How good is your room: O2 or CO2 sensor ?

[jaw]

Hi all,

This is to ask whether I should buy an Oxygen sensor or a CO2 sensor to detect which room in my house is the best for my sleep, or to analyze the issue into something else.
There was a question here with a very good answer https://answers.yahoo.com/question/inde ... 828AA2J31F, and I wonder how Sleep Apnea people here experience between an O2 sensor vs a CO2 sensor ?

1. Background:

I've been using CPAP for almost 3 months, with 100% compliant, yet still have a foggy brain.

Symptoms: foggy brain, brain with low processing speed, feeling of something is grabbing around my head especially the back part after my two years.

Good room: 13m2, windows half opened and room door opened, CPAP machine lies at an altitude 30cm higher than my head, at a spacious area. Bed size is 180 cm x 200 cm

Bad room: 8m2, windows half opened, room door opened, CPAP machine has two options: either (1) at a spacious area but 40cm higher than my head or (2) in a narrow and less ventilated area but only 15 cm higher. than my head. Bed size is 90cm x 200 cm.

Both options in the bad room cause stronger negative symptoms to my head than the good room. Talking about grades: my pre CPAP morning foggieness was 10 / 10, with bad room: 7 / 10, with good room 5 / 10 (lower is better). With both rooms I sleep on my back.

[jaw]

I have a SpO2 oxygen meter measuring my blood oxygen concentration, which shows 92-94% when I am tired in the evening (around 21:00) and 97-98% when normal.

So oxygen is something I want to attack now (while waiting for the latest blood test analysis).

By the way one question please: has anyone a good experience with reading data out of this SpO2 oxygen meter http://www.aliexpress.com/item/CMS50I-D ... 48577.html ? There seems to be an issue with date not in sync.

[BlackSpinner]

I doubt it is the O2 in the room. People function fine going from high altitude to sea level. It only takes a few days at most to acclimatize. I live at 2200 ft and visit at sea level often and it doesn't bother me. Denver Colorado is much higher.

Look for carbon monoxide level (CO) not the CO2 levels, look for mould and other allergens. Strip everything out of the room, especially carpets and drapes. Make sure your bedding is free from dust mites.

[Julie]

Completely agree. And room air changes constantly every time a door or window opens, never mind what comes in or out from the rest of the house. It is anything but static and you're chasing a wild goose.

[Sir NoddinOff]

No problems with the two rooms especially with a window open just a crack... you are over-thinking the whole O2 in the room thing. Time to look elsewhere.

Look for carbon monoxide level (CO) not the CO2 levels, look for mould and other allergens. Strip everything out of the room, especially carpets and drapes. Make sure your bedding is free from dust mites.

I agree that this is a better area to explore. Hypoventilation, or the medical condition of inadequate breathing or low tidal volume O2, is another thing to research among other causes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoventilation
That's just one suggestion... there are dozens of medical reasons that reasons why the O2/CO2 balance can get out of whack. <isn't that always the case with medical stuff> Sigh.

[greatunclebill]

you should also speak to your doctor about your symptoms. cpap is not the cure for all things foggy and tired. there is always a possibility you have something else as yet undiagnosed going on.

[K8TEK]

CO2 is a product of combustion and shouldn't be present in any measurable levels in your home.

There are other sources of CO2, but that is the main one

[BlackSpinner]

CO2 is a product of combustion and shouldn't be present in any measurable levels in your home.

There are other sources of CO2, but that is the main one

You are confusing CO & CO2 (Carbon monoxide and Carbon dioxide)

[palerider]

CO2 is a product of combustion and shouldn't be present in any measurable levels in your home.

There are other sources of CO2, but that is the main one

you exhale c02.

[palerider]

There seems to be an issue with date not in sync.

you have a *lot* of issues with things not being in sync, but the cms50i and it's date are not one of them.

[jaw]

No problems with the two rooms especially with a window open just a crack... you are over-thinking the whole O2 in the room thing. Time to look elsewhere.

I aggree that this is a better area to explore. Hypoventilation, or the medical condition of inadequate breathing or low tidal volume O2, is another thing to research. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoventilation

Hypoventilation does not explain the difference in feeling between the two rooms

[BlackSpinner]

No problems with the two rooms especially with a window open just a crack... you are over-thinking the whole O2 in the room thing. Time to look elsewhere.

I aggree that this is a better area to explore. Hypoventilation, or the medical condition of inadequate breathing or low tidal volume O2, is another thing to research. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoventilation

Hypoventilation does not explain the difference in feeling between the two rooms

Mould, Carbon monoxide can both make that kind of difference. O2 between room is minimal. One of the rooms is not in an airplane.

Is one room near the garage? Near the furnace?

[Gasper62]

Another dimension, perhaps ?

[jaw]

Mould, Carbon monoxide can both make that kind of difference. O2 between room is minimal. One of the rooms is not in an airplane.

Is one room near the garage? Near the furnace?

No furnace around my house, two rooms are next to each other.

Regarding CO / CO2: only two possible differences
- Mould: the bad room could keep CO2 inside due to its special form (even when windows are partially opened)
- CO2: the bad room has a small recycle bin (keeping around 3-4 dirty children diapers of normally max 2 days old)

[BlackSpinner]

No furnace around my house, two rooms are next to each other.

Regarding CO / CO2: only two possible differences
- Mould: the bad room could keep CO2 inside due to its special form (even when windows are partially opened)

Look just get your head around it has nothing to do with CO2 - you breathe that out and plants breath it in. CO2 is only a problem if you block your mask vents or in the upper atmosphere for the planet.
Mould produces spores which can damage your lungs and you entire immune system. Some of the mould spores are very toxic which is why they wear hazmat suits when cleaning it up.
CO - Carbon monoxide - produced by combustion like a car exhaust, a furnace, a wood stove... It can kill if there is enough of it in the house.

DON NOT CONFUSE THE TWO!

- CO2: the bad room has a small recycle bin (keeping around 3-4 dirty children diapers of normally max 2 days old)

Nothing to do with CO2. However those dirty diapers do give off ammonia and some people react to that.

None of your issues have anything to do with CO2 or O2 in the rooms. Just give it up. You have other issues in those rooms with allergens or spores.

In chemistry the number makes a huge difference. Just compare H2O with H2O2. The first you drink dally (water), the second (Hydrogen peroxide) you use to bleach your hair and to kill bacteria. The only difference is the number of Oxygen molecules. The same goes for CO and CO2. The effects on your body of these two compounds is vastly different.