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Okay, this is what I'm talking about. I too, have that horrible allergy like symtoms after starting my CPAP. I had allergies before but nothing like this. It feels like I have a worm wiggling around up my right nostril. I sneeze about 25 times in the morning but it bothers me ALL of the time since I use my CPAP every night. When I put it on, I can breathe perfectly but as soon as it comes off in the morning the sneezing and mucas begins all over. I'm at my wit's end. I too use Dawn to wash my hose and pillow. My humidifier part is soaked in 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water and allowed to dry without rinsing. I have the allergy filter in and I was told the rough side faces away from the machine so that's how I have it. I usually sleep with the humidifier on 1. It's such a shame that I can breath so good with it on but everything goes to crap when I take it off.

None that you haven't tried. Perhaps there is mold somewhere. Perhaps you need to consider a surgical option??? Something to talk with your doc about. Also, with my allergies, I find zyrtec, which is now also over the counter, much more effective than claritin. I might as well be taking candy if I'm taking claritin.

chander wrote:I have been using RESMED ESCAPE S8 Cpap machine for almost a year. I have been using it with nasal pillow mask and I have also tried triangular nose mask.
Whenever I use it, I get up in the morning with severe sneezing, runny nose, painful watery eyes which lasts for 2-3 days if I stop using CPAP. Some days I will be perfectly fine and if I use CPAP for 1-2 hour nap, I get up with these symptoms.
I have tried changing filters, liquid soaps for cleaning and humidifier settings varied from 1-6. On doctor's advice, I have tried Claritin, flonase but no relief from this misery. Any suggestions as I can not quit CPAP due to severe Apnea.

One suggestion that I haven't seen in this thread yet - have those of you experiencing allergy problems considered whether your pillow or mattress might be the problem? Especially if what you're experiencing is symptoms when you take the mask off in the morning.

I could easily see pillow allergens (dust mites, mold spores, pet allergens, whatever) becoming a real nuisance with CPAP, since we all have that jet of lovely humidified air exhausting from the vents in our masks. That jet could be providing warmth and moisture to allergens, as well as stirring them up via the air movement.

This would really fit the situation where a bed partner experiences sneezing and congestion while we're masked up. And it could explain why for some of us, all night we're fine, but the sneezing etc. starts as soon as we take the mask off.

I used to have horrible allergies and so all my pillows have allergen-proof encasings on them underneath the pillowcases (mattress is encased, too). My first instinct when allergies start is to change my pillowcases (which are all unfashionably plain white cotton so I can wash them frequently in hot water with bleach, for same reasons).

Just a thought!

Try a Breathe-Rite strip, seriously.
The adhesive is a bit aggressive, so you might need to use Milk of Magnesia in order to keep your skin.

Perhaps try a mask that will have you breathe through your mouth? If you get the air, that is the important thing.

Some people need more humidity not less for runny sinus. Each person is different. try all levels of humidity.

Dhill...it has been the same for me! With the mask on I breathe like a charm, no itchies, no sneezies...but let that mask come off and it's a whole 'nother ballgame! I just finished my second round of antibiotic and I'm still taking the zyrtec and also had a round of steroids in Dec., along with using Flonase. I can say the the frequency of the episodes seems to be slowing down(I've made it 5 days without symptoms!), although this morning within 30 mins. I've started feeling the muscus building in the nose again and just got through with a round of sneezing! My ENT does not seem to think it's related to the cpap, but I've never had this kind of prolonged allery symptoms before...I've been battling this since Oct., started cpap in Sept. I've checked the humidity levels in the house, changed mattress, pillows, ect. Swap out my fine filter every two weeks, use a neti pot, set my humidity on the machine to high (lower made it worse), so really have no clue what else to try. I've come to the conclusion that while it may not be the cpap itself causing this, I'm thinking because the cpap does open up my sinuses so well, I am now experiencing allergies to things I've never been allergic to before! It's the only theory I have! Just not sure how to fix it!

Gaga,

I wonder if maybe some people's noses and sinuses just don't like rapid change. If I don't use my ramp feature when I go to bed, my sinuses and nasal passages complain bitterly for about half an hour. Similarly, if I go from, say, a hot summer day into cold air conditioning I stuff up for a while. So I just got to thinking, what if it's somehow too much of a rapid change to just turn the machine off and unmask, after a night of continuous positive pressure.

Not sure how to test this, since machines don't have a reverse ramp

Just a thought.

I turned up the humidifier and it was better. Instead of sneezing 50 times in the morning, it was only like 10. I had the dial on 1 and turned it up to 2. Tonight, I'll turn it up to 3. I knew my nose was really dry inside and that makes sense that if wasn't hydrating it more, it would get drier. Now we'll see if I can't lick this.

Be sure your CPAP machine isn't sitting somewhere that the air intake is vacuuming up dust or something else that's irritating.

Wanted to post...I found pastuerized water at Walmart. It was the only one different from the steamed and reversed type of distilled I'd been using. I've used it now for the past 3-4 nights and can't say that I see a difference. I didn't go into a full blown, all day sneeze the other day, so that was a plus. I did start in with some again this morning about 10 mins. after unmasking, but again it didn't go into full blown. I can't really say the water made the difference as of course now the pollens are picking up around here and I was outside yesterday. I just normally don't react that bad to pollens, or I should say I've never reacted this bad to whatever this is in previous years!

Gaga58 wrote:Wanted to post...I found pastuerized water at Walmart.

Wow, was it really labeled as "pasteurized?" Was it also filtered, distilled, reverse osmosis, etc. as well?

Pasteurization would probably not help much. It wouldn't remove any allergens or minerals like distillation does.

Yep...seriously pastuerized...none of the other things, so don't know that it's any better or worse than any other bottled water. Just thought I'd try it since there were those who think the steamed distilled, filtered and osmosis might have caused the trouble. No difference for me that I can tell! It is 30 cents cheaper a gallon though!!

You are looking at things backwards.
When using cpap you are breathing filtered air and have no symptoms, when not using cpap you are breathing non filtered air and have symptoms. That means the problem is NOT you cpap machine but your environment! The sneezing first thing in the morning is your body reacting to the filthy air. No amount of special water is going to make your environment cleaner.

It is kind of like going on vacation and when you return to your polluted city you react by getting a sinus headache. The fault was not the vacation.

It's worth trying anything that isn't dangerous, expensive, painful, or difficult. Sometimes trying different things will help you stumble across the real reason.

Pasteurized water is probably no better for your CPAP or your allergy symptoms than your tap water, but since it come from a different source, it might be better or worse because of that.

It sounds like it probably isn't demineralized like distilled water would be, so dump the water every day and clean the chamber more often if you decide to use pasteurized water. I'll recommend distilled, just to make maintenance and cleaning of the tank easier.