Kind of gross, but I have to ask...

[butterflygirl26]

Yesterday I noticed that I am having blood in my flem. Could this be from using my cpap? I have been on a cpap for a week now. Does anybody know what i could do about this. And, does it really have anything to do with my cpap.

[LSAT]

Doubt that it is from CPAP....any blood should be checked by a doctor or dentist.

[BlackSpinner]

Are you using a humidifier? Is it coming from dried out sinuses or are you coughing it up? If it is being coughed up a trip to the doctor pronto is in order otherwise turn up your humidifier.

[butterflygirl26]

Yes im on a humidifier, but i am still on the lowest setting....should i turn it up a little....no, im not coughing it up....im still a little confused about the humididfier, how do i know its too high?

[robysue]

Yes im on a humidifier, but i am still on the lowest setting....should i turn it up a little....no, im not coughing it up....im still a little confused about the humididfier, how do i know its too high?

For most people there's a sweet spot for humidification: Wet enough to prevent the nose from feeling dry and chapped and congested, but Dry enough to prevent rainout and a wet nose that feels congested.

The sweet spot is where you have the minimum amount of congestion in your nose and the nose doesn't feel dried out and rainout is either nonexistent or not bothersome.

To find that sweet spot? Turn the humidifier up a notch and run at the new setting for several days (maybe even a week) and see if the congestion IMPROVES or GETS WORSE. As long as the congestion is improving, continue turning the humidifier up one notch at a time. As soon as the congestion gets worse, go back to the previous (better) setting.

And be aware: If you live in a place with four very distinct seasons, your sweet spot may well vary depending on what time of year it is.

[lars4life]

.

[CruzTerri]

I, too, had blood and congestion when I first started. As others have stated, you can turn up your humidifier. During the colder months I had mine set at 4, but have turned it down to 3 now that it's warming up a bit. In addition, I use a saline nasal rinse about 2-3 hours before I go to bed which helps as well. In the beginning when I would experience the congestion, I took advil or motrin, since the congestion was caused by inflammation not any type of fluid build up.

Hope this information helps you.

[mstevens]

no, im not coughing it up

Phlegm is coughed up. If you're not coughing it up, it's something else. If it's coming from your nose, it's nasal mucus. If it's coming from the back of your throat, it's still mucus (nasal or sinus) via postnasal drip. There's all sorts of goopy stuff that you might be referring to. None of it is supposed to contain blood. The most likely (and benign) explanation would be mild nasal bleeding from excessively dry CPAP air, but keep in mind that's coming from someone who's never met you and is making stuff up.

In general, your doctor is a much better source of medical information than strangers on the internet.