Air Sense 11 and toxic vapor fumes

[Mark3240]

Hi, all,

I have moderate copd, but with regular exercise and weight training, I have managed it quite well. I get a reading of 95 or better when oxygen is measured with an oximeter.

I bought an Air Sensee Res Med 11 about 2 weeks ago. Saturday morning, July 10, I awoke to a terrible smell coming from my 11, which I had on all night.The smell was not coming from the water tank. It was coming from inside the machine. The smell was very nasty, reminding me of the smell from paper mills with ten times the strength.

Taking the mask off, I found that I had severe shortness of breath, faintness, severe weakness making lifting a light lawn chair hard, or walking, or any kind of exertion. It was hard to think. I had difficulty speaking full sentences. I was unsteady, and tended to lose balance when standing. Vision was light sensitive. It was awful.

I went to the ER that evening. They found nothing, but cannot test for polyeurethane toxins from heated up electronics inside the 11 -- which is almost certainly what occurred. I was given a replacement this Tuesday, but last night (Thursday), that same vapor emitted from the machine, but ceased after a minute. This happened again three times, with short bursts of the smell.

I was very very sick from that July 10 episode until yesterday, but not back to normal either. I am in a quandry as to what I should do. The Res Med local dealer acted as if my complaint about the first machine was nothing, which was surprising. This is not a trivial complaint. The smell and vapors come from inside the unit. It is a burning of the foam rubber noising attenuating material without question. I am completely uncertain on what to do to achieve a safe sleep. I can only speculate about what, if any, lung damage has been sustained, and to what extent.

[Pugsy]

Some past history here. Might be helpful. Similar issues with AirSense 10 machine/equipment.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=107891&p=1288861#p1288861

[zonker]

Hi, all,

I have moderate copd, but with regular exercise and weight training, I have managed it quite well. I get a reading of 95 or better when oxygen is measured with an oximeter.

did you ever get used to the airsense 10 you posted about in february of 2019?

[Mark3240]

I had no problem with the Air Sense 10.

[zonker]

I had no problem with the Air Sense 10.

sorry, i read that thread too quickly. i didn't see it was the heated tube.

so if you've had the 11 for so short of time, could you not return it and the 10 instead?

[palerider]

They found nothing, but cannot test for polyeurethane toxins from heated up electronics inside the 11 -- which is almost certainly what occurred.

Only there's ZERO polyurethane in the machine, and electronics are not in the air path.

This is not a trivial complaint.

Perhaps not, but it's certainly not a 'common' one. You're the first one we've heard this from in 23 months.

It is a burning of the foam rubber noising attenuating material without question.

Oh, there's *certainly* a huge question, since there's no 'foam rubber' in the machine.

[palerider]

Some past history here. Might be helpful. Similar issues with AirSense 10 machine/equipment.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=107891&p=1288861#p1288861

Hmm, let's see what the common articles of these situations are.

[palerider]

I had no problem with the Air Sense 10.

sorry, i read that thread too quickly. i didn't see it was the heated tube.

You mean, the NON-heated hose:

I JUST OPENED A NEW RES MED AUTOSENSE 10, SET IT UP. I DO NOT HAVE THE HEATED AIR HOSE.
JUST THE NON-HEATED ONE. WHEN I FIRST START IT UP, THERE IS A VERY SHARP, ALMOST GASOLINE SMELL, AND IT FEELS VERY UNHEALTHY TO BREATHE, PERHAPS SOMETHING LIKE BREATHING A TOXIC PAINT OR MOTHBALLS.

HAS ANYONE WHO HAS THE NON-HEAT HOSE EXPERIENCED THIS? i AM AFRAID TO USE IT

'course now, the OP denies what he posted in 2019

maybe the gasoline fumes caused memory issues?

[zonker]

I had no problem with the Air Sense 10.

sorry, i read that thread too quickly. i didn't see it was the heated tube.

You mean, the NON-heated hose

<sigh> i've. really. got. to. start. reading. slowly.

[chunkyfrog]

I might suspect a stroke.
They are one of the many things associated with untreated apnea,
and can affect memory, senses, and anything else the brain does.
If the docs say no to a stroke, make them check for a brain tumor.
Synesthesia sucks.

[Mark3240]

Hi, all,

I have moderate copd, but with regular exercise and weight training, I have managed it quite well. I get a reading of 95 or better when oxygen is measured with an oximeter.

did you ever get used to the airsense 10 you posted about in february of 2019?

Yes, I did. That smell did not result serious shortness of breath, disorientation, etc. set forth in my current post. Most posts are helpful; a few are surprisingly nasty and irrational, or to negate the validity of my 2023 Air Sense 11 experience and complaint based upon nonsense. What I described is a seriously concerning experience, starting with serious shortness of breath; no amount of snarky replies change that. It is regrettable that there are some bad people out there, likely hunched over their laptop with pajamas on, who like to convey their lifetime unhappiness to others any way they can.

[zonker]

Hi, all,

I have moderate copd, but with regular exercise and weight training, I have managed it quite well. I get a reading of 95 or better when oxygen is measured with an oximeter.

did you ever get used to the airsense 10 you posted about in february of 2019?

Yes, I did.

if you still have that and it does you no harm, why not return your airsense 11 which is still under warranty? i'm assuming you bought it through a dme and not a peer to peer purchase?

you can see if they have an airsense 10 for you or you you can get your money back and buy a 10 elsewhere.

good luck!

[SmokeChaser426]

All my equipment Smells like a Chemical Factory, I wash everything in non flavored Baby Bottle cleaner then let air dry for weeks then its barely usable
Just a thought

[Grumpy48]

A couple of questions......

- Do you have any kind of cleaning routine you do to the CPAP machine, hose, and mask (SoClean or similar)?

- The symptoms you cite are a few that could be linked to CO (carbon monoxide) poisoning and perhaps the odor you noticed was related. Is there anything in your room, house, or apartment that might be a CO source (gas water heater that may have compromised venting for example) or an AC unit that draws outside air that may be near a parking area or other source of combustion. The source could be transient and not there all the time. If you don't have one, it would be a very wise idea to get a CO detector (or a combo fire/CO detector).
https://www.pennmedicine.org/for-patien ... -poisoning

- You stated you have an oximeter. If it's the kind you wear at night, might it have recorded data that showed a drop in O2 saturation during this episode?

Your nose and body is likely sensing something, but the chance of the CPAP being the source is very, very slim. If it is indeed something like CO perhaps the CPAP gives you a stronger concentration than just breathing the room air without it.

[palerider]

I had no problem with the Air Sense 10.

sorry, i read that thread too quickly. i didn't see it was the heated tube.

You mean, the NON-heated hose

<sigh> i've. really. got. to. start. reading. slowly.

Or maybe quickly, but twice?