Humidifier leaking?!

[pcathcart]

ResMed S8 Elite II
ResMed HumidAire 3i
ResMed Swift LT

So, last night was my second night on the machine, first night with my humidifier. I hooked everything up how the sleep tech showed me, strapped in, laid down, and pushed the start button...

The machine ran and the unit was making a loud rushing noise with no air coming through the mask. I reached my hand over and felt the air rushing out of the top of the humidifier. The lcd said "Leak...Check Mask." There was no air being delivered to the mask, so I checked all of the hose connections, nothing loose. I checked the connection between cpap and humidifier and it was snapped in tight. I inspected the lid to the humidifier and noticed that there is no gasket or anything on the lid to provide an airtight seal. Could this be the problem?

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

I had to remove the humidifier and use the cpap straight...not exactly what I was hoping for...

Help!

Phil

[ractar28]

http://www.resmed.com/en-us/products/hu ... sh-usa.pdf

Do you have the "top cover seal"?

User manual for the device is here http://www.resmed.com/en-us/products/se ... _multi.pdf

[pcathcart]

No I do not...that piece looks important...

I guess I know what to ask for when I call the DME this afternoon...thank you very much...

Phil

[ractar28]

I'm simply guessing as i've never seen one of these units, but I'm guessing soft silicon much like your mask or nasal pillows use to seal against the face.

[pcathcart]

Just got the top cover seal and believe that tonight I will be sleeping in harmony with my humidifier....

I also believe, after all of the horror stories I have hear on this board, that I am very lucky to have a DME that is willing to help and go out of their way when they have made a mistake...

Thanks for the help and information...

Phil

[ractar28]

I am very lucky to have a DME that is willing to help and go out of their way when they have made a mistake...

I think you're just not "unlucky". Let's face it, there are good doctors and "not so good" doctors. There are good attorneys and "not so good" attorneys. I believe that the unhappy experiences get repeated way too frequently and the happy experiences are rarely repeated.

I don't think any person should start xpap therapy without a DME. When it goes to getting masks, replacement parts, another machine, etc -- then you can "take things into your own hands".

I work with computers for a living. I'm pretty sure that if I had the "nerd herd" work on my PC, I'd find lots of things to complain about -- that they did wrong, or at least not as well as I could have. The people here are NOT a cross-section of xpap users -- the long-term folks are very well-informed, have gone out of their way to educate themselves on their condition, and in some cases, almost replace their doctor as it relates to xpap.

The doctor who originally sent me in for a sleep study was an intern at my doctor's office. He was doing his "general practitioner" rotation, and had previously had a rotation in the sleep study area. Because of his time there, he knew things that others in his graduating class didn't.

When I went to my 10 year high school reunion, we all did the little "tell us about yourself" speech, and I was amazed at the number of "respiratory therapists" that were there. This leads me to believe that it is (or was) a fast-growing sector of the medical field with loose requirements for certification.

I also believe that RTs who work with xpap users probably feel apathy toward their jobs due to the apathy of the patients (the odds of the person getting enough relief fast enough to persue long-term use aren't very good). If WE can't care enough about our health, why should they?

DMEs charge a lot for their equipment. This is due to the lack of customers, lack of competition, and simply absurd health care pricing. When those things are coupled with forced minimum pricing (or lose the ability to carry that brand of product), you've got some over-priced equipment out there.

Very seldom does a person with good "business sense" use his/her passion for a profession (DME provider) to create a great business that serves the customers and makes a profit. Therefore, you'll probably notice people who really care, but have no business sense, and businesses that perform well but have no "customer focus".

[Paul56]

Hey Phil... sometimes it can be the silliest of things that cause leaks.

One evening I had a leak around the mask that no amount of adjusting would fix. I finally turned on the lights to discover I had not snapped the mask cushion frame all the way back into the mask frame itself. Duh!

[MiekUK]

Hi,
I have a similar problem with a 3i HumidAire lid. My problem is it will not close? First question, is it meant to close?
In the manual It looks like the lid should "click" shut, denoted by the little hand on the lid. On mine there is a vary small gapo between the lip on the lid and the metal "catch" on the base of the humi and so the lip sails past the lid. Not sure if I can post mpegs on this forum but if I can I will, it details the problem exactly.

I have the lid fitted as per the instructions *there seems only one way that it will fit into its lugs anyway), so unless I have the wrong lid supplied with the humi I jsut cannot work our what the problem is. Any ideas???

[MiekUK]

Hi,
I have a similar problem with a 3i HumidAire lid. My problem is it will not close? First question, is it meant to close?
In the manual It looks like the lid should "click" shut, denoted by the little hand on the lid. On mine there is a vary small gapo between the lip on the lid and the metal "catch" on the base of the humi and so the lip sails past the lid. Not sure if I can post mpegs on this forum but if I can I will, it details the problem exactly.

I have the lid fitted as per the instructions *there seems only one way that it will fit into its lugs anyway), so unless I have the wrong lid supplied with the humi I jsut cannot work our what the problem is. Any ideas???

MANAGED TO GET VIDEO on twitpic (dot) com/57djoe