How many of you continue therapy with a cold?

[Autopapdude]

Right now, I have a doozy of a head cold--incredible running nose, congestion, soreness, sinusitis, and sneezing, etc, etc. I've managed to continue therapy, despite having one of the worst colds in years. What do most of y'all do? Do you persist, despite discomfort from congestion, and persevere, or back off on cpap/apap? I've always persisted, unless it was absolutely impossible. Just informationally, my AHI is not up significantly (it is around 2, instead of 1) and my exhale puff index is around 1, when it is usually zero. So far, so good.

[scrapper]

I'm tenacious............it was hard, but once I got settled, cpap therapy actually cut down the sinus conditions overnight.

[PaJoe]

I found that cpap helps with a cold, I keep the humidity up as high as possible. I don't think I ever slept without cpap once I started using it about 10 years ago.


joe

[Captain_Midnight]

A P Dude asks...What do most of y'all do? Do you persist, despite discomfort from congestion, and persevere...?

In my case, I persevere, I've never missed a day. It's only uncomfortable because we're awake. The nasty things that happen to us apneics when we are in untreated sleep would be far worse.

Interestingly, the day I picked up my first CPAP (4 yrs ago) was the day I was coming down with a vicious type A flu. So, not only was I adjusting to the mask and pressure, I had the uber-yuckiness of influenza to contend with. But I did.

Prior to dx and xPAP therapy I would get 4 or more bad colds a year. Sometimes they just hung on for seemingly ever. Since beginning the xPAP, I have had far fewer colds (averaging less than 1 per year), they have been milder and of shorter duration. Since sleep apnea affects the immune system, including the ability to generate "killer T cells", putting up with the contraption during a cold might reduce the length and severity of the infirmity. You might even think of the mask as ... "medicine".

Oh, I did do one thing recently. I got a full face mask for use exclusively when I next get a cold. Who knows, I may have to wait a year or two to try it (yuk, yuk, yuk).

Sorry you are down with the bug, hopefully you will be feeling better soon.

.

[Wulfman]

I just recovered from a head cold that started on Jan. 22nd. Both my wife and I had it and we were puzzled as to how/when we contracted it. (Possibly a trip to Wal-Mart a few days before.....which was our only recent outing prior to it)
The first two days/nights were the worst (although this one was relatively mild compared to some I've had in the past) and then it gradually got better over the rest of last week. In any case, the thought of suspending therapy never entered my mind. In fact, I could breathe/sleep better with the CPAP air than after I was up and around.


Den

[torontoCPAPguy]

On this one, although my mother professes to know all things medical, I would defer to a real MD... in fact I would defer to a respirologist and fast. I just spent almost a month on full life support (intubated for most of the time and in a coma for two weeks of it) as a result of H1N1, which went away but left me with a present. A wee bitty of bacterial pneumonia in my lungs that blossomed rapidly into an xray that was white as the driven snow. They are still shaking their heads and saying I shouldn't be here to tell the story.

So, for watever it is worth, I am suggesting that having a machine blowing bacteria, mucous, and Lord knows what else, into the recesses of your lungs cannot be a good thing. I simply cannot see it being without the most extreme risk factor. But that's just me.

By the way, if you haven't tried it, 3 weeks totally immobile and 1 further week awake and trying to be mobile (by mobile I mean lifting your fingers to say hello) takes a huge, huge toll and the place that takes the biggest hit is your LUNGS. And that is the main reason that I am on CPAP/APAP right now. I was probably a pretty good snorer before with some degree of Apnea, but now it is a matter of life and death for me as when I enter REM sleep my breathing becomes so shallow that I either wake up due to elevated blood pressure and a pounding heart.... or I sleep through it and wake up anyway ten minutes later drenched in cold sweat as a result of blood pressure skyrocketing and other wonderful things.

So, trust me, you do not want bacteria laden snot being blown down your windpipe if you can avoid it. I am sure there are some means of working with medications to make the use of CPAP/APAP feasible, but for sure I would NOT NOT NOT just carry on like a normal day. But that's just me and I stand to be corrected if I am out of line here.

Once bitten. Twice shy.


Murray

[Autopapdude]

Murray, thank goodness you are okay. I agree with you in that aspect-if one has a Bronchitis, or Pneumonia, cpap therapy might be contraindicated. My doctor only once in 11 years told me to stop therapy, and that was when I had lower lobe Pneumonia about 8 years ago. So that was the only week I was non-compliant, and was uncomfortable as hell. My doctor's position is that a normal cold or respiratory infection doesn't stop pap therapy, unless it becomes too painful to continue (that was his advice, and I follow it carefully).

[elg5cats]

My biggest challenge came when I had H1N1 with asthma exacerbation last October.............Was horrifically ill for seem eternity. I continued using APAP with fullface mask. Since our breathing is already compromised with OSA, then a cold/congestion adds another insult. I personally think xPAP should be a priority during illness with respiratory effects.

Hope you are soon well.

elg5cats

[Muse-Inc]

I continue xPAP whatever I've had...cranked up the humidity tho as it always helps me. I also resort to Afrin for a few dyas when I absolutely cannot breathe and am producing lg amts of crud...Afrin dries me out. I have finally figured out that my many yrs habit of catching anything and everything is because my vitamin D levels have not been ideal; now there are and I follow the European Stoss Protocol which has nipped any respiratory bug quickly: http://drbganimalpharm.blogspot.com/200 ... 0k-iu.html. Worth investigating.

[roster]

Right now, I have a doozy of a head cold--incredible running nose, congestion, soreness, sinusitis, and sneezing, etc, etc. I've managed to continue therapy, despite having one of the worst colds in years. What do most of y'all do? Do you persist, despite discomfort from congestion, and persevere, or back off on cpap/apap? I've always persisted, unless it was absolutely impossible. Just informationally, my AHI is not up significantly (it is around 2, instead of 1) and my exhale puff index is around 1, when it is usually zero. So far, so good.

I would never stop. If I had pneumonia and they told me I had to stop CPAP, I would insist on a tracheotomy. (While they were doing it, I would insist it be a skin-lined tracheotomy.)

When I had turbinate reduction and correction of deviated septum the doc told me I could not use CPAP for several weeks. He ordered an oxygen generator with a mouth piece. I kept putting off the DME that wanted to deliver it. I waited until the whole thing healed up and the doc released me to tell him I went home from surgery and used my CPAP mask every minute I slept.

Do you have a full face mask to use when the nasal passages are clogged?

BTW, Cranking up the humidity can be counterproductive. I would keep it at the same level used without a cold.

[rosacer]

Thank you for the information. Since I'm on cpap I haven't had a cold but I didn't feel too happy with the idea of not sleeping with my machine, in case of catching it. Now I know what can I do when the time will arrive!

[KatieW]

I just had a cold last week, and continued with cpap therapy. I took ibuprofen, sudafed, used saline nasal spray and slept propped up on several pillows.

My AHI went up slightly, but not much. I tried the Quattro FF, but only wore it for an hour, due to leaks and pressure on the sides of my nose. Switched to Activa LT and PapCap Chin Strap, and was able to breathe through my nose ok. I used the Vick's Humidifier, so room humidity was about 40%, but didn't change my H4i setting of 2.

My cold symptoms were bad only for 3 nights, then got better.

Hope you feel better soon.

[Linus]

I have endured a few sinus infectionssince I started using CPAP (a little over a year). For me CPAP helps. I would rather have air rather than wake up over and over from OSA.

[sleepycarol]

I have used it even sick. I feel that my body needs the restful and recuperative sleep I can get in order to restore my body's health.

[diboja]

Had a bad cold about a month ago - nose was plugged but good! I used the saline solution and switched over to a FF mask rather than my usual nasal mask. Trying to breath through my nose was like trying to breath through a straw

I actually felt better using the FF mask and was not snorting or hacking like I was without the it. Maybe it was the air pressure???? Not sure. I continued to use the FF mask for about a month until the cold/virus subsided.