Why the hell would I use a humidifier.

[Kiralynx]

I have been thinking about why some people may need humidification and others might not. Could it be related to the degree of mouth leak that is occurring? Mouth leak is said to be fairly common. If it was occurring, to any degree, then airflow through the nose and mouth would indeed be greater than normal breathing, leading to dryness of the nose and mouth and rhinitis etc.

It depends on the individual. I've been on a Bipap ASV for eleven years. I go through about a pint of distilled water every week with my TapPap mask.

My husband is new to his AutoCPAP. We're attempting to get his leak rate under control. He uses half the distilled water that I do, never mind whether he's using the TapPap, the Mirage Liberty, or the P30.

[Julie]

So much of it depends on local conditions and seasons... as has been said Floridians likely need far less (if any) added humidity most of the time, but those in high, dry places, or just the rest of us using central heat in winter do find it's too dry much of the time to never use it, though e.g. I live near water so don't use it often... just depends.

[roadcycler]

Just my two bits. Having worked in the hospital for 35 years the things I have noticed are: ( Bearing in mind I live in central BC Canada where in the winter the relative humidity can be very low single to teen digits due to the cold temps, whereas in warm humid climates the humidity can be 100% and oppressive)

whenever we give supplemental oxygen it is bubbled through water before being delivered to the patient. Yes oxygen is more drying than room air but the added humidity is neccessary.

whenever you see a patient on a ventilator they do add additional humidity as rote otherwise you get all sorts of mucosal linings drying out and complications.

So it depends on the person ( I have work related asthma and I would almost sell my soul for humid air in the middle of winter whereas others might not need it) and depends where you live. With patient care not everyone responds the same nor does any one health care worker have all the answers. ( The more you learn, the more that you realize that you are uneducated )

[Violet West]

My doc told me that "studies have shown" having the humidifier is one of the two factors positively affecting cpap compliance and leading to happy users, and that compliance numbers rose sharply after humidifiers were added as standard to the machines. (I forget what the second factor was.)

[kbh209]

Who needs and doesn't need a humidifier?
Well, like my underwear, Depends.

I've tried the CPAP with and without a humidifier. The latter and I'm waking up screaming "Holy Bloody Nose Batman!"
I need it and honestly I enjoy the moist heated air.

If you don't like the humidifier, well that's your preference.

[peelunkins]

Thank God the rest of the medical profession doesn't adhere to your line if thinking.

You are of course entitled to your opinion on just about anything in life.

Ever hear of cpap rhinitis?

+1

[tedtomato]

Excuse my rudeness but!!!!!!!!!
I hope I am reasonably educated in bacteriology, physics, medicine, respirology etc as I am a GP.

Ah, a shambling moron that thinks they know everything... right.

Why the need to insult people? He is entitled to his opinion, and he can also state his background/education to give some context.

What's your education and job (as a GP would be an idiot according to you)?

[tedtomato]

When I started CPAP a couple of years ago, the Resmed machine provided didn't come with a humidifier, and it was winter in England.

I just couldn't sleep with the flow of cold air (room was quite cold during the night) coming into my nose and mouth (first mask was full face), so the first thing I did was to buy the heated hose and humidifier for the machine.

However, now, I use my machines with little or no humidification. I use a nasal mask, and don't breathe anymore through my mouth. I have my Resmed Airsense 10 set to a very low humidification in winter. I have used the Resmed Airmini without humidification at all.

[chunkyfrog]

Water is pretty cheap; and not much trouble for the relief it can give.
Too many (including doctors) ASSume everyone's needs are like theirs.
Good luck with getting all of us to agree.
Experience has shown us who can live without it--and who can NOT.

[Dog Slobber]

Why the need to insult people? He is entitled to his opinion, and he can also state his background/education to give some context.

What's your education and job (as a GP would be an idiot according to you)?

You didn't see the original post.

What you saw, was a post that had been completely written two days later.

[ChicagoGranny]

He is entitled to his opinion, and he can also state his background/education to give some context.

Looks like the OP decided he was not entitled to that opinion.

[palerider]

Excuse my rudeness but!!!!!!!!!
I hope I am reasonably educated in bacteriology, physics, medicine, respirology etc as I am a GP.

Ah, a shambling moron that thinks they know everything... right.

Why the need to insult people? He is entitled to his opinion, and he can also state his background/education to give some context.

What's your education and job (as a GP would be an idiot according to you)?

Why the need to blather about things you know NOTHING about?
OP came in here flinging insults and stupidity. If you'd *think* you'd notice the original title was "Why the hell would you use a humidifier on your CPAP"

It says a lot about *you* that you chose to single me out when just about everyone was jumping on the OP. Bugger off.

[jsmit86]

I certainly agree that everyone may have different needs.
I know I tend to mouth breathe, and I assumed that using the humidifier would help with that. (I know that most of my dry mouth is likely due to mouth breathing, but I'm not going to tape my mouth shut.) While it does help to some degree, I'd been using level "4" on my unit for some time, mostly with decent results.

Recently I've had a lot of nasal dripping especially in the morning, and also a bit of a persistent cough. On a bit of a lark, I dialed back my humidity setting, first to "2", and now to "1". My nasal drip and cough improved dramatically.

Thinking back as to what else may have changed, I know that I now use regular hoses instead of the heated hose. I also increased my pressure a bit based on the advice here from posting Oscar graphs. Perhaps those changes may have had some impact on the humidity issues. Not sure, but making that other tweak seems to have improved things a lot.

I have also noticed that when I use my travel unit, I don't seem to have much problem without the humidifier, and that's been in Phoenix and Las Vegas.
It seems that there can be a lot of variables, and of course individual needs vary.

[prodigyplace]

With your Resmed machine if you dial your humidity to 0 and put water in the thank, you get "passover" humidity from the air flowing over the water, without any heating.

[jsmit86]

With your Resmed machine if you dial your humidity to 0 and put water in the thank, you get "passover" humidity from the air flowing over the water, without any heating.

Yes - I've seen that posted before. I may also give that a try to see if there is any additional improvement. Thanks!