Full face mask and power outage

[Kman007]

Was reading through the instruction manual on my Resmed full face mask and it said if the machine wasn't working, there is a danger from rebreathing exhaled air. I am not usually a paranoid, but if the power goes off in the middle of the night, how would I know to take the mask off??

[JohnBFisher]

... there is a danger from rebreathing exhaled air. I am not usually a paranoid, but if the power goes off in the middle of the night, how would I know to take the mask off??

You're not paranoid. It's a valid concern with respiratory equipment. Depending on the mask you have, there should be an exhalation port that will allow the CO2 to escape if the power is off. Go to the following web page and look at the video about 1/2 of the way down the page on the right, which explains how the "Anti-Asphyxia Valve" works:

http://www.resmed.com/us/products/mirag ... s&sec=true

Most masks are designed with a similar feature / technology.

[Gerryk]

That is a valid concern. As john said most masks have an Anti-Asphyxia Valve incase your machine stops for any reason. This equipment is no different from anything else, it all has warnings on it. Look at anything you buy now days their are warnings on it.

Again it is a valid concern but as long as your mask has an Anti-Asphyxia Valve and you aren't sleeping face down in a pillow when your machine is not running you should be fine.

Gerry

[Wulfman]

Was reading through the instruction manual on my Resmed full face mask and it said if the machine wasn't working, there is a danger from rebreathing exhaled air. I am not usually a paranoid, but if the power goes off in the middle of the night, how would I know to take the mask off??

What will happen? You'll wake up......and probably fairly quickly.
The ResMed full face masks have good anti-asphyxiation valves, so you'll get enough air coming into the mask to breathe.
CO2 is a driving force (in the brain) to breathe, so I don't consider this scenario to be a "valid concern". You won't suffocate yourself.


Den

[DoninOrlando]

My power went out last week when I was trying a FFM for the first time. It was the Quattro and the power went out about 2am due to local storms. I woke up in a panic, thinking I was suffocating, and tore off the mask. I think it was more my paranoia than actually suffocating, as it was my first time with any FFM, and I have had a few panic attacks since starting CPap, although not lately. The more "crap" on my face, the more likely I was to panic, ie tape on mouth, strip on nose, cap on head, chinstrap, mask, etc.. With just my Swift LT, I never feel that way, but without all the crap, air shoots out of every hole it can find . The power was only off a minute or two when I awoke, as all my clocks and alarms still matched my cell when I looked. It came back on about 5 minutes later. Anyhow, I believe I would have been ok had I not torn it off. I normally take 5-10 minutes trying to get a perfect fit each night, before turning on the Cpap, and don't even think about it. I put my mask and all my crap on in the bathroom, so as not to wake my wife. I then walk to the bed with mask already on, connect to the hose, and flip on the leafblower machine.

[Kman007]

Thank you everyone for the replies. It's good to know there are safety protections built in to prevent asphyxiation! I have only had the machine about a week and am still getting used to it -- it hasn't been a miraculous overnight transformation.

Had a problem last night ... I currently have a cold and knew I'd be breathing through my mouth all night so I tried out the humidifier. Wow, breathing through the mouth exclusively with the mask on is bad! I woke up after about 2 hours with my stomach really tight and painful. I guess every time I swallowed, the machine was forcing air in so I felt like I'd eaten about a gallon of baked beans, if you know what I mean, LOL. It's a good thing the wife was sleeping in the other room with the kids. I gave up on the machine last night.

This is a great community and I look forward to learning more.

[Ms.Snuffleupagus]

....and flip on the leafblower machine.

very funny name for cpap machine. I will be chuckling to myself when I turn on my "leafblower" tonight..better than the sigh I usually make when I reach for my cpap stuff.

[DoninOrlando]

That was just the first thought that came to mind when they stuck that on my face at the titration study. I thought OMG how can I sleep with this leafblower strapped to my face .

Of course now the pressure is no longer bothersome. After the first 5 minute each night, it does not even feel like it is on, unless my mouth opens and then it feels like a little hurricane in my mouth. I have even increased my pressure from 10 to 11 to try to lower my AHI.

[evbirch]

I don't use a full face mask, but...

My cat occasionally walks on my machine and turns it off in the middle of the night. Every time I've immediately awakened. I think its the shock of not having the pressurized air that wakes me up. I would think that a power outage would make you respond somewhat similarly...