Phillips / Philips Respironics recent recall notice discussion thread

[Pugsy]

Fully agree.. but then, I don't depend on a Respironics unit every night for treatment.

Well...even if I was a Respironics cpap/apap user I would still want the people who use the machines to actually force them to breathe because they can't breathe well enough on their own to be at the top of the list.
The machine helps me breathe but I can breathe without it..maybe not as good as I would like but a lot better than someone on a ventilator or someone who has some sort of neuro muscular disease and they can't even move their diaphragm....

There are a lot of people out there a lot more worse off with their breathing problems than I am with my sleep apnea.
I would want them taken care of first...hands down...no question at all. Wouldn't take me a millisecond to come to that conclusion.

While some people think not treating sleep apnea is the end of the world...it's not. We can still breathe and do some things to lessen the problem...sleeping upright or on our sides or use some sort of dental appliance even...there are options...maybe not so great of options but options nonetheless.

Someone with a neuro muscular disease that can't even move their own diaphragm to take a breath....no real options at all not like us with our not so ideal options. Some people have zero options...not even crappy options.

I think a lot of people forget about all the other people who use those very special machines aren't like us with just sleep apnea. These machines are used to treat conditions other than just sleep apnea and conditions actually much more serious than sleep apnea.

[reader2580]

Agreed.
In power outages, I hope the power goes back on first
where there are ventilators or oxygen concentrators.
I can deal with inconvenience and a headache.

I am sure power companies try to prioritize those with medical needs, but they can't out of necessity fix all the power for medical needs customers first. If there is a substation down, a main feeder down, and the line in front of a medical needs customer is down they will fix the substation first and feeder first. No point in fixing the line in front of the customer's house first when there are two other broken things preventing the flow of power. Power restoration is usually triaged to get the major things fixed that get the most customers online before fixing neighborhood issues. The other thing is there are ever growing numbers of folks with medical equipment at home. Pretty much every neighborhood now has at least one person with a medical device. They can't make every neighborhood a priority.

I've been through a storm that knocked out my power for three days. My house and two other houses were fed by a power feed that snaked through the woods. Every other house on the street was feed from the street and had power. We were low priority. One elderly neighbor had an oxygen concentrator, but I suspect it wasn't registered with the power company. My house had a whole house automatic generator so I had power and even central A/C. I gave both neighbors power from my generator.

[ChicagoGranny]

Around here, so many people registered CPAPs with our electricity provider, they sent out a letter to everyone. It said if you depend on electricity for a medical device, you should have a backup plan for outages. This makes sense to me.

[Pugsy]

Around here, so many people registered CPAPs with our electricity provider, they sent out a letter to everyone. It said if you depend on electricity for a medical device, you should have a backup plan for outages. This makes sense to me.

I got a similar response. The logistics of spot fixing electrical outages is monumental and not practical. We all know it depends on where the outage originates from has to be fixed first.

I was told that they would alert me to any planned outages though...WOW...and when I actually got one I couldn't understand a thing the robot was saying and had to call the power company and tell them "I got so and so robo message and it was in Greek....what were they trying to tell me"... Yep, planned outage.
So now I know if I get a robocall from someone I totally can't understand...I will likely lose power sometime that day.
Whoopie.

Now how many times have we lost power for more than 10 minutes since hubby had a whole house generator installed 4 or 5 years ago???
Yep....0 big zero. But I got it if I ever need it.
We've been ultra lucky...no big ice storms to damage a lot of stuff and no horrible winds from thunderstorms,etc...knock on wood.

[DonCarlos]

Hmmm.

well I heard that the bacterial filters provide a means of blocking minute insulation debris from entering......but the big issue health wise was the release of gasses from the insulation. And the only way that can be resolved is through a new machine that has the approved FDA insulation. In the meantime, what should we do (and yes my machine serial is identified as a recalled machine) ? I spoke with one response tech who said "the entire process of the FDA and replacement of the machines can be quite a long long long time. His recommendation find a different machine made ny a different manufacturer, He said that REZMED do not have these issues, but are a bit noisier. I really like my dream station but hate to give it up, but also hate the idea I could be harming myself until the issues are resolved. Perhaps my supply place (AAdapt) would provide a rental of a REZMED while this waiting period is on, but I am sure that it involves the insurance, my doctor, and other involvement.

Well thought I would share all of that and am interested on and comments or information from the forum

Thanks and best regards

[ChicagoGranny]

the big issue health wise was the release of gasses from the insulation

Nope. Keep calm.

Evidence suggests these gases dissipate after 24 hours from first ‘out of box’ use.

https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/n ... slash-mhra

[Grumpy48]

......but the big issue health wise was the release of gasses from the insulation.
Thanks and best regards

VOC's........ If you've had a new car at some point in time, you've likely noticed that new car smell. Part or much that new smell are the VOC's off-gassing from the foams and plastics in the car when it is new. These VOC's are also what causes the hazy film on the inside of the windshield (which you inhale while you're in the car). As that new foam ages, the new car smell diminishes and so does most of the hazing that fogs the windshield. If you've had your Philips CPAP for any length of time most if not all the VOC's have dissipated from the small amount of foam that is used in these machines.
Furniture in your home likely has polyurethane foam and this also off-gassed when it was new. Have you been concerned about your furniture?
There are harmful VOC's are all around us and in much higher concentrations than the foam in your CPAP. Paint a room and you may have a high level of VOC's for a while, but they go away as the paint cures. Same with the foam within the CPAP.
https://home.howstuffworks.com/home-imp ... t-vocs.htm

I'm continuing to use my DreamStation. I made DIY filter that goes in the water tank that allows for unrestricted air flow and allows use of the humidifier and heated hose. Will probably look at improving on it, but it will take out very small particulates. I've seen a few reports of using an AB inline hose filter restricted the air flow on a Philips CPAP and there are no settings to compensate for using one like I believe a Resmed machine may have. I'm not worried about VOC's from foam.

Food grade nylon straining cloth held on with a rubber band quite snuggly (not easy to pull off).

[palerider]

REZMED

Resmed.

but are a bit noisier.

Resmed machines are *quieter*.

REZMED

Resmed.

[chunkyfrog]

Mine is so quiet, I can hardly tell it's running.

[palerider]

but it will take out very small particulates.

Except the really small ones that will go right through that, and lodge in your lungs, but if it makes you feel better, great.

[chunkyfrog]

I can see the holes on my itty bitty tablet; so any particles small enough
to get airborne will fly right through that filter.
I would not trust that cloth for cold brewed coffee--
and those particles are just a little inconvenient.

[kbh209]

https://www.philips.com/c-dam/b2bhc/mas ... QwOC42MA..

An update from Philips in regards to the Bacteria Filter usage for CPAP and BiPap machines

[ChicagoGranny]

https://www.philips.com/c-dam/b2bhc/mas ... QwOC42MA..

An update from Philips in regards to the Bacteria Filter usage for CPAP and BiPap machines

Good forum etiquette calls for a brief summary of the key contents of links posted:

Therefore, these bacteria filters should not be
used on CPAP/BiLevel devices as a means of mitigating risk of PE-PUR foam chemical
emission or particulate matter ...

[Sea Papper]

Good forum etiquette calls for a brief summary of the key contents of links posted:

True dat: huffing plastic particles and toxic compounds is bad for your health as per philips. hence the millions of machines being recalled.

(People - listen to the experts not the hacks posting on this forum. the misinformation on this forum has caught the attention of attorneys seeking to fill their pockets. Making recommendations to diy modify a prescribed device under a class 1 recall is not only stupid, some LE agencies may consider it criminal. The FDA told philips to get these units off the street for good reason.)

Chemical emissions from the PE-PUR foam
Emission of certain chemicals from the foam has been identified, resulting from trace
amounts of organic compounds associated with the production process of the foam.
Based on standard ISO 18562-3 testing which ran a device at 35°C ± 2°C for 168 hours, two
compounds of concern were emitted from the device: dimethyl diazene and phenol 2,6-bis
(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-(1-methylpropyl).

Foam Degradation
Despite a complaint rate of 0.03% (i.e. 3 in 10,000) in 2020 [1], Philips has determined
from user reports and lab testing that the PE-PUR foam may slowly degrade – through a
process called hydrolysis – and produce particulates which may enter the device’s air
pathway where they could be ingested or inhaled by the user of impacted Continuous
Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure (Bi-Level PAP) and
mechanical ventilator devices.

Supplemental clinical information for physicians and providers
for specific CPAP, Bi-Level PAP, and mechanical ventilator devices
with the use of bacteria filters
For more information, visit philips.com/SRC-update.
The foam degradation may be accelerated by the environmental conditions of high
temperatures and humidity. Unauthorized cleaning methods such as ozone cleaning may
exacerbate potential degradation.

According to an analysis performed by Philips, particles are of various sizes, however, the
majority of particulates are of a size (>8 μm) that are unlikely to penetrate the deep lung
tissue. During testing performed by an outside laboratory on lab degraded foam, the
smallest particulate size captured by the bacteria filter was 2.69 µm. Additional testing
is ongoing

[ChicagoGranny]

The FDA told philips to get these units off the street for good reason.

It's a voluntary recall. The FDA knew nothing about it until Philips notified them.

huffing plastic particles and toxic compounds is bad for your health as per philips

Philips is an equipment manufacturer. They do not have the qualifications to determine the health effects.

Despite a complaint rate of 0.03% (i.e. 3 in 10,000)

That's a much lower complaint rate than from machines containing no foam.

Making recommendations to diy modify a prescribed device under a class 1 recall is not only stupid, some LE agencies may consider it criminal.

The CPAP foam police are kicking down doors to examine CPAP machines.