Flying with cpap

[truckee147]

Three months in and have learned how bad I feel when not on machine. I have been avoiding travel by air as I feel uncomfortable going through security withmy cpap. Anyone out there travel a lot and gone through security with cpap and humidifier? Do you have issues. Etc any advice would be appreciated. Tks

[BlackSpinner]

Three months in and have learned how bad I feel when not on machine. I have been avoiding travel by air as I feel uncomfortable going through security withmy cpap. Anyone out there travel a lot and gone through security with cpap and humidifier? Do you have issues. Etc any advice would be appreciated. Tks

The TSA know what a cpap is and don't care. They won't wave it in the air. Just make sure your humidifier is empty before you pack it and make a list so you won't forget anything important. Also bring a good extension cord and a copy of your prescription in case of accidents.
In the US you can take it as a separate not counted carryon. Caveat - if all the people bring big carryons you could be told it has to go into luggage. flight staff have the last say so you may want to play the medical card and board first with the infants and people with mobility issues.

[levman]

I travel frequently and my apnea is orders of magnitude worse in hotel beds, so I had to get over being self conscious about traveling with my CPAP very quickly. I've taken several dozen flights with my CPAP, including international trips to the UK and China, and have never had a problem. I used to carry it in its own bag, but I quickly discovered that having a roll aboard, briefcase, and CPAP bag was a lot to carry and stow, so I started packing it in my roll aboard and leaving the humidifier at home, and so far I've never been asked to remove it from my roll aboard. Last week, when going through security, both the person in front of me and the person behind me had CPAPs (they put theirs in the bin - I never bother). The only problem I've had (more than once) was accidentally leaving a power cord or the power supply at home; I purchased a spare of each and started keeping them in my bag permanently to solve that problem.

Before my UK / China trip, I invested in a travel CPAP, the Somnetics Transcend II, which has been a great investment. While not as good a machine as my Remstar Pro (noisier, no C-FLEX, no humidifier if you use nasal pillows with it), it is the size and weight of a soda can, fits in my briefcase, and Somnetics makes a small multi night battery for it. So now I use that exclusively when I travel and am very pleased with it. I even used it on the overnight flights - while I did feel a little self conscious about that, I decided it was better than annoying my seatmates with loud snoring and gasping.

[yulcdn]

I've traveled with mine as well. The one tip that I would add is to put your mask in a clear plastic bag. This way if TSA decides to open the CPAP bag (which happened to me once), the mask is visible to them but it stays clean for me. Safe travels

[chunkyfrog]

Taking the machine out in public is another opportunity to expose others to this life-saving therapy.
Someone may be afraid to have a sleep study, or may be 'storing' their machine
because they lacked the support and decent equipment we know is essential,
They may be motivated to try again; or just get started; because we find no shame in using our cpaps.

[KSMike]

I've boarded planes about a dozen times since I started CPAP - Kansas City, Chicago, Altanta, San Diego, Minneapolis, Puerto Rico. I think it helps (at least for my own convenience) to have a separate case for the machine. The WORST that has happened is when a security agent asked, "Is that a CPAP?" I answered yes, and he waved me through. Once I had to open the case so they could see the machine, but even then it didn't have to be taken out of the case or even touched. The agent in Puerto Rico asked me all kinds of questions about it - because his young son had breathing problems and he was wondering about getting him started on it and had never had an opportunity to ask a real user what it was like. I think I convinced him to get him to a doctor.

[zeleni]

I've also flown several times with it, including internationally, with no problems. Security usually knows what it is.

The one issue I've had is somehow forgetting my filters. I'm careful to pack everything and then somehow the filter falls out of the machine while I'm packing it and I don't find out until it's too late. I ran it without the filter since that's better than not using it at all. Just make sure every little piece is included!

[SleepDepraved2]

I recently traveled to Utah. I printed off the medical equipment tag someone linked here (you can search for it and find it), laminated it, and attached it to my CPAP bag. I put the humidifier and CPAP in ziplock bags, but you only have to take the CPAP out when going through security. I didn't have anyone give me any problems about it. I make sure to put it in the corner of the overhead bin for each flight so it wouldn't get pushed around. I was staying at a friend's house in Utah, so I just waited to get distilled water until I got there. It turned out my friends had distilled water in the house, so I didn't even need to get any.

[RandyJ]

Lots of threads on this topic (search function at top of page):

viewtopic/t48002/search.php?keywords=Tr ... +with+cpap

[RogerSC]

Quick reply...just got back from flying with my CPAP. I was well prepared, had a letter from my doctor that I needed it for medical purposes (a form letter), and also had a list of CPAP's that are accepted by the TSA with the model that I was carrying on that list. As it turned out, there was no questioning of it at all. They apparently have seen them a few times, and have a pretty good idea of what they are. They get xray'd none the less, of course. The only caveat, other than being careful to take everything that you'll need is to be sure to carry it on the flight (which I would advise very strongly to keep it in one or two pieces *smile*).

[mrog]

Every time I fly with a CPAP machine in my carryon bag, the TSA screener swabs it to check for explosive residue. After a very short wait, they hand it back and I'm on my way. It's a little inconvenient, but they never question me about it.