CPAP with colds, bronchitis, and pneumonia

[Coach]

Do you guys use CPAP when you have chest colds and/or bronchitis and/or pneumonia?

[Sleepless on LI]

Do you guys use CPAP when you have chest colds and/or bronchitis and/or pneumonia?

Coach,

Just got over a week-long cold, first since I've been on therapy, and I used my machine every night. Made sure I did something to open up the nasal passages before bed so I could. I haven't missed a night since I started therapy the first week in June and don't plan on missing one unless my electricity goes out.

[yawn]

I haven't had to deal with a cold (luckily) but I'm often stuffy when I go to bed. I use the swift interface and it actually unstuffs me. I also like the Activa mask but lately I'm finding that I feel like I can't breathe with the Activa. I think I've gotten used to having the air going straight into my nostrils....requires no effort on my part. If I did get a cold, I would definitely try to use my CPAP.

Amy

[ProfessorSleep]

I plan on getting a FF mask so I can use the CPAP no matter what. Just have to figure out the power outage situation for when blizzard season comes!

[MissAmethyst2U]

I have Asthma so I siff should still try and use my cpap with a cold and such, i too have not missed a night with my cpap since starting in May, I had one time for a nap that I laid across the bed and fell straight asleep without putting it on and slept for two hrs and not a good two hrs either I woke up and felt HORRIBLE! I would NEVER not use my mask our power went out during the night one night and I stayed awake til it came back on I am too fearful of sleeping without it now. I have been begging my parents to go ahead and purchase the generator they have talked about getting for a while now cause I am scared of this coming winter and the power going out and me not being able to have my machine. My dad has one too and well days he goes to the fire station (yes he is a firefighter, has been for just about 30 yrs) he doesnt take his machine to work and I honestly dont know how he can function the next day without it!

[Elizabeth]

I haven't had to deal with a cold (luckily) but I'm often stuffy when I go to bed. I use the swift interface and it actually unstuffs me.
_________________

What is a "swift interface"?

I'm new to the boards, btw, and I came here specifically because my nose stuffs up every single night now and I can't use the C-pap unless I use affrin or something. I don't want to get hooked on affrin, so I'm hoping for a better solution.

[Sleepless on LI]

Elizabeth,

Hi and welcome. This is a link to a section in the above CPAP FAQ that has a whole list of threads pertaining to the Swift interface. Hope it helps you with what you want to know.
cpaptalk-faq.php?FCID=12#12

Also, to get a look at what it really is, you can use this link to read about it and get a look at the mask itself.
http://resmed.com/portal/site/ResMedUS/ ... nPNum=null

[mikemoran]

I not only used it last year when I had a cold, but found my cold went away much quicker than my wife's. The humidified air helped greatly. It was also the first time a head cold didn't turn into a chest cold for me. The full face mask helped tremendously.

[WAFlowers]

I used it a month ago when I had a serious head cold that then moved into an upper respiratory infection (the usual path with my colds -- if I live long enough I expect something like that will kill me when I'm in my dotage).

I found that I had to give up my Swift nasal pillow interface for a few days because my nose was dripping like a leaky faucet! Of course, that was before I got my Aussie heated hose and could turn up the humidity to where I need it. I also had to move out of the bedroom to my reclining chair as sleeping partly upright really helped my sinues drain.