a steaming hot shower and clean out my nose before laying down. I wear a full face mask when sick and I don't worry about my AHI.

[Wulfman...]

hi everyone, i have a question for you all last night i went to bed with a heavy cold, put my mask on could not stop coughing, so took it off had it on for about four hours and my AHA shot up to 12.9 when normally my range is 1to5,i was once told you should not use cpap when you have a cold, hope you guys can help in this matter, also can you take cold meds when you use cpap thanking you all in this matter in advance.

Are you taking Lisinopril by any chance? It's known for causing dry coughing.

Shortly after I started therapy, I developed a cough so bad that I couldn't keep my mask on. Don't know if it was a real cold or caused by medications.......but I had to suspend usage of my therapy for about 10 nights until the cough subsided and I could continue with my therapy. It was brutal and by the end of the 10 days, I couldn't wait to get back to using my CPAP. I also learned to keep some cough syrup, cough drops and nasal inhaler on my nightstand to help in case of similar events.
Anyway, that's the last time I had a cold/cough that bad that I couldn't use my CPAP.
I disagree with whoever told you not to use your CPAP if you have a cold, but in some circumstances you gotta do what you gotta do to try to get some sleep. Using CPAP is more often beneficial when colds and flu strike. Within a few months, I discovered that I couldn't sleep without my CPAP, so I'm glad that situation happened before that point and that I could sort of sleep without it. It was still a horrible experience, but.......use your equipment if at all possible.


Den

.

[zoocrewphoto]

I found that I had a hard time keeping my mask on when I was having a coughing fit. A couple single coughs were fine, but a fit would leave my gasping for air, and I would rip the mask off. I realized that this sounded like a beginner with the starting pressure too low.

So...when I am having coughing problems, I raise my starting pressure from 11 to 13, and I can get through the coughing fits without ripping the mask off. Since the mask stay on, I fall asleep and sleep much better. No more skipping a night just because of a lousy cough.

[ChicagoGranny]

likewise, I ended up with the flu, thought thanks to the tamiflu meds, it only got to the chest congestion stage, I added humidity, and slept with the mask, the coughing and gurgling was worse when not wearing cpap.

Curious whether you had a flu vaccination, and if so, how long between the vaccination and the flu?

I had the vaccine first week in October. The flu is starting to rage here just now. I am a bit concerned that my flu antibodies have declined significantly.

[palerider]

likewise, I ended up with the flu, thought thanks to the tamiflu meds, it only got to the chest congestion stage, I added humidity, and slept with the mask, the coughing and gurgling was worse when not wearing cpap.

Curious whether you had a flu vaccination, and if so, how long between the vaccination and the flu?

I had the vaccine first week in October. The flu is starting to rage here just now. I am a bit concerned that my flu antibodies have declined significantly.

I'm pretty sure I got the flu from the vaccination, though I have no proof. I've been told that you shouldn't get a vaccination if you are physically run down, and according to the records, they vaccinated me when I was in the ER, after collapsing from kidney failure.

couple weeks later, flu.

[ChicagoGranny]

I'm pretty sure I got the flu from the vaccination

You can't get the flu from the vaccination.

The vaccine is made from an inactivated virus that can't transmit infection. So people who get sick after receiving a flu vaccination were going to get sick anyway. It takes a week or two to get protection from the vaccine. But people assume that because they got sick after getting the vaccine, the shot caused their illness.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases- ... -flu-myths

[palerider]

I'm pretty sure I got the flu from the vaccination

You can't get the flu from the vaccination.

The vaccine is made from an inactivated virus that can't transmit infection. So people who get sick after receiving a flu vaccination were going to get sick anyway. It takes a week or two to get protection from the vaccine. But people assume that because they got sick after getting the vaccine, the shot caused their illness.

well, regardless of what you can dig up from the web... I'm just reporting what I was told by more than one medical professional.

how ''bout digging up an answer to your question then?

[D.H.]

I've been using CPAP for 17½ years, and I don't ever remember having a cold severe enough to not be able to use CPAP.

[Rob K]

Hope your better by now. I'm just getting over a cold I had this week. It's amazing how much worse colds are when you have sleep apnea. The machine seemed to help, but not a whole lot. Didn't sleep much this week, around 2-4 hours of poor sleep per night. Had to get out the old FFM and fiddle with that for a few nights. A couple nights of dry soar throat until I figured out the right humidity setting. Buy the time I sort of got that figured out my congestion started to clear up enough with meds that I could go back to my nasal mask and ride it out the rest of the way.

The full face mask seems to be pretty handy when you can't breath through your nose. I noticed the silicone is getting pretty broken down after sitting for a couple years, white deposits, wet chemicals leaching out and color turning yellow. Looks like I need to get a new one to have on hand for the next cold. I'll certainly be steering wide of anyone with a cold from here on out.

[bmanley]

I'm pretty sure I got the flu from the vaccination

You can't get the flu from the vaccination.

The vaccine is made from an inactivated virus that can't transmit infection. So people who get sick after receiving a flu vaccination were going to get sick anyway. It takes a week or two to get protection from the vaccine. But people assume that because they got sick after getting the vaccine, the shot caused their illness.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases- ... -flu-myths

My doctor took the flu shot once and got the flu in just a few days, said he would never take the shot again. Myself I've never taken one.