Sore throat, will CPAP hold germs?

[CAsleep]

Hello. I haven't posted in awhile. Will keep it brief because it's late!

I have some kind of virus, and hubby has it too. Sore throat, cough, fever in beginning, but I've avoided the congestion. Mainly for me it's a sore throat that is still sore.

I seem to have a weak immune system (have chronic fatigue syndrome and seem to test positive for many viruses, long story), so I am kind of concerned that in using my CPAP, the germs I have from my cold will linger in the tubing and mask, and keep reinfecting me over time. I do realize I should build antibodies to this strain, but still, I am concerned because I just don't trust my body, with all my health issues. Does anyone have thoughts on using CPAP while sick, in terms of the germs lingering? I know I'll replace the tubing and mask eventually, so it's not like I'm doomed forever, but still.....I worry about germs in the water resovoir, etc. I know I do carry germs all the time, no one can escape that, no one is totally sterile. But for some reason my intuition is telling me to avoid using my CPAP, to avoid lingering germs that continue to reinfect, until this sore throat goes away. However, everything I read online says to use the CPAP despite the cold/virus/whatever. Thoughts?

Thank you!

[Gaga58]

CA..don't stop your therapy, that would be the worse thing you could do! What you can do is just clean your equipment daily and that will remove any germs that might linger from the night of use. I've yet to experience being sick while using my cpap, but I'm sure there are others on here who have and will add some good tips!

[Pugsy]

It would be highly unusual and difficult for any germs to make the journey down the hose and into the tank against all the pressure. Remember these germs are mostly air born germs.

Good daily cleaning of the mask should be quite adequate germ killing.

Please do use your mask even while ill. It can actually make symptoms pass more quickly and make you more comfortable while ill.

[jamiswolf]

Hi CAsleep,
I second the advice you received. One other issue regarding cleaning. After washing, be sure to let everything dry very thoroughly. Virus' and bacteria need moisture to survive...so a good drying pretty much kills micro-organisms.
Hope you and hubby are feeling better soon...
Jamis

[JohnBFisher]

Also, be certain to use distilled water. With no solids / contaminants in water, there is nothing on which bacteria can survive. Sure, it's a little more expensive, but the results are years of use without any mineral buildup and/or possible infections. I've used distilled water for years and had very, very few problems with it.

[ThirdOutOfFive]

Sorry to hear about your illness. In addition to washing every day, I would suggest that you soak your mask in a mix of 2 parts warm water & one part white vinegar. Soak for an hour, then rinse well & let dry. Do this once per week, if you feel you need to. Once per month seems to work for me, but I haven't had any upper respiratory problems since I've had PAPpy. You can also soak the tube & humidifier tank, too. White vinegar is a mild disinfectant that will not hurt the components. DO NOT use alcohol for disinfecting, as it will degrade your components.

Hope you both feel better soon.

[moresleep]

Based on my own experience over the years, I do not believe you need to worry about the mask and hoses harboring germs and reinfecting you. I had a lot of sinus infections, and started off with exactly those same worries, and spent way too much time washing masks and hoses. These days I hardly wash masks and hoses at all. I do, however, try to dry the system out most days by blowing air through it--I use an old Cpap for that--as I do not want mold to grow. I also wipe the mask with Citrus II and infrequently wash with soap, as I do not want skin oils to accumulate and degrade the mask's seal; but, that's about it.

Here's what I learned. Regular nasal sinus rinses work well for me in keeping the sinuses open and draining--essential to preventing sinus infections. They apparently wash pollens and other irritants out, helping to prevent the rushing of the air from the Cpap from irritating nasal tissues. In a cold situation, the vector of reinfection for me was not my hoses and mask, but my toothbrush and a mouth guard I wear to prevent buxism. Normally, I just rinse those, and disgard the toothbrush after a month or so. But, when I have a cold, it seems to help a lot to get vigorous in disinfecting them and in replacing the toothbrush much more often. For disinfecting, I both rinse and then soak in warm water with pellets of denture cleaner.

[sickwithapnea17]

I had all this burning pain when I rinsed with 1/3 hydrogen peroxide (too high a mixture) which might be dangerous and I heard all this fizzing and burning and had allergic reaction, itchy eyes, sinus pressure and even FLU symptoms, feverish, sore throat (had infection before)

it's as if the peroxide contacted an open wound in my sinuses- I also felt the burning a little when using the nasal mask which made it uncomfortable, but my mucus is usually clear or white

the allergist told me my sinuses were backed up and gave me nasonex which didn't seem to do much- maybe the structure of my septum or sinuses is bad and they don't drain; I also have a strange small bump on my nostril

[cindjo717]

Yea, I would stay away from anything strong, I like the one part vinegar to two part water sounds pretty good. I just washed my mask yesterday and put my humidifier basin in the anti bacterial cycle of my dishwasher, came good. I use distilled water for my nightly use. Rinsed my hose with mild ivory soap and warm water hung it out all day. Mask I used same for the insert, for the actual mask I used baby wipe, seemed fine, no irritations for me at all..

[archangle]

If you're sick with some sort of infection, your body is swimming with billions of the germ in question. If it's some kind of respiratory infection, they're probably in your breath every time you cough.

Even if the bug is in your CPAP air somehow, having a few thousand of the same germ come back at you probably wouldn't matter. After you get well for a while, you might risk reinfection if the same bug is lingering in your machine somewhere.

While I have my doubts about germs lingering in the water tank or even the hose, it seems likely that they could linger on the mask. Be sure to clean the mask thoroughly, especially the pillows. I run my mask through the dishwasher, but I'm not sure all the parts of your mask can handle that, so proceed carefully. If your insurance pays for new mask pillows it might be a good time to change them out.

Do you have a spare mask, hose, water tank? I like to switch mine each week, then clean and dry the one I just used and let it sit and dry out for a week.

By the way, your humidifier tank is dishwasher safe. I run mine through the dishwasher every week on the hottest, longest "sanitize" setting.

In the past, I have taken mask parts, hoses and water tanks and put them in hot water. I bring a large pot of water to a full boil, cover it, turn off the heat for a minute or so, and then drop the parts into the water for about 5 minutes. Nothing's been obviously damaged yet. I wouldn't put any foam rubber parts in the water. I know one member here melted the short hose on her mask, but she left it for a while and had the heat still on. I've never given the hot water treatment to any mask or CPAP part I didn't have a spare for.

I have also sanitized certain things with ethanol (drinking alcohol). You know that once you rinse it off, a small amount of drinking alcohol residue is not going to be toxic. Do NOT use denatured alcohol. That's ethanol with some sort of poison added to avoid the federal alcohol tax. I've used everclear (95% pure drinking alcohol) or even vodka, which is mostly 50% ethanol/water mix. Remember, everclear is highly flammable, and even vodka can burn. It's nonflammable once you dilute it by rinsing, though.

Ethanol might damage certain parts. It also won't necessarily kill all germs, but it gets a lot of them.

[nanwilson]

I had food poisoning the first of this week, even vomited into my quattro mask. I soaked EVERYTHING except the machine in vinegar and water,washed well and rinsed several times, allowed to air dry and was good to go next night. It's a good thing I have more than one of everything or I would have been in big trouble. As long as you clean things very well after the flu or a cold...or like me, food poisoning, you will be fine.
Hope you feel better.

[jbpdgastro@yahoo.com]

My nose has a sore in the right nostril and when I blow my nose it bleeds sometimes

[Goofproof]

My nose has a sore in the right nostril and when I blow my nose it bleeds sometimes

I think the germs in this thread died 5 years ago, we all had a nice funeral, many came, no sign of the germs getting out of the casket, yet. Jim

[chunkyfrog]

My nose has a sore in the right nostril and when I blow my nose it bleeds sometimes

Dry, fragile nasal passages are a common effect of inadequate moisture.
I would turn up the humidity, or strive to sleep with my mouth closed.

[D.H.]

If you're worried about germs, just thoroughly clean your machine, but don't stop therapy! It will be very hard to get over what ails you of you don't get good (or as good as possible) sleep.