CPAP and Throat Cancer

About 2 yrs ago my CPAP humidifier setting was accidentally changed to 5 (highest setting) somehow without my noticing (possibly just bumped when cleaning) and the reservoir kept running out of water during the night. I kept waking up to foul smells in my mask and did not realize it but it is the plastic reservoir actually overheating / burning. Burning plastic can produce numerous extremely nasty carcinogens and toxins much worse than cigarette smoke (Dioxins, Furans, Mercury, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, chlorine, fluorine, bromine, etc.). This went on for a several weeks before I realized the issue with the humidifier during which I got a bad chronic sore throat that would not go away. I went to an ENR specialist and he performed a biopsy of my tonsil and discovered I had throat cancer. This quickly spread to my lymph nodes and became stage 4 cancer. I underwent radiation and chemo treatments but also developed thyroid cancer in adjacent tissues (possibly unrelated, my Oncologists are unsure). After removing the thyroid, I am doing better and it has now been about 1.5 yrs since completing treatments.

I am unaware if the CPAP industry has looked into this phenomena but I was otherwise very healthy and I am convinced this was the source of my cancer. Therefore CPAP users may want to make sure to never let the CPAP reservoir run out of water and maintain humidity on low settings, if possible. I am also not sure if there are humidifiers available that do no use plastic reservoirs or that automatically shut down with some sort of warning light when the reservoir becomes empty but that would be a good feature.

Hi, so sorry to hear what happened to you, but glad you seem to be doing better now.

Certainly the issue of running machines with the humidifier on, but no water inside, has come up various times, mostly when people write and ask about consequences to the machine of having had it run dry for a night or two, but I can't remember hearing about someone unaware of the heated tank being empty for an extended time, let alone having developed cancer. Was there any discussion of coincidental other issues contributing to the diagnosis?

It does seem that most reailze the problem within a day or two, if only due to the smell - and don't continue to use it regardless, and the likelihood of a similar occurrence to what you experienced seems fairly remote. We realize the tanks are plastic and that, as with anything plastic, overheating will damage it and likely release some dangerous chemicals. Why someone would continue using a smelly set-up without questioning it is a little hard to understand. Many do go dry for a matter of hours on 1-2 given nights but are then refilled, have the heat turned off or the humidifier detached altogether depending on the machine they have.

An auto shut-off feature however, sounds like a good idea, as does any other warning system. And I imagine the manufacturers are aware of potential problems as well, but until they come up with different materials etc, we all need to be careful about how we run machines/humidifiers and not let things go to extremes. Please take care of yourself and I hope your problems are now over for good.

It's interesting that room humidifiers automatically shut off when they run dry. My wife uses one often and even the cheapest models have this feature.

Running dry wakes me up, and I can't sleep until I add water.
It is that unpleasant, but maybe not as much for others.
Perhaps the manufacturers need to step up to this problem.
Optional larger tanks may be indicated.
Sensors/shutoffs exist, and should be considered.
Even if a health hazard does not exist, comfort is an issue.
The manufacturers could do better, and affordably, too.

I'm sorry that you had throat cancer, but I find it hard to believe that this is the cause.

However, I do agree that CPAP humidifiers (built-in integrated, or add-on) should cut out when dry. I don't think that any do right now. This ought to be the case for fire safety whether the burning smell is a heath hazard or not.

I do notice a burning smell after potty break, even if the reservoir is nowhere near empty. This is usually fixed by topping off the reservoir or just leaving the machine running while I'm in the bathroom.

I personally believe its far simpler and less expensive than previously mentioned. The latest generation 'smart' machines don't need to cut out, shut down, turn off or cease XPAP duties due to running out of water. A nineteen dollar drugstore humidifier is smarter than to continue running dry. Any UL listed cheap-o electric fan is thermally protected against continuing to run if it's overheated. Our machines while more complicated in many respects needn't power-down themselves and deprive us of their benefit... just bypass the humidifying & heating functions when the water dries up! Seems to me a simple solid state sensor or two on the PCB, costing a few cents could easily eliminate either issue. Anyone can always run out and snag a cheap-o humidifier temporarily while your machine's failure is explored but otherwise performing its primary functions.

salinas212 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:43 am

I personally believe its far simpler and less expensive than previously mentioned. The latest generation 'smart' machines don't need to cut out, shut down, turn off or cease XPAP duties due to running out of water. A nineteen dollar drugstore humidifier is smarter than to continue running dry. Any UL listed cheap-o electric fan is thermally protected against continuing to run if it's overheated. Our machines while more complicated in many respects needn't power-down themselves and deprive us of their benefit... just bypass the humidifying & heating functions when the water dries up! Seems to me a simple solid state sensor or two on the PCB, costing a few cents could easily eliminate either issue. Anyone can always run out and snag a cheap-o humidifier temporarily while your machine's failure is explored but otherwise performing its primary functions.

I didn't mean that the CPAP should stop blowing. I meant that only that the heating element in the humidifier should power down when the tank is empty. This is a very simple thing it include as every cheapo room humidifier does this.

If I ran out more often, I would keep a prefilled spare tank nearby, ready to swap.
Cheap and easy, like a high school cheerleader.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:54 am

Cheap and easy, like a high school cheerleader.

12 year old granddaughter is a cheerleader. She isn't "cheap", nor is she "easy". Such a stupid thing to say. I guess you meant it to be funny. It isn't.

Just talking from personal experience.
Mostly spoiled, selfish rich kids in small cliquey towns.
Glad your kids/grands are raised better than the ones I knew.
My classmates did not all have the advantage of conscientious parenting.

MrsFlowers wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:42 pm

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:54 am

Cheap and easy, like a high school cheerleader.

12 year old granddaughter is a cheerleader. She isn't "cheap", nor is she "easy".

Your 12year old is in high school?

palerider wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:55 pm

MrsFlowers wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:42 pm

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:54 am

Cheap and easy, like a high school cheerleader.

12 year old granddaughter is a cheerleader. She isn't "cheap", nor is she "easy".

Your 12year old is in high school?

How is she at doing math....

After living with a humidifier on my old PRS1 that quit working about 3 years in, I'm not very good about remembering to fill my humidifier anymore (now on a ResMed Autoset). I never notice a smell or see any sign of a problem from letting it run dry. I try to be better about filling it, but I got out of the habit because with the old machine it would take weeks for Passover humidification to deplete the tank.

And to pose another theory to the OP--Perhaps the odor and issues with your humidifier saved your life, because it caused throat irritation that prompted you to see a doctor. I doubt very much that exposure of a matter of weeks could cause cancer easily detected so quickly.

Janknitz wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:44 pm

And to pose another theory to the OP--Perhaps the odor and issues with your humidifier saved your life, because it caused throat irritation that prompted you to see a doctor. I doubt very much that exposure of a matter of weeks could cause cancer easily detected so quickly.

Exactly.

Running your HH dry once should give you a clue to the problem is for you to correct, continuing to run it dry would mean you are a very slow learner. I ran mine 10 years without running it dry or overfilling it, but if I had, I would have figured how to turn the heat off. Jim

When in a pitch dark room and you can't see, doesn't mean you are blind!