HMEFilters Vs Heated water.

[MedTech]

Just looking for guidance on whether a heated water supply is essential when there are these simple inline Heat and Moisture Exchange filters around ?
Has anyone used them and are they effective ? Thank you.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/heat-m ... hange-unit

[Pugsy]

It all depends on how much moisture your nasal mucosa might need to keep them happy whether the HME filters will supply enough moisture or not.
They wouldn't for me but maybe you don't need as much moisture as I do.
Moisture/humidity needs are highly individual and just because the HME filters are enough for one person doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be enough for you anyway.

Those discs....Going to give you minimal added moisture and must be placed very close to your nose/mouth to have any chance at all of success. They won't work well with some masks.

Google "cpap rhinitis" ....you may or may not need more moisture but the symptoms are ugly when the nasal mucosa get dried out and are unhappy. Bad, bad allergy like symptoms can happen.

[MedTech]

Hi Pugsy, yes the amount of humidity would be individual, maybe based on the volume of flow.
Thanks for the tip about CPAP rhinitis.
Thank you.

[chunkyfrog]

HME is most often promoted as a temporary alternative to heated/passover humidity during travel.
It can be a bit expensive to use long-term, and may not provide enough moisture for some.

[MedTech]

ChunkyFrog,
Im thinking that if volume is an issue then it’s not hard to run 2 or 3 HMEs if it turns out to be a simpler technique to getting distilled water and refilling a reservoir. It would take some experimenting to get it right but if inspired air is 12% Humidity and exhaled air is 100% it would seem fairly easy to strip enough of that moisture off to reuse.
I think if CPAP started with HME filters recirculating moisture and then the distilled water/humidified system was introduced , people wouldn’t be bothered to make the extra effort for a similar experience. Maybe ?