Covid and Cpap

[IrisofNY]

I got symptoms of covid (fatigue, fever, stuffiness, sore throat) on 8/1, tested positive on 8/4 and negative a week later. Then I developed a wicked cough that seems to worsen with CPAP around 8/15. I've been taking the mask off after a few hours as the forced air now irritates my nose, throat and uvula and increases the coughing at night. Would appreciate any suggestions.

[Julie]

Are you using humidification?

[IrisofNY]

I am.
I increased it which helps but still have the problem

[stevenal]

Iris,

Have you heard of the Philips recall? Perhaps the foam is affecting you.

[ozij]

Iris,

Have you heard of the Philips recall? Perhaps the foam is affecting you.

Good catch. stevenal is referring to this:

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/saf ... ne-recalls

If it's really the forced air pressure irritating you and bringing on the cough, I'd try lowering the pressure temporarily, that's better than sleeping without any pressure at all.

Sometime though, it's lying down that brings on the cough. Try adding another pillow, raising the head or your bead. I know some people can sleep on a recliner - have no personal experience with that.
For some types of coughs, ati-cough medication helps. For others, it shouldn't be used. Ask your physician about that.

[booksfan]

I am actually finding the same thing. Tested positive Monday and have not been able to sleep with my machine since. Bad nausea Sunday/Monday nights and, similar to OP, I'm finding the airflow seems to stimulate my cough reflex . I have to take mask off after a couple of hours if I want to get any sleep. I'll try again tonight.

[IrisofNY]

Thanks for the responses.

I'm aware of the recall and am still awaiting a replacement machine. I've been using a ResMed autoset 10 for her so the foam isn't causing the cough. I need to change my profile. I found the elevated bed pillows and cough suppressant worked for about 30 minutes. The CPAP is definitely an irritant right now.

At Stevenal's suggestion, I did lower the upper limit pressure last night and that made a big difference. I didn't get the wicked cough or irritated throat and uvula and my AHI was a lot lower. Keeping fingers crossed for tonight.

Booksfan, you might want to try that too and let us know if that helps.

[ChicagoGranny]

I didn't get the wicked cough or irritated throat and uvula and my AHI was a lot lower.

Hopefully, you are merely getting better. If you have post-nasal drip, it can cause coughing. You might want to try a nasal spray like Nasacort or similar. A saline nasal rinse before application might help.

[booksfan]

Thanks for the responses.

I'm aware of the recall and am still awaiting a replacement machine. I've been using a ResMed autoset 10 for her so the foam isn't causing the cough. I need to change my profile. I found the elevated bed pillows and cough suppressant worked for about 30 minutes. The CPAP is definitely an irritant right now.

At Stevenal's suggestion, I did lower the upper limit pressure last night and that made a big difference. I didn't get the wicked cough or irritated throat and uvula and my AHI was a lot lower. Keeping fingers crossed for tonight.

Booksfan, you might want to try that too and let us know if that helps.

I will try lower pressure tonight to see if it helps. Fingers crossed it helps. I am still early in the process...tested positive on Monday, was miserably ill. Still running a fever, but pulse ox is back to normal, and the brutal, unrelenting headache has eased. Dr. prescribed Lagevrio since Paxlovid is contraindicated for me. Hopefully will feel much better tomorrow!

[stevenal]

At Stevenal's suggestion, I did lower the upper limit pressure last night and that made a big difference. I didn't get the wicked cough or irritated throat and uvula and my AHI was a lot lower. Keeping fingers crossed for tonight.

Make that ozij's suggestion.

[latskogkatt]

I'm not sure how much this will help, since I haven't had the plague (covid), but for cough and sore throat, I've found a mixture of honey and lemon juice, with some cayenne pepper in it really helps. The honey coats and soothes, the lemon juice helps get rid of post-nasal drip, and the cayenne has capsaicin, which, after the initial burning feeling of a hot pepper, is actually an analgesic, which means it helps numb pain.

[ChicagoGranny]

is actually an analgesic, which means it helps numb pain

Mansplaining?

[chunkyfrog]

Not everyone can take capsaicin externally.
After the sting, the itching is so bad, I have to wash it off.
Knowing that, I limit internal use to light culinary application,
or skip it entirely. The bullfrog claims he's allergic.

[latskogkatt]

is actually an analgesic, which means it helps numb pain

Mansplaining?

Kinda hard for someone who isn't a man to mansplain things. Just offering a definition so if someone reading isn't familiar with the term they don't have to stop to look it up.

[latskogkatt]

Not everyone can take capsaicin externally.
After the sting, the itching is so bad, I have to wash it off.
Knowing that, I limit internal use to light culinary application,
or skip it entirely. The bullfrog claims he's allergic.

Even skipping the cayenne, the honey and lemon juice mixture works really nicely. (Obviously only if you're not allergic to either honey or lemons, of course.)