Man dies in freak accident while connected to cpap

I do think that the post that mentioned the cpap on the floor and how the carbon monoxide weight is heavier has a point. That could be why, but the article is not very clear. Either way, since others got sick too it is the motel that is responsible in my opinion.

[quote="lifeartist59"]I do think that the post that mentioned the cpap on the floor and how the carbon monoxide weight is heavier has a point. That could be why, but the article is not very clear. Either way, since others got sick too it is the motel that is responsible in my opinion.

I wanted to post this about the man who died using cpap when he was exposed to carbon monoxide. When a person is exposed to an inhaled poison like this, don't their systems ( pulimonary, cardiovascular etc) slow down as a process of shutting down? Maybe this is why the wife survived and he did not. He was still inhaling at the 'normal rate'. Someone in the medical profession mentioned this to me as a possibility, so I was just wondering. Whatever the reason, I am sure there will be fault found with the hotel or contractors who put the plastic up and still rented the rooms. I rented a room during the holidays when going back home, and got there to find significant remodeling in progress. Our room has strong paint smells, and I just got a survey today about my stay. I made sure they were aware of this, since I was not told ahead of time. Greed sure is a scary thing!

then I guess this goes to show it is not a good idea not to sleep in the same room as a farting dog either...

...even without the machine on, he rips one and your eyes glass over and it drives you right out of the room.

Snoredog wrote:then I guess this goes to show it is not a good idea not to sleep in the same room as a farting dog either...

...even without the machine on, he rips one and your eyes glass over and it drives you right out of the room.

SOunds like you need to drill a hole through the wall and put the CPAP in the next room..... just makes sure the dog can't go in there and fart!!!

Where angels fear to tread.....

I understand that carbon monoxide has a toxic effect by displacing oxygen in the hemoglobin. Once the CO molecule has found its bed in a blood cell, no oxygen molecule can go there.

We know that more air passes through our lungs when we are on a
CPAP machine. In the case of this man's death, this means more exposure to the CO molecules, which means the blood gets depleted of oxygen quicker. So I can understand that the machine could have hastened the poisoning. But it is not fair to blame it on the machine, especially as the man's wife was taken away in critical condition due to the big mistake on the part of the contractor.

jupmalis wrote:
We know that more air passes through our lungs when we are on a
CPAP machine.
-----------

Will you please give some proof that that more air passes through our lungs on PAP.

I doubt this is the case.
tom

I doubt that as well..... regaurdless of that..... the contractor is at fault here.

tomjax wrote:jupmalis wrote:
We know that more air passes through our lungs when we are on a
CPAP machine.
-----------

Will you please give some proof that that more air passes through our lungs on PAP.

I doubt this is the case.
tom

I'm glad you mentioned this tomjax. This claims makes no sense. I had the same thought--there is no way that a larger volume of air passes through my lungs on cpap vs. normal breathing. All cpap does is to pressurize the air that I do breathe. Sure, the machine takes in a lot more air than a normal person would breathe, but almost all of the pressurized air taken in by the machine goes out of the exhaust holes. Apnea events aside, I breathe the same volume of air each night as I would without the cpap. The only difference is that it is under pressure.

SleepGuy wrote:

tomjax wrote:jupmalis wrote:
We know that more air passes through our lungs when we are on a
CPAP machine.
-----------

Will you please give some proof that that more air passes through our lungs on PAP.

I doubt this is the case.
tom

I'm glad you mentioned this tomjax. This claims makes no sense. I had the same thought--there is no way that a larger volume of air passes through my lungs on cpap vs. normal breathing. All cpap does is to pressurize the air that I do breathe. Sure, the machine takes in a lot more air than a normal person would breathe, but almost all of the pressurized air taken in by the machine goes out of the exhaust holes. Apnea events aside, I breathe the same volume of air each night as I would without the cpap. The only difference is that it is under pressure.

Not trying to start an argument here, really trying to understand this.

If more oxygen passes through our lungs on cpap, wouldn't a pulse oxymeter show a higher level of O2 saturation when on cpap than when you're not?

When you're untreated, you're lungs are usually getting less oxygen over the course of the night. Doesn't cpap, then, just "even the score" so to speak, splinting the throat and allowing for normal oxygen in the lungs/body rather than more?

Not thinking straight today and need some clarification.

Back to the OP---the contractor is the one at fault for putting up the tent. But the motel isn't totally blameless either, as they allowed it to happen.

Pam

WearyOne wrote:

SleepGuy wrote:

tomjax wrote:jupmalis wrote:
We know that more air passes through our lungs when we are on a
CPAP machine.
-----------

Will you please give some proof that that more air passes through our lungs on PAP.

I doubt this is the case.
tom

I'm glad you mentioned this tomjax. This claims makes no sense. I had the same thought--there is no way that a larger volume of air passes through my lungs on cpap vs. normal breathing. All cpap does is to pressurize the air that I do breathe. Sure, the machine takes in a lot more air than a normal person would breathe, but almost all of the pressurized air taken in by the machine goes out of the exhaust holes. Apnea events aside, I breathe the same volume of air each night as I would without the cpap. The only difference is that it is under pressure.

Not trying to start an argument here, really trying to understand this.

If more oxygen passes through our lungs on cpap, wouldn't a pulse oxymeter show a higher level of O2 saturation when on cpap than when you're not?

When you're untreated, you're lungs are usually getting less oxygen over the course of the night. Doesn't cpap, then, just "even the score" so to speak, splinting the throat and allowing for normal oxygen in the lungs/body rather than more?

Not thinking straight today and need some clarification.

Back to the OP---the contractor is the one at fault for putting up the tent. But the motel isn't totally blameless either, as they allowed it to happen.

Pam

Pam, this is a fair question and I'm sorry to have confused you. That's why I said "apnea events aside." Of course you get more oxygen on cpap than without because the air pressure keeps your air passage open. Otherwise, you stop breathing. But the CPAP doesn't concentrate oxygen or any other gas. It just provides some back-pressure on normal room air so the airway stays open.

All I am saying is that the claim that a person on cpap (the deceased man in the story) was exposed to more air volume than a healthy person (his wife, who survived) is in error. The cpap patient took as many breaths during sleep as his wife and the same volume of room air passed through their lungs. I don't think his death can be attributed to the cpap per se--there were probably other factors, like he was sleeping on the side of the bed closest to the wall, he was more susceptible to the lack of oxygen, etc. I don't see how his cpap could have caused him to breathe more air than his wife. He breathed the same volume of air--it's just that his air was under a little back pressure.

I am glad others on this board are wondering about this whole thing. I posted that about the idea that if the others breathing in co2 'normally' (without cpap) may have started having their systems shut down due to the poisoning from the co2, where the machine kept the users breath as if he were breathing in normal air. Does anyone else know if this could happen? I agree that it does not make sense that he would have more air or co2 in this case in his lungs because the cpap forces more air than normal. I am just trying to figure out why he would have died and his wife survived. Of course there are so many factors that we don't know about these people too. I still feel the ultimate responsibility is with the contractor and hotel. They are just looking for a scapegoat reason to avoid litigation.

All the hotels or motels I have stayed in are heated and cooled with electricity. This is the reason there was no detectors in the rooms.

Hunter1

Air flow is not the same as air pressure ... that is what is confusing those who do not understand.

CPAP air pressure keeps the air-way to the lungs open but the amount of air flow in and out of the lungs is the same ... so nothing is concentrated and the average lung volume remains the same. Basic high school physics! (but I guess they don't teach high school physics anymore )

May I quote from cpap.com :

"Humidification adds moisture to the CPAP air, reducing irritation to the nasal passages caused by the increased airflow."

CPAP also expands the lungs. We breathe in more each time. If we took in five molecules of CO with each breath, then maybe now we take in seven. Those seven then run quick to the blood cell, and lock the door to any future oxygen molecules. It is a process of gradual and cumulative poisoning. And the more poison you are exposed to, the quicker the effect.

Quick, get me a doctor.