Question on increasing moistness of humidification a bit.

[DaveInGA]

I'm currently using my S9 Autoset with the humidifier on automatic and a temp setting of 76 degrees F. The setting allowed me to sleep well, but I woke up with fairly dry and somewhat sticky nasal membranes. My nose, due to allergies, produces a goodly amount of mucous and the current setting I'm using is drying me out just a bit. How do I change it slightly to increase the "wetness" of the humidity?

What I'd like to do is wake up with the mucous just wet enough so I can clear the mucous out upon rising, rather than having to drink fluids, etc to get wet enouh and then struggling with dry, sticky, choking thick mucous that wants to hang in my throat/upper bronchial airways.

Any advice on this one would be appreciated.

Dave

[Julie]

I'm wondering if you can set your humidifier to an actual number (in fact I know you can) rather than auto, and see what that does at diff. settings - if you're mouth breathing, more humidity might help, but not necessarily, and if you're losing Cpap air there it would account for your dryness... have you tried a full face mask? There are a lot out there these days and it will let you mouth breathe without losing therapy. As far as mucus goes, have you tried e.g. Mucinex? It just strikes me that there must be a reason behind it and have you seen an ENT to discuss that?

[Sir NoddinOff]

I'm using the Phillips System One series which has something called 'classic mode humidification' which pumps out lots of humidity and heat - adjustable of course and probably more than you'd every need at the highest settingss. You get to the setting by using the clinician's setup menu.

Sadly, that won't help you since you own an S9. I personally am not aware of any settings available that can change a ResMed S9 or S10 series' humidifier's levels beyond what you've already tried. That's one of the big reasons I decided to get a PR machine.

Maybe someone other than myself has a idea for a 'add-on' humidifier you can hook in-line with your existing hose. There has surely to to be an aftermarket solution to your problem of low humidity. Other than that, all I've got is a big fat zero unless you change to a PR system one. Here's one standalone humidifier (not cheap) that I found online:
http://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/Fisher-Pay ... CKJHU.aspx

[Krelvin]

You can turn on both the heated hose and humidity setting in the s9 so that both settings are on the menu.

Ref:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=101623&p=953679&hil ... ty#p949587

I now currently use 60F heated temp and Humidity at 2.0

[englandsf]

Turn humidifier to manual in the clinician's menu, then you'll see temp and humidity on the home screen

[Pugsy]

You can turn that setting from Automatic to "manual" then you will have temperature and humidity controls separate...they don't give you a % though...just go by numbers and 5 is the highest...it should give more than 80% I would think but a lot of it is going to depend on the bedroom ambient humidity.

[Sheffey]

I don't use my humidifier. Maybe it's because I live on Wilmington Island. But also, everyone's body is different.

I think you are getting some good advice to set it to manual and experiment with different settings - both higher and lower. Too much humidity from the CPAP humidifier can also cause congestion.

Also check that your CPAP is positioned so that an HVAC is not blowing directly on it.

rather than having to drink fluid

You should keep your body well hydrated throughout the day, every day.

[Greg Riddle]

Use hypoallergenic filters. Also you don't have to adjust the humidifier manually. You can use just the temp setting to increase or decrease the amount of moisture in the air. The auto setting maintains 80% humidity at the set temp. The higher the yemp the more total moisture you get. If you want more moisture and less temp then youll have to go to.manial control. I have found that I dont like cold air blowing in my gace so I dont mind the temp. I found for me 80° and 80% humidity are prefect for me. Keep playing with the temp setting in auto mode. If the air starts getting to warm for you but you want more moisture them try manual mode

[Nick Danger]

You can do this by either switching to manual or by leaving it on automatic and increasing the temperature. The former has the advantage of giving you more direct control over the humidity with the possibility of rainout. The latter has the advantage of avoiding rainout, but gives you less direct control of the amount of moisture (you'll get the amount of moisture corresponding to 80% relative humidity for the selected temperature).

[ChicagoGranny]

Dave

Does your mouth get dry?

[DaveInGA]

I'm wondering if you can set your humidifier to an actual number (in fact I know you can) rather than auto, and see what that does at diff. settings - if you're mouth breathing, more humidity might help, but not necessarily, and if you're losing Cpap air there it would account for your dryness... have you tried a full face mask? I haven't yet, but right now, I've about spent my budget as far as masks go. Anything new will have to wait. I'm fairly claustrophobic, so I'd prefer not to have to go to a full face mask if I can help it.

There are a lot out there these days and it will let you mouth breathe without losing therapy. As far as mucus goes, have you tried e.g. Mucinex? I have Mucinex on speed dial.

It just strikes me that there must be a reason behind it and have you seen an ENT to discuss that? I would, but my current level of medical expenditures way exceeds my ability to pay for it all. I simply have too many other issues that are more pressing to deal with at the present time. At some time in the future, I do plan to see an ENT, but can't do it now.

[DaveInGA]

Turn humidifier to manual in the clinician's menu, then you'll see temp and humidity on the home screen

This is probably the direction I'll end up going. Does anyone know, if the humidity is a bit dry on automatic, where one should start with the manual setting to get it a bit wetter?

[DaveInGA]

You can turn that setting from Automatic to "manual" then you will have temperature and humidity controls separate...they don't give you a % though...just go by numbers and 5 is the highest...it should give more than 80% I would think but a lot of it is going to depend on the bedroom ambient humidity.

I think that even though I'm in the Southeast, my bedroom is on the dry side, mostly due to having a heat pump and electric heat. Makes the room somewhat dry.

[DaveInGA]

I don't use my humidifier. Maybe it's because I live on Wilmington Island. But also, everyone's body is different. You're lucky in that.

I think you are getting some good advice to set it to manual and experiment with different settings - both higher and lower. Too much humidity from the CPAP humidifier can also cause congestion. Which is why I don't want to make a huge change.

Also check that your CPAP is positioned so that an HVAC is not blowing directly on it. Check it, it's in a good location.

rather than having to drink fluid

You should keep your body well hydrated throughout the day, every day.

I do, the nose only dries out at night while I sleep. I'm a person who drinks more than the average person and have all my life. But the CPAP is having a bit of a drying effect, hence the desire to adjust it. I do have some allergy issues going on and even with the humidity just a bit off, it's helping some with that.

[DaveInGA]

Use hypoallergenic filters.Already do.

Also you don't have to adjust the humidifier manually. You can use just the temp setting to increase or decrease the amount of moisture in the air. The auto setting maintains 80% humidity at the set temp. The higher the yemp the more total moisture you get. If you want more moisture and less temp then youll have to go to.manial control. Sound like where I'll have to go then.

I have found that I dont like cold air blowing in my gace so I dont mind the temp. I found for me 80° and 80% humidity are prefect for me. Too warm for me. I'm a big, heavy guy and I generate heat at night like a toaster oven, so cooler is generally better.

Keep playing with the temp setting in auto mode. If the air starts getting to warm for you but you want more moisture them try manual mode

Sounds like I'm at the go to manual point.