Cpap with a nasty cold

[Pulpracer]

Anyone have any tips for using a Cpap with a cold? It's kind of miserable strapping on a full face mask, though the humidifier does seem to help once I can get to sleep. Plus should I be cleaning extra? Washing all the stuff every day?

[nanwilson]

I have a lousy cold right now plus I have asthma... I just keep on paping. Last night I switched to my full face mask, but that lasted until about 3:30am when I switched back to my nasal pillows. I feel like total crap during the day but much better at night with my machine on. I do clean my mask every day with this cold though, don't need to re-infect myself
Stay hydrated, take Tylenol and go to bed, keep using your cpap....you will feel better in about 10 days.

[Janknitz]

When I have a cold I am most grateful for CPAP. Before CPAP, I could not breathe or sleep for days when I had a cold. On CPAP there will usually be one bad night where sneezes and runny nose make it tough to use a ff mask, but if I have to get up and clean it or even just hold it up to my face for the humidity I will do that. And even on the worst night I still sleep thanks to CPAP.

It helps my asthma immensely, too.

You have to soldier on through that one or two tough nights using your pap as you can. During the day sip tea and broth and nap with your pap. Hope you feel better soon!

[ChicagoGranny]

Anyone have any tips for using a Cpap with a cold? It's kind of miserable strapping on a full face mask, though the humidifier does seem to help once I can get to sleep. Plus should I be cleaning extra? Washing all the stuff every day?

By all means, one needs to breathe well at night when the body is fighting a cold.

Here is a post from Dr. Falcon about how to relieve congestion at night. His advice is for nasal inflammation and rhinitis and will help most people when they have a cold.

Hi, Clogged & Clog3. I discovered that ALL of my sleep-disordered breathing related problems were directly tied to nasal inflammation and stuffiness (which I was unaware of) which occurred at night while I was asleep.

I'm a medical doctor and I personally suffered from symptoms of chronic daytime fatigue & drowsiness, mild snoring, and difficulty arising out of bed each morning for nearly 20 years. I finally underwent a sleep study in 2003 and was diagnosed with Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS), which is a condition with symptoms of daytime fatigue similar to obstructive sleep apnea, however, there are no actual periods of night-time apnea (breathing cessation) observed during sleep study testing.

After trying all of the standard therapies for UARS and sleep apnea (CPAP, palate surgery, oral appliances, etc) and getting no lasting relief, I finally discovered what has been the complete cure for my sleep-disordered breathing related symptoms.

I never noticed myself to have allergies or nasal problems during the daytime, and so it never occurred to me that I was possibly experiencing nasal problems at night while I was asleep.

It wasn't until an ENT doctor performed a nasopharyngoscope on me and told me that I had mild nasal passage inflammation, that I was aware it.

In order to address nasal inflammation and rhinitis, most ENT doctors prescribe a MORNING regime of using an oral non-sedating antihistamine tablet (such as Claritin, etc) and/or a nasal steroid spray (such as Flonase, etc). Nasal saline rinses are also often advised. My ENT gave me the same standard recommendations.

However, my ENT was not aware of any strong connection between nasal passageway blockage at night and sleep-disordered breathing conditions.

I gave some thought to this potential connection, and I experimented around. I amazingly found that by simply taking a Claritin tablet (or other non-sedating antihistamine, such as Allegra-D or Zyrtec) at BEDTIME (the KEY is taking it at bedtime), I am able to breathe fully and deeply throughout the night, and all of my sleep-disordered breathing related symptoms are gone! I describe this in an ebook I recently wrote on the topic, at www (dot) uarsrelief (dot) com.

I found that the connection between my nasal passageway blockage at night and my sleep-disordered breathing condition was very evident. My discovery allowed me to easily correct my symptoms and become completely free from all daytime drowsiness, snoring, and difficulty with early morning arising. Oh, and even though I am CPAP-free now, I think that my discovery can possibly even help those who still need to remain on CPAP for their sleep conditions. (There have been numerous patients and friends I know who have tried this and gotten the same relief that I have.)

PS: I know you've already received a lot of advice on this forum regarding caution with the use of Afrin and Afrin-like sprays. I agree with this advice you've been given by the other forum members. Although these topical decongestants are great for relieving nasal inflammation and stuffiness in the short term, ironically, for most people they actually cause increased inflammation and stuffiness when used beyond 3 - 5 days. This effect even has its own name and is called rhinitis medicamentosa, or the "rebound effect." Also, there is the potential addiction concern for some users as well, as several posters have observed. Alternating usage from one nostril to the other, over the course of several days (as has already been suggested to you), may be a way for some people to possibly avoid problems with these nasal sprays, but not everyone.

The fact that you're seeing some relief from your symptoms with the use of Afrin (or an Afrin-like spray) at bedtime is a good sign, however. It reveals that your symptoms are due to blockage/stuffiness of your nasal passageways at night (which I discovered was my problem, as well)…and this problem CAN be fixed. It's just that Afrin-like nasal sprays are not a good long-term fix. The non-sedating antihistamines tablets (such as Claritin, Allegra-D, or Zyrtec) are preferable long-term solutions. The KEY/most important factor however, which I discovered, is to take one of these at bedtime. That has made the most incredible difference in my life!

Best of luck!

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36483&p=319026#p319026

[englandsf]

I've been using morning nasal rinses and cortico steroid spray (Veramyst) daily since July and have not had a single cold.

When I get allergy congested I just practice breathing through my nose despite the congestion and still using nasal pillows (P10). After 10-12 breaths it clears me out. If I get too little air I stop, take a few mouth breaths and start again. All while still lying down.

It takes some practice/persistence to use the CPAP to clear your nose - and for me no heat and simple pass over humidity are enough.

YMMV

[palerider]

I've been using morning nasal rinses and cortico steroid spray (Veramyst) daily since July and have not had a single cold.

I have *not* used morning nasal rinses, NOR have I used cortical steroid sprays daily since july and I have not had a single cold EITHER

amazing, but true!

[archangle]

You're not going to reinfect yourself with your own cold/flu bug while you have an active infection.

However, you may be more susceptible to catching some other infection while you're fighting one bug. Be sure that no one else touches your CPAP equipment, including masks, water bottles, etc. You don't want to catch someone else's bugs or spread yours.

It might be worth using a little extra care in your cleaning, especially the mask, while you have a bug so you don't catch a different bug, but I see no need for a great deal of paranoia. Give everything a really good cleaning once you're over your bug.

It might be worth getting a bottle of Control III disinfectant from our host, cpap.com or elsewhere and using it afterwards. Read the directions, but it's pretty safe once diluted.

Once again, I'll recommend that everyone get a pneumonia vaccine once you recover. It's not 100% proof against pneumonia, but it's cheap, and lasts many years. Pneumonia is what kills or really sickens a lot of people when they get a cold or flu.