Why do we need humidification?

I find myself wondering why we need humidification.
I can understand in the case of tracheostomys,... but I mean, I am sitting here now, breathing through my nose, and my mouth or nose isn't dry.
Why is it at night with FF mask, do I then need humidification? It's the same air. It's the same nose...

While it is the same air, same nose, etc....the air going past the nasal mucosa and into our airway is going by with more pressure or speed that our normal breathing. While it is the same air....it is moving faster.
All things being equal if you hang your clothes outside to dry....on a windy day or calm day...which will see the clothes dry faster???

Some people just need more moisture to keep the mucosa happy. Some need very little added and some prefer no added moisture.

https://www.resmed.com/en-us/sleep-apne ... umidifier/

https://www.sleepapnea.org/treat/cpap-t ... ification/

https://www.sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-di ... with-cpap/

The drying effect of the CPAP airflow is known to increase airway resistance.2,7 Excessive drying of the airway by CPAP has been shown to increase the release of vasoactive leukotrienes, subsequently increasing nasal resistance.6 Resistance is the ratio between the driving pressure responsible for gas movement and the flow of the gas and is measured in cm H2O/1 sec.4 Airway resistance is the result of friction among molecules of a flowing gas and between the molecules of the conducting tube of the airway.4 When the airway is irritated or damaged, the flow of air becomes more turbulent partly due to the increased resistance.

You can google it and get lots of hits and stuff to read.
https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... d+humidity

Also google "cpap rhinitis" and start reading.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 05, 2021 8:57 pm

While it is the same air, same nose, etc....the air going past the nasal mucosa and into our airway is going by with more pressure or speed that our normal breathing. While it is the same air....it is moving faster.
All things being equal if you hang your clothes outside to dry....on a windy day or calm day...which will see the clothes dry faster???

Some people just need more moisture to keep the mucosa happy. Some need very little added and some prefer no added moisture.

https://www.resmed.com/en-us/sleep-apne ... umidifier/

https://www.sleepapnea.org/treat/cpap-t ... ification/

https://www.sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-di ... with-cpap/

The drying effect of the CPAP airflow is known to increase airway resistance.2,7 Excessive drying of the airway by CPAP has been shown to increase the release of vasoactive leukotrienes, subsequently increasing nasal resistance.6 Resistance is the ratio between the driving pressure responsible for gas movement and the flow of the gas and is measured in cm H2O/1 sec.4 Airway resistance is the result of friction among molecules of a flowing gas and between the molecules of the conducting tube of the airway.4 When the airway is irritated or damaged, the flow of air becomes more turbulent partly due to the increased resistance.

You can google it and get lots of hits and stuff to read.
https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... d+humidity

Also google "cpap rhinitis" and start reading.

Thank you for a very comprehensive reply! Cheers!

Moving air conveys water vapor away from where it is evaporating,
allowing more water to evaporate, faster.
I am sitting in front of a fan right now--the breeze dries my eyes.

Legrunt wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 05, 2021 8:30 pm

I find myself wondering why we need humidification.
I can understand in the case of tracheostomys,... but I mean, I am sitting here now, breathing through my nose, and my mouth or nose isn't dry.
Why is it at night with FF mask, do I then need humidification? It's the same air. It's the same nose...

I have no idea either, and not everybody needs extra humidification, (I don't, I rarely put water in my tank) but many (most?) do. So at the very least, it's good to have the option. You have to play around with it to find what works for your nose.

I have often wondered if it's just another one of those YMMV things related to some people just seem to get "dried out" more than others.
Case in point when 2 people in the same house both use cpap and one needs maximum humidity and the other needs minimal to none.

I need maximum humidity or I start having allergy attack symptoms. I was trying to use a setting of 5 or 6 for a long time but I would wake up with lots of sneezing going on for a while in the mornings.

Finally upped it to max of 8 because I wasn't sleeping long enough to run out of water anyway if I used up more water.
The sneezing has stopped....

My ambient humidity isn't all that dry either at around 50% unless it is raining outside....and I don't use that high of a pressure for very long either. Usually for only REM stage sleep pressure needs which amounts to maybe 20% of my sleep total.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:35 pm

I have often wondered if it's just another one of those YMMV things related to some people just seem to get "dried out" more than others.
Case in point when 2 people in the same house both use cpap and one needs maximum humidity and the other needs minimal to none.

Different people, different nasal cavities.. that's all I can figure.

between the two of us we cover the range, me, no added humidity, you, max humidity. (are you sure you're not related to ChunkyFrog? )

palerider wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:03 am

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:35 pm

I have often wondered if it's just another one of those YMMV things related to some people just seem to get "dried out" more than others.
Case in point when 2 people in the same house both use cpap and one needs maximum humidity and the other needs minimal to none.

Different people, different nasal cavities.. that's all I can figure.

between the two of us we cover the range, me, no added humidity, you, max humidity. (are you sure you're not related to ChunkyFrog? )

Probably closer related than anyone knows. I have always been that way though. It's just my body I guess.
When I lived in Las Vegas (pre cpap) I had nosebleeds all the time from dry mucosa and went around with Simply Saline in my pocket all the time and used it prolifically. I joke about snorting water if I could but I guess I have actually done that.
When out of saline I have put water on my fingers and snorted it to relieve the dryness.

When I run out of water in the chamber and it's for very long, I wake up to the most horrible allergy like symptoms and I am totally miserable for the day and sometimes longer. I really would give up cpap totally for a night if my humidifier broke and I didn't have a replacement. I would feel worse from the allergy symptoms than from the apnea symptoms. I have been there and done that and don't want a repeat.