Getting Sick

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Garnet2727
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Getting Sick

Post by Garnet2727 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 5:32 pm

I'm on week three of using a BiPAP machine. So far, so good. I've been able to use it all night, every night since I first got it. Being able to breathe in bed had been such a relief! For the first time in years, I'm getting some good sleep. I have some leakage problems with the mask that I haven't been able to resolve. I have an appointment with my DME provider to change masks on Friday.

That's not why I'm posting though. My concern right now is that I think I'm starting to come down with some upper respiratory crud. My throat is sore, I've got a headache and I'm starting to clog up. I've poked around here and there but I haven't been able to find good advice about what to do when sick. The only thing that I can think of is that I should wash the mask and hose with warm soapy water every day instead of once a week.

Is that right? Any other advice?

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Goofproof
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by Goofproof » Mon Dec 04, 2017 5:43 pm

I go with Vit "C", caps 1,000 mg when well up to 3,000 when sick, Zinc Tabs also. OTC decongestants to breath, you have a ff mask, good, use your XPAP, germs don't like O2. I use Lysol spray, to kill germs, and soap and water to clean. Jim
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Garnet2727
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by Garnet2727 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 5:53 pm

Goofproof wrote:I go with Vit "C", caps 1,000 mg when well up to 3,000 when sick, Zinc Tabs also. OTC decongestants to breath, you have a ff mask, good, use your XPAP, germs don't like O2. I use Lysol spray, to kill germs, and soap and water to clean. Jim
Thank you for responding. Got all my meds and stuff lined up. I am unfortunately an old pro at dealing with upper respiratory crud. That's one of the reasons I have a full face mask. Although I've been mostly breathing through my nose, there are a lot of times when I turn into a mouth breather due to allergies or illness. Sounds like I was on the right track. Keep using the BiPAP, just do more to clean it daily then using the wipes.

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Goofproof
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by Goofproof » Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:17 pm

Garnet2727 wrote:
Goofproof wrote:I go with Vit "C", caps 1,000 mg when well up to 3,000 when sick, Zinc Tabs also. OTC decongestants to breath, you have a ff mask, good, use your XPAP, germs don't like O2. I use Lysol spray, to kill germs, and soap and water to clean. Jim
Thank you for responding. Got all my meds and stuff lined up. I am unfortunately an old pro at dealing with upper respiratory crud. That's one of the reasons I have a full face mask. Although I've been mostly breathing through my nose, there are a lot of times when I turn into a mouth breather due to allergies or illness. Sounds like I was on the right track. Keep using the BiPAP, just do more to clean it daily then using the wipes.
I don't worry a lot until i'm over the event, they are my germs, my body has to learn to defend me. Don't forget the door knobs, your keys, phone waste baskets, anything you touch, pill bottles ect.
Use data to optimize your xPAP treatment!

"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." Voltaire

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Pugsy
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by Pugsy » Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:37 pm

Just got over an upper respiratory infection (courtesy of an old woman in the bathroom at my doctor's office coughing and spreading her germs all over the bathroom) and it wasn't fun.
About all you can do for the cold symptoms is treat the symptoms as you would even if you weren't using cpap.
I find that cranking up the humidifier seems to help my nasal congestion (think how a steamy hot shower sometimes helps) but you might be the other way...so play with the humidity if you want to and if you are like me and a hot steamy shower helps...crank up the humidifier a bit.

For your equipment...the germs on the equipment are your germs already so you have already put them on the equipment.
Just do maybe a little extra cleaning with hot soapy water...more for the yuck factor than anything else. Won't hurt anything...to do a little extra cleaning if it gives you peace of mind. I didn't wash my nasal pillows until I was over the bug but then I didn't have much nasal drainage with this bug. It was more in my lungs than in my nose this time. I had a lot of cough this time and since I use a nasal pillow mask I wasn't coughing into the mask.

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Garnet2727
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by Garnet2727 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:35 pm

Thank you, Pugsy, for the sound advice. I'll just clean the mask and hose and normal, then. My DME provider said I should wash both once a week in warm soapy water. I wipe the mask down every morning with those CPAP wipes.

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AMESS
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by AMESS » Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:30 pm

I use Sambucus (that's the brand) elderberry syrup. Some food stores and health food stores sell it as well as drug stores. Tsp a day unless I am sick--then 1 tsp. 3 x a day. Heard about it a long time ago on Oz. Good for the immune system. Tastes good too and I actually think over the years I have gotten fewer colds and coughs. So I stick with it.

I use the so clean machine so I do not worry about sickness from cpap.

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Rainmom17
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by Rainmom17 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:33 pm

The most positive thing I can say about cpap so far is it greatly reduced the length and severity of my cold (I think). I was worried how I'd handle a cold with it. But, the cold I got a month ago was about the easiest cold ever, I think due to cpap therapy.

jjc155
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by jjc155 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 10:28 pm

Rainmom17 wrote:The most positive thing I can say about cpap so far is it greatly reduced the length and severity of my cold (I think). I was worried how I'd handle a cold with it. But, the cold I got a month ago was about the easiest cold ever, I think due to cpap therapy.
Yep I'd say this too. I usually get a pretty bad chest cold/bronchitis this time of year, every year. I'm a cop, my wife is a teacher and we have two teenagers so we get a good dose of germs in our house, lol. Add to it that I have RA and I'm on Enbrel which lowers my immune system, it usually takes a month to clear up even with meds. So I have my yearly chest cold, no different with the past several years and it cleared itself in less than 2 weeks. Only thing different between last year and this was the addition of a CPAP.

Maybe its something, maybe it psycho-semantic, either way it seemed to help. My guess is the addition of constant humidity and actual quality sleep helps a great deal with quickening the recovery.

J-

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by chunkyfrog » Mon Dec 04, 2017 11:20 pm

I'd rather keep using my nasal pillows, so I use whatever it takes to breathe through my nose.
--nasal spray, mucus relief meds (with plenty of water), and breathe right strips if necessary.

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Garnet2727
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Re: Getting Sick

Post by Garnet2727 » Tue Dec 05, 2017 7:25 am

Thanks for the information, all. I'm actually feeling better today. Maybe yesterday was a false alarm or the BiPAP helped beat back the bug.