CPAP during COVID infection

[Schwarzwaldmaedel]

I'm wondering if the majority of CPAP users who maintain a low AHI might have discontinued using their CPAP during a COVID infection. I'm a week into an infection, and have had consistently low AHI's (2.5 or less) for several years. For the sake of not spreading COVID throughout my CPAP, I've not used it. How did others with a low AHI manage their infection and CPAP?

[chunkyfrog]

I'm wondering if the majority of CPAP users who maintain a low AHI might have discontinued using their CPAP during a COVID infection. I'm a week into an infection, and have had consistently low AHI's (2.5 or less) for several years. For the sake of not spreading COVID throughout my CPAP, I've not used it. How did others with a low AHI manage their infection and CPAP?

USE YOUR CPAP.
Get the rest of your household vaccinated.
You need cpap to have the best chance to recover.
Always remember: you cannot take care of others until you take care of yourself.

[ChicagoGranny]

While fighting an infection, a person needs to sleep well and breathe well even more than at any other time.

[Conrad]

I'm wondering if the majority of CPAP users who maintain a low AHI might have discontinued using their CPAP during a COVID infection. I'm a week into an infection, and have had consistently low AHI's (2.5 or less) for several years. For the sake of not spreading COVID throughout my CPAP, I've not used it. How did others with a low AHI manage their infection and CPAP?

Your CPAP won't catch covid and you're not going to spread the virus around, any more than you normally would, while using your machine. Use your CPAP and have the rest of the house get vaccinated, if not already. I suspect that if no one has received the vaccine at this late date then they won't do it now either...

As was mentioned, you need a good night's rest.

[CPAP-A-MUST]

Having recently recovered from covid and rebound covid, I used my machine every night. I have been fully vaccinated so it wasn’t as bad. I have very low AHI and saw it nudged up a bit during the few bad days and was thankful I was using the machine.

[lazarus]

"In most cases, it is safe for people with sleep apnea to keep using their CPAP device even if they have COVID-19. That said, if you have symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19, you should talk with your health care provider about whether to continue using your CPAP machine for OSA. . . . Evidence suggests that CPAP use does not cause significant spread of the virus in the air or on surfaces. Nevertheless, CPAP users who have COVID-19 should consider sleeping in a separate bedroom to reduce exposure of household members to viral particles that could be generated by the CPAP or by their normal breathing or coughing."--https://www.sleepfoundation.org/cpap/cpap-and-covid-19

[Schwarzwaldmaedel]

Thank you, Lazarus, CPAP-A-MUST, Chunky Frog, Chicago Granny and Conrad. I'm planning on re-starting it in three days. CPAP-A-MUST, I love your quote. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

[Deborah K.]

I used my pap machine every night when I had covid. I believe it helped me get better faster. I would not wait at all, just use it starting tonight.

[Schwarzwaldmaedel]

Thanks for your response, Deborah K. Nasal congestion has been a deterrent in using the CPAP. If I test negative Monday, I'll be back on it. For me, Paxlovid has been a blessing, and knock on wood, no rebound infection is happening.

[booksfan]

I'm a bit late to the party, but when I had Covid last August (we are vaxed and were double boosted), I was unable to use my CPAP for several nights, as I coughed incessantly with each breath I took. Hubby just had cold symptoms and was able to use his machine. I was very ill, my o2 sats dropped, ran a high fever for days, my asthma spiked, and he insisted I call my dr. While Paxlovid was not an option (contraindicated b/c I'm on Eliquis), he put on Legevrio and I was able to restart CPAP use after about 3 days when my condition improved. Dr said without vax and anti-virals I likely would have ended up in hospital. Certainly not what we expected!

[ChicagoGranny]

Dr said with vax and anti-virals

*without

[WearyOne]

Having recently recovered from covid and rebound covid, I used my machine every night. I have been fully vaccinated so it wasn’t as bad. I have very low AHI and saw it nudged up a bit during the few bad days and was thankful I was using the machine.

I'm in the middle of rebound right now, and it's almost worst that originally. (I took Paxlovid).

Anyway, I have been using my CPAP all along. The morning after the first night with a lot of symptoms my AHI was higher than it's been in 15 years on the machine. Only 4.1, but it's normally under 1. I'm sure not a coincidence. I changed to APAP with a higher top range and that took care of it. I have been blessed that my cough, although bad at times, hasn't been bad enough that I couldn't use the machine.

[D.H.]

The only time I would consider not using it is if I were so congested that it didn't work, or if my face or nose was so sore that I couldn't stand the mask. Neither has happened in the twenty-four years that I've been using CPAP.

I have had bad colds and sore noses, but I struggled through anyhow.