CPAP makes my nose super dry even at max humidity

So I have allergic rhinitis and sinusitis my whole life and I've always used nasal mask for my CPAP because breathing through my mouth just doesn't give me the same sleep quality as nose breathing. So even tho I have nasal congestion I still use the nasal mask. However, my nose is so dry and irritated lately making it hard to breath affecting my ability to sleep. Any tips on dealingg with this?

add a stand alone humidifier in your bedroom, if you haven't already.

In addition to humidifying your room, try not filling your humidifier tank all the way to the "fill" line.

It's counter-intuitive, but I find it helps. Think about it: The humidifier heater can heat a smaller amount of water better than a larger amount of water. I've never had a machine that got the water particularly hot. I've had better results with a less-filled tank.

Experiment. Every morning, you want just a tiny amount of water left in the tank. Your optimal fill level will depend on many things: how much your heating system is drying the air, how your A/C is dehumidifying the air. These in turn will depend on how cold or hot is is outside.

Give it a try. I hope it helps.

Shore Snorer wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 05, 2023 5:24 pm

In addition to humidifying your room, try not filling your humidifier tank all the way to the "fill" line.

It's counter-intuitive, but I find it helps. Think about it: The humidifier heater can heat a smaller amount of water better than a larger amount of water. I've never had a machine that got the water particularly hot. I've had better results with a less-filled tank.

Experiment. Every morning, you want just a tiny amount of water left in the tank. Your optimal fill level will depend on many things: how much your heating system is drying the air, how your A/C is dehumidifying the air. These in turn will depend on how cold or hot is is outside.

Give it a try. I hope it helps.

hmmmm....that's a good idea. think i'll try it tonight.

zonker wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 05, 2023 6:57 pm

Shore Snorer wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 05, 2023 5:24 pm

In addition to humidifying your room, try not filling your humidifier tank all the way to the "fill" line.

It's counter-intuitive, but I find it helps. Think about it: The humidifier heater can heat a smaller amount of water better than a larger amount of water. I've never had a machine that got the water particularly hot. I've had better results with a less-filled tank.

Experiment. Every morning, you want just a tiny amount of water left in the tank. Your optimal fill level will depend on many things: how much your heating system is drying the air, how your A/C is dehumidifying the air. These in turn will depend on how cold or hot is is outside.

Give it a try. I hope it helps.

hmmmm....that's a good idea. think i'll try it tonight.

Don't bother, it's nonsense.

The heater is quite capable of heating the 380 ml tank. Yes, less water is heated more efficiently than more water, but the difference would be in the energy consumed and time it takes to initially get to temperature. Not the amount of humidity delivered through out the night. And the difference between a tank with 380 ml and 350 ml or 320 ml would be almost not measurable over an 8 hour period.

Shore Snorer presenting this as a method to increase humidity delivered (over the whole night) is just wrong. Yes, it would deliver a slight bit ore humidity in the first few minutes of the 8 hour session, but those first few minutes are negligible, and not the contributing factor to one feeling dry through out the night and especially the next morning.

If Shore Snorer feels any difference because he put 50 mls less water in his tank, he placeboed himself.

My nose is always drier in winter.
I have seasonal allergies--for every season.
I fill my tank all the way up--distilled water only.
Keeping my mouth shut might help, but my yap is self-opening.

efrain86 wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 04, 2023 4:03 pm

So I have allergic rhinitis and sinusitis my whole life and I've always used nasal mask for my CPAP because breathing through my mouth just doesn't give me the same sleep quality as nose breathing. So even tho I have nasal congestion I still use the nasal mask. However, my nose is so dry and irritated lately making it hard to breath affecting my ability to sleep. Any tips on dealingg with this?

Do you treat the allergic rhinitis and sinusitis with decongestants, antihistamines, and/or nasal sprays? Decongestants, including many nasal sprays, work by drying out the nasal mucosa, and if overused, they can lead to dry, irritated noses.

Do you use an integrated humidifier with your machine? And do you use a heated hose? If so, what settings do you use? If you can turn the humidifier setting up without triggering rainout, that's something you should try.

If your house has forced air heat and it's wintertime, then the air inside your house may be excessively dry. Adding a room humidifier might help your nose.

Keeping yourself well hydrated can also help. So become a bit more conscious of your water consumption. Try to make sure you drink a few more glasses of water each day.

Finally, saline nasal sprays and saline nasal rinses (i.e. using a neti pot) may provide some substantial relief to the nasal irritation, which should allow you to more comfortably use your machine. If you decide to tray a neti pot, it's best to use it several hours before going to bed so that all the water can drain from your nose and sinuses.

efrain86 wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 04, 2023 4:03 pm

So I have allergic rhinitis and sinusitis my whole life and I've always used nasal mask for my CPAP because breathing through my mouth just doesn't give me the same sleep quality as nose breathing. So even tho I have nasal congestion I still use the nasal mask. However, my nose is so dry and irritated lately making it hard to breath affecting my ability to sleep. Any tips on dealingg with this?

1. Some of the replies you are getting concern me. Especially the idea to add a room humidifier. Before thinking about doing this, you would need to know your current bedroom humidity level. Get a hygrometer and measure your bedroom humidity level. Most authoritative sources recommend levels between 30 - 60%. You don't want to add humidity to take the room above 60%. That could cause health problems and in the long term do damage to the house.

2. Do you fill your CPAP humidifier tank each night? How much water is left the next morning? (BTW, like Slobber says, putting less water in your humidifier will accomplish nothing.)

3. You have a lifelong problem with allergic rhinitis and sinusitis your whole life. Are you under the care of an ENT? If not, you need to have a consultation and examination. Tell the doctor about CPAP and your problems.

4. For temporary relief, a good product to apply inside your nose before bedtime is Ayr Saline Nasal Gel with Aloe. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ayr-Saline-N ... z/10294321? It's available at most drug chains.

5.

efrain86 wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 04, 2023 4:03 pm

my nose is so dry and irritated lately making it hard to breath affecting my ability to sleep.

I can understand this could make sleeping difficult. But how does it make it hard to breathe? Are your nasal passages swelling and clogged?

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OP is a sneaky spammer from India (India and Singapore seem to be the source of most spam).
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Rather than deleting the entire thread this time I have elected to just remove the signature line to remove the spam and leave the rest of it since it contains good information.
So you guys/gals won't see the spam link now but it was there a short while ago.

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I need your help in spotting these guys....take the time when replying in a thread to scroll up and look at the signature line to see if anything has been added that might be spam.
If you see it...flag it as spam and I will take care of it.