Confused about humidity and "rain"

[maramane]

I have been on CPAP for 3 months. Lately I have been waking up with very dry mouth so I up'd the humidity level from 4 to 6. After a couple of hours of sleep water condensed in the hose and caused all kinds of weird gurgling sounds. So my question is firstly, some have said that one should actually reduce the humidity level when experiencing dry mouth. Is this correct? And secondly, if I increase the humidity level will raising the hose up high solve the 'rain' problem?

[Violet West]

can't answer your questions, but do want to mention that my machine "makes weird gurgling sounds" if the tank is not pushed all the way in.

[chunkyfrog]

The tank needs to be below the level of your pillow in order for excess water
to flow back into the tank, rather than collect in the hose.

[BlackSpinner]

I have been on CPAP for 3 months. Lately I have been waking up with very dry mouth so I up'd the humidity level from 4 to 6. After a couple of hours of sleep water condensed in the hose and caused all kinds of weird gurgling sounds. So my question is firstly, some have said that one should actually reduce the humidity level when experiencing dry mouth. Is this correct? And secondly, if I increase the humidity level will raising the hose up high solve the 'rain' problem?

You wear a nasal mask which means no amount of humidity is going to make a difference because you are opening your mouth and breathing that way therebye losing your therapy air.

[Julie]

You're likely breathing with your mouth open overnight, causing dryness and losing Cpap air that way... not going to be very effective treatment. Have you considered a full face mask? It's not all about humidity.

[Okie bipap]

In addition to making the machine is lower than the bed, make sure there are no dips in the hose that is lower than the machine. I made that mistake when I was on vacation in Texas last year, and the machine gurgled a lot until I got up and moved the hose.

[JDS74]

As previously mentioned, you have two different issues:
1) Condensation in the hose:
Positioning the hose so that any condensation drains back into the humidifier tank and also insulating the hose to help prevent the condensation in the first place. Your mention of condensation implies that you are not using a heated hose or the temp is not set high enough if you do. A heated hose correctly set will limit condensation and my eliminate the problem.

2) Dry mouth in the morning:
Dry mouth is caused by air passing though the mouth that otherwise would only pass through the nasal passage. With a nasal mask, mouth leaks occur when your mouth opens at night and air escapes. One solution to try is a soft cervical collar that supports your jaw when the facial relax with sleep. As has been suggested, you might also consider switching to a full face mask that will contain the therapeutic air flow even if you do breathe through you mouth some time during the night. Even so, the collar will help there also and help control leaks that happen with a FFM when the jaw drops.

[Slartybartfast]

Ditto about dry mouth. It's dry because you're opening your mouth while sleeping. Everybody's different. I sleep much better on my side. I adjust the position of my head on the pillow so my nose and the mask are hanging off the side of the pillow. My cheek and lower jaw are on the pillow, and that holds my mouth shut while I sleep. So I don't have any problem. There are special CPAP pillows that make it easier to hang your schnoz off the side, but you should be able to do the same with any pillow. Just make sure your nose is hanging off the side of the pillow. If you're a back sleeper, then you might have to resort to taping your mouth shut at night, or getting a full face mask.

Regarding rainout, I have two machines. A ResMed S9 Autoset and a DeVilbiss Intellipap. The S9 has a heated hose and automatic humidity control; the Intellipap has neither. When I'm at our house in Washington, a much cooler, damper climate than southern California, I have no problem with rainout with the Intellipap. I simply place the machine on a low bamboo stand from Pier 1 Imports next to the bed, and route the hose under the covers and keep it next to my body. The body heat and insulation the covers afford keep the air warm, and I have no rainout, even when it is very cold in the room. I end up sort of hugging the hose all night, but I sleep great and have no problem with rainout, despite having a very simple machine without all the climate paraphernalia. Placing the machine next to the bed has the additional benefit of dampening the small amount of noise it creates.

Good luck, and keep trying different things.

[BlizzardUK]

Regarding rainout I stopped using my CPAP for a while due to being woken up every night with a shower spraying me and stuttering and splurring. I eventually found out it was due to a thin layer of limescale or minerals over the silver heatplate. I used white vinegar and removed it, it has been perfect ever since.

[Gasper62]

One thing to be aware of ....... any liquid (water) travelling backwards in the hose will NOT necessarily drain into the humidifier reservoir on an S9 unit. I think it's much more likely to just pour in onto the "floor" of the humidifier instead. I'm pretty sure that my Phillips Respironics brick with the hose out the top would drain directly into the reservoir just fine. Just a thought.

[cpapernewbie]

If you are using the heated hose, STOP
Change the hose to standard hose, set the humidity to medium and see what happens
In my case, no more dry mouth!