Flying and CPAP

[drj130]

Hello everyone. I'm now back from my most recent visit to Russia and I thought that I'd let you all know how some of my travels went. Due to changes requested by my wife, I had to get a last minute ticket to a different city then normal. I got to fly Business Class. It was a dream, at least I think so. Anyways, I'll list what I dealt with during my last trip.

1. Security in Germany: When I went through security this time at the airport in Munich, I had a harder time getting through with my distilled water. I was able to make it through with it though.
2. Security in Moscow: I didn't have as much trouble with them as I did with the Germans. The Russians were trying to figure out what all the different parts were because of the pictures created when my machine was scanned. Other then that no real problems.
3. Flight in Business Class: When I decided to sleep, the biggest problem that I had was that there was no power to the outlet. The outlet could accept 110v or 220v plugs. Turns out that the power to the outlets wasn't turned on and it took the crew about 30 minutes to figure out how to turn it on. It was interesting setting up my machine and finding a place to put it. I was able to lay flat in the seat, and set it on the floor on the hard carrying case that I have for it. I slept for about 5 hours on an 8 1/2 hour flight.
4. Water: Once I finished the distilled water that I had brought with me, I had to resort to bottled water. Turns out that the water I purchased was not the best that I should have gotten. I had deposits built up all over the water tank for my machine. That was after 3 days of use.
5. Travel Case: I'm glad that I had gotten the hard case for my machine. After taking a train for 24 hours (more on the next line on that), Marina, her brother and I loaded our bags into the back of a van taxi. Once we got to the Bus station, opened the back and my machine fell right out of the back and hit the ground HARD. If it hadn't been for that case, I've a feeling that I'd have been looking for a new machine.
6. Train Travel: Was unable to use my machine on the train because there were no outlets in the compartment that we stayed in. I feel sorry for the other two people who slept in that small room when I was able to sleep.
7. Impressions of others of CPAP equipment: There were a few times when her family members asked about the noise I make when I sleep. Marina explained to them the best she could and I showed off the machine, masks, and scents. They were very impressed and I was asked to see if I could help one wife out and get her a machine for her husband. I told her that I'd see what I could do, but didn't make any promise.

Well, that about wraps up my latest trip to Russia. If you have any questions please ask and I'll do my best to answer them.

David

[sonogo]

I travel 2 weeks a month and have taken various world vacations. The most scrutiny of my xPAP machine is always in the USA. The security rules have vacillated over time, but the last year or so they routinely do a test on it. Doesn't bother me, just slows me down a bit. They've never damaged it that I could see. It is strange, though, that the machine is mostly empty, and you'd think x-rays could see more in it than they could in a laptop, which they never check, but oh well.

The only hassle I had was in Albania, where a hard-nosed woman kept demanding what my machine was, and her English wasn't good (my Albanian was almost zero). I tried miming breathing but got nowhere. Then her supervisor showed up and told her to back off since she was being so hostile about it (and overall, I thought Albanians were really welcoming, low-key people).

All these places have had zero interest in my xPAP.
London Heathrow is VERY security-conscious. Also Istanbul, where they have more security than the US. Athens, Paris, all the Scandinavian countries, Amsterdam, Rome, Riga (Latvia), several Caribbean islands, and Egypt: no interest in looking at it anywhere. And, no problem taking it on board as a 2nd carry-on, which I had heard might be a problem on international trips.

I just put up with local water; too much hassle to find distilled, though sometimes I'll get bottled. I also leave it out in hotel rooms with tape over the air outlet and put the mask and tube away--just don't want any curious maids messing around with it. I've never tried using one on a plane--that's brave of you! I really would dread the stares. But also, I have so many extra straps, my face is literally like a mummy's with only a little space around my eyes showing, so I'd rather not scare anyone with that scene.