Humidity Issues Causing Wake up. Any Ideas?

[BeanMeScot]

I am waking a lot lately and I think it is related to humidity. When I first got the APAP in Oct, it was warm here. I would start to get some water build up with my humidifier on 2 after about 9 hours but it never got bad enough to cause problems. As it got colder, though, I started having more problems with rain out that were waking me up. I put the humidifier to 1 and I would wake up because I was so dry and I think it was causing me to breath through my mouth even though the numbers were ok in Encore Pro.

I bought a hose cover and installed it and turned the humidity back to 2 but it didn't help much. I was still getting rain out so I had to go back to 1. Last week, I bought the heated reptile cord suggested here and put it under my hose cover and again turned the humidity back to 2. I am still waking up with water in the mask and I think it is causing me to not sleep well as I am waking many times each night. With the reptile cord, I can't have the hose under the bed covers anymore because it makes me too hot so I have been running it over my head. I haven't tried wrapping the cord around the hose. Right now they are just side by side in the hose cover. I am also buying a short hose cover for the short hose that connects my LT to the main hose. Can I run the humidifier in between 1 and 2? I have an integrated M Series humidifier. Anyone have any other ideas I can try?

[Wulfman]

Try turning off the humidifier and just use it in "pass-over" mode.
If you live in an area that has a higher relative humidity, you may not need much more from the humidifier. If your air is dry, it will still pick up moisture as it passes over the water in the humidifier.

If you're doing nasal rinses/cleansing before bedtime, that should help open up your nasal passages and reduce the mouth breathing.


Den

[BeanMeScot]

If I am too dry with the humidity set to 1, how will passover be better?

[Wulfman]

Depends on why you're "dry"......
Have you eliminated any possibility of mouth-leaking? (taping?)
"Rainout" is the product of condensation.....more water vapor than the air can carry and temperature differences.
Too much humidity can also close up your nasal passages.

I've used pass-over humidification from the start and live in a dry climate. I very seldom have a problem with my nasal passages drying out. I also use a full face mask and am able to breathe through my nose.

Den

[CorgiGirl]

I agree with Den that you should figure out why you're dry and fix it, especially if it's mouth breathing...

If you're like me, though, turning off the humidifier and going to passover only will make things worse. I can't do without the added moisture. The short hose cover make fix that part for your. Or you might try raising the temperature of your bedroom, although the heated hose should have taken care of that. I'm pretty sure you can't run the humidifier at 1.5...I tried and the light didn't come on!

[Gerald]

Beanme.....

Although I'm using a different mask than yours, I have solved the rainout problem on my system.

Since about August 1st, I've had a couple of pieces of clean, heavy cotton string inside my nose-piece. The string acts as a "wick" to "slurp-up" the two or three big drops of water that form from exhaled breath.

Seems like I remember someone else working on a "string wick" system for your mask, but I'm not sure.

You may have to do some creative engineering to get the string to stay where you want it, but the results will be well worth it for you.

What you're fighting is not the condensation that forms inside your hose......You've got that fixed with the hose-cover. The problem is caused by exhaled breath moisture. I found that a whole bunch of little droplets would form on the inside of my nose-piece....and so long as I didn't move, they were all "happy" to just sit there and not bother me.

But, if I turned my head, one of those little drops would team up with a lot of its "friends"....and build a BIG drop...or TWO...that would go right into my nose....and cause me to wake up...cussing.

The string wick absorbes the BIG drops...before they can make me use bad language.

Ty it......You'll find that it works. A simple fix for an ugly little problem......

Gerald

[BeanMeScot]

Depends on why you're "dry"......
Have you eliminated any possibility of mouth-leaking? (taping?)
"Rainout" is the product of condensation.....more water vapor than the air can carry and temperature differences.
Too much humidity can also close up your nasal passages.

I've used pass-over humidification from the start and live in a dry climate. I very seldom have a problem with my nasal passages drying out. I also use a full face mask and am able to breathe through my nose.

Den

I definately don't live in a dry climate. GA is known for it's high humidity!

I haven't taped because my numbers don't show any issues and it seems like I am only opening my mouth when I try and deal with the humidity on 1. I didn't ever notice my mouth open when I could leave it on 2.

I have my room VERY cold at night. It's the only way I like it. The temp was set on 58 last night and I woke up at that temp and too hot because my cats had piled on top of me, on top of the down blanket I am using. I get hot very easily and it tends to happen more if the heat actually comes on, no matter what the temperature. So I leave it low so it won't come on much, if at all.

[BeanMeScot]

Beanme.....

Although I'm using a different mask than yours, I have solved the rainout problem on my system.

Since about August 1st, I've had a couple of pieces of clean, heavy cotton string inside my nose-piece. The string acts as a "wick" to "slurp-up" the two or three big drops of water that form from exhaled breath.

Seems like I remember someone else working on a "string wick" system for your mask, but I'm not sure.

You may have to do some creative engineering to get the string to stay where you want it, but the results will be well worth it for you.

What you're fighting is not the condensation that forms inside your hose......You've got that fixed with the hose-cover. The problem is caused by exhaled breath moisture. I found that a whole bunch of little droplets would form on the inside of my nose-piece....and so long as I didn't move, they were all "happy" to just sit there and not bother me.

But, if I turned my head, one of those little drops would team up with a lot of its "friends"....and build a BIG drop...or TWO...that would go right into my nose....and cause me to wake up...cussing.

The string wick absorbes the BIG drops...before they can make me use bad language.

Ty it......You'll find that it works. A simple fix for an ugly little problem......

Gerald

Maybe I can try that. I presume I can get this string at some place like Walmart. Do you cut it into small pieces or use a longer piece that goes down into the tube?

[Gerald]

Beanme..........

Realize that my nose-piece is different from yours....and that the way the string is inserted on mine will be different from your system.

However, the principle is the same.......use the string as a "wick"....something to soak up the two or three big drops that form from the little drops of moisture that come from your breath.

The wick is positioned between the nare-pillows....and the exhaust port.....so that the wick is near the opening(s) to your nose. Big drops should not be able to get past the string and into your nose.

I use two pieces.... the same kind of cotton string that a butcher uses to tie up a beef roast....thick string that's highly absorbent. Some people use a single string...something like the draw-string on a pair of sweat-pants......or the hood of a sweat-shirt. But I like butcher's string....because it easily dries out during the day......and is ready to do its job when I go to sleep.

One person used a piece of plastic found on Weed-Eaters......inserted inside a single strand of cotton drawstring.....so as to give the string some springy rigidity. That made it easier to position the wick so that it would be effective inside a nose-piece something like yours.

Finally....although I haven't had to try this.....you might try a piece of cotton cord....or a few pieces of string.... inside the hose....between the exhaust port and the CPAP machine....to soak up condensation that forms because of the 58 degree temperature in your bedroom. If you've tried everything else....and you are still getting condensation inside the hose, the cotton "wick" might be just enough to keep the BIG drops from forming.....and running into your nose.

Hope all this helps.......

[jrt]

When I first started to increase the humidity setting the nasal dryness/conjestion got better until too much humidity caused "rain-out", increased nasal conjestion closing nasal passages which increased mouth breathing and dryness. Seemed like a bad circle so ended up doing trouble shooting.

Rainout disappeared and conjestion/dryness is less when I lowered humidifier to one or passover, banned my pets from the bedroom and cleaned/got rid of clutter/scents. The dogs are not happy but sleep is better.