CPAP USE AND ALLERGIES

I started the CPAP in November have had some good nights with it and lately a few bad ones off and on and I believe it is mostly because of insomnia, anxiety etc....but I have major allergies and I suspect that is part of it, I have been diagnosed with allergies to weeds, trees, grass, mold, cats and dogs and am getting the allergy drops to help get this under control any way my question to the cpap users is....have many of you have allergies and if you have had been put on the meds do you seen to breathe easier on the CPAP?

I have allergies and asthma... best thing that I can do is to continue to keep changing filters (washing the washable, changing the disposable) every couple of weeks during my bad allergy season.

I, too, have allergies xPAP seems to worsen. The problem may be that over the course of a night, most of the allergenic particles in my bedroom that are small enough to float will be sucked into the machine's inlet and blown into one's nose with prejudice. I recall some old posts where a few people couldn't see any difference between simply breathing the air in a room and receiving that air via xPap, but alas, I beg to differ.

I'd suggest getting a good (and non-ozone producing) air-cleaner for your bedroom, changing your humidifier water daily (a true pain), and making sure your mask remains squeaky clean. With severe allergies you might want to rinse out your hose often.

I'm trying some experiments. I obtained one of those large "bacteria" filters that aren't recommended with heated humidification (because once damp, they won't work properly) and have placed it between my main and short hoses rather than off the machine as the designers intended. Since I have an Aussie heated hose and don't run my humidity to Amazonian levels, the filter has stayed dry so far; however I've had to bump my pressure a bit to compensate for the minor reduction in pressure caused by the filter. Results thus far are excellent, but I'm not ready to jump to conclusions. I've also ordered a bag of RedMed's hypo filters (apparently not available yet from cpap.com unfortunately since this site has turned me into a loyal potential customer for anything I might need) and will see if those work as well as the large filter.

I hope this helps. Allergies plus asthma equal misery.

I have bad allergies, many of which you mention and some others. I have found that keeping the filters clean is a big plus. Allergy shots didn't do a thing for me, except to make me miserable for a couple of days afterwards. I took the shots at two different intervals for about 3 years each. Now I take Zyrtec daily. During really bad seasons I add in Singulair and carry Benadryl with me pretty much all the time on the advice of my doctor. I do NOT like taking Benadryl unless it is an emergency or rarely as instead of making me sleepy it makes me really jittery and then I can't sleep. My daughter even had an allergic reaction to Benadryl and had to go to the ER and was told not to take it again. At various times I have had to use the prescription nasal sprays and / or inhalers (I have asthma as well).

I have found my allergies to actually be better since starting cpap and have been able to cut down on some of the allergy meds. Be sure and keep your filters clean and use only distilled water in humidifier.

Raj wrote:I'm trying some experiments. I obtained one of those large "bacteria" filters that aren't recommended with heated humidification (because once damp, they won't work properly) and have placed it between my main and short hoses rather than off the machine as the designers intended.

How is this experiment doing?

My DME gave me a Viral/Bacterial filter to try out today. Told me to put it after the humidifier. Then I found out it shouldn't go there. Plus it will drop the pressure. So I moved it to before the water. Can it be used on an auto? Without any problems?

Thanks for any insight.

GumbyCT