Is there any "attractive" CPAP equipment out there?

[san_fran_gal]

Hi,

This is my first posting to this great forum. I was dx a few months ago with mild to moderate apnea (only a few apneas all night, mostly RERAs and some hypopneas) and I have the "jimmy legs," with about 300 PLMs per night. About 17 of those cause an arousal apparently. (I have low ferritin, so we're working on increasing iron intake.) I also have about 220 spontaneous arousals. Oh boy! It's a miracle I'm not very tired during the day, most of the time. I think exercising helps.

Unfortunately my APAP machine and I haven't gotten along, the nasal masks have caused me to be chipmunk cheeked before the air explodes out of my mouth, and I haven't gotten more than one or two minutes of sleep before "waking up" with a choking, suffocating sensation that makes my heart race and me tear off my mask. Fun times! I gave up until I was able to get a titration study.

Tonight, after a titration study a couple of weeks ago, and after setting my machine to 8, and a new full face mask, I am about to try again. I may take an ambien to help me through! (At the lab it took 2 seconds before sleep onset, thanks to Ambien!) Wish me luck! I really want to this to work!

This leads me to a completely shallow-sounding question: When will the manufacturers of CPAPs and chin straps and all those doohickeys start making some equipment that's relatively attractive, especially for women and others who like more hip design? It would sure seem less medical and "manly" if my CPAP machine weren't industrial gray. I could go for a cool color on my mask, too. I was using a chin strap for a while that was black, and I know they come in red and blue, but how about a cool brown with pink circles, or something more hip? I know that in the dark it all looks alike, but if I have to have this blasted stuff at my bedside or on my head, it would sure be nice if it could be less hospital-ish. ResMed? Respironics? Fisher & Paykel? Anyone care to start making gear for women, who are probably starting to make up a good part of your clients?

[Snoredog]

you might swing by our host cpap.com, they have pictures of most of everything.

https://www.cpap.com/

You can put a towel over it, put it under your bed, in a drawer etc.

as for a mask? this one really makes a fashion statement:

[PhiloHypnos]

This leads me to a completely shallow-sounding question: When will the manufacturers of CPAPs and chin straps and all those doohickeys start making some equipment that's relatively attractive, especially for women and others who like more hip design?

My sentiments exactly!

And that applies to us blokes too! As an available young man I'm quite concerned about the "ew yuck" turn-off factor my cpap mask may have on any of the pretty girls I will be trying to court!

A message in a bottle to CPAP makers out there! Come on guys... add some coolness factor to the designs, how about something that looks more like this!!! :



Or, even better, this!



I mean, common! If I'm gonna have a long tubular trunk sticking out of my nose, might as well make me look evil-cool!

lol! I think I've found my new avatars!

funny... I remember how, as a child, I dreamt of being a fighter pilot because I loved the look of the masks... wanted one so bad...
Well, I've got my very own "fighter pilot mask" now! Only, its not really what I had in mind...



arkein

Edit: wow snoredog, that mask is quite cool! seems to be a definite solution to mouth and mask leaks! only place left to leak out of with that is the ears, lol! Wonder how humidifier rain out feels like in that...

[john_dozer]

I think they just came out with a version of the Swift LT for women. So things are starting to turn. Personally I'd like them to keep working on the physical customization and not the appearance.

However, I have to say, RESMED & Respironics CPAP equipment looks like its from the late 50's to early 70's. I guess when you consider a block of their customers are the elderly, perhaps that's the explanation.

[Marietjie]

Hi - What about "GLOW IN THE DARK" fabric with modern designs ?

[Paul56]

And that applies to us blokes too! As an available young man I'm quite concerned about the "ew yuck" turn-off factor my cpap mask may have on any of the pretty girls I will be trying to court!

You need to stop wearing your mask on dates!

[Paul56]

This leads me to a completely shallow-sounding question: When will the manufacturers of CPAPs and chin straps and all those doohickeys start making some equipment that's relatively attractive, especially for women and others who like more hip design?

Whatdaya mean?

Respironics machines have their cool blue lights.

Resmed machines have the blue trim and sexy aerodynamic shape.

Wrap your hose up with a Snuggle cover in a color of your choice... they come in a variety of cool colors.

Use the PadaCheek headgear strap covers... they also come in several cool designs & colors.

Mask is boring? Get imaginative and setup a pinstripe design on it, cover it with stickers.. go with a NASCAR theme... I hear those stickers are good for 10 horsepower each.

[Bearded_One]

CPAP masks are medical devices, not fashion accessories. Mask manufacturers are going after a neutral look; most masks are made of transparent plastic, the silicone is a colorless translucent silicone, and the headgear is a colorless gray. Colorless items tend to blend into the background. Unless they happen to match or go with the color of the background, colorful items stick out and potentially clash with the background. If there were a choice of colors, it is likely that few DMEs would carry just a few of the colors and they would probably either not carry or be out of the color you want.

As was mentioned earlier, Padacheeks can be used to add color to the straps, and sleeves can be used to change the color of the hose. CPAP equipment can also be covered or put away during the day.

[looking4zzzz]

Cool looking is in the eyes of the beholder...seems to me the further they get from neutral colors, the more they narrow their customer base. Wouldn't a beige or gray machine blend in better in more people's bedroom than a brown machine with pink circles? I agree with the others...get creative and decorate your machine if you want. If I was a machine manufacturer, I wouldn't be going for chic anytime soon.

[boston]

Id rather them spend their money on Research and development to make better equipment, than on test marketing and focus groups of what color hose would you buy, or what style head gear goes best with your curtains. I understand the complaint that our bedrooms have been turned into hospital rooms, and more attractive styles could help some people be less self conscience about it, but if it bothered me, i'd get a nightstand with a drawer, get a longer hose, put equipment in drawer, open the drawer at night, close it in the morning. problem solved.

[carbonman]

Anyone care to start making gear for women, who are probably starting to make up a good part of your clients?

SFgal, I am not of the womanly persuasion, but I like to have aesthetically pleasing
cpap equipment, too.
Check out Bret's Papcaps at:

http://www.pur-sleep.com/
and
PC's stuff at:

http://www.padacheek.com/

Both these products are not only functional but add some personality
to your equipment.....especially the equipment that you get up close
and personal with.

As we speak, I am watching the convienent post box at the end of
my driveway for my new bright blue w/stars hose cover. That is going
to go very nicely my bright blue w/stars forehead pad and Vger Papcap2.
I see the stars and Milky Way, everynight, in my Papcap, as I get hosed
up and it just puts me in the mood for a journey into the abyss.

Call it what you will,
I'm with you,
anything that you can do to make your therapy work,
go for it.

[skittles]

I like the idea of stickers - easy on. easy off, and you can change them to whatever fits your personality.

When our dog had surgery and had to wear a "cone", my daughter who is a vet decorated hers with removable stickers -- looked cute -- hmmmmmmmmmmm might give that a try tonight

Skittles

[DreamDiver]

Not discounting the tragedy of any real possibility that there would be a population of children large enough to create the market need, I haven't seen any 'My First CPAP' kids' cpap machines marketed yet. The market is so small for cpap anyway, we'll probably never get past the single-color model of marketing for these machines.


Why not take things into your own hands?

• Buy some phone bling rhinestones and stick 'em all over your machine.
• Knit or crochet a cpap cozy. You could find a pattern for a tea cozy and adapt it.
• Cover it with patches, like your old merit badges and scout troop number.
• If you've got the equipment, how about airbrushing some cool racing lines, anime or camouflage on the sides of the box?

Computer laptop owners mod their boxes all the time. It seems like the next logical step for CPAP owners.
However, CPAP modding will probably void your warranty.

Anybody up for a modding contest?

[Bearded_One]

I wonder if beta's (Siamese Fighting Fish) can be kept in a CPAP humidifier...

[PhiloHypnos]

And that applies to us blokes too! As an available young man I'm quite concerned about the "ew yuck" turn-off factor my cpap mask may have on any of the pretty girls I will be trying to court!

You need to stop wearing your mask on dates!

Lol! point taken! I kinda meant to suggest the part that comes after some succesful dates..