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Here in Kansas City, it's as dry as the north pole during the winter and as humid as Houston in the summer. When I started on xPAP late this winter, I assumed that once spring/summer arrived I wouldn't need the humidifier, but I was wrong. The constant flow of air is enough to dry out my throat without additional humidification. My humidifier doesn't go through water as fast during the summer, even on the same setting as during the winter. But it adds enough to keep me comfortable. We do run the A/C pretty hard, so the ambient humidity in the house is fairly low, at least compared to outside.

I use 100% nights and naps. Setting varies from 2-5 depending on the relative humidity.

Despite N'Awlins humidity -- we have air conditioning, which dries the air out. So I need my humidifier all the time.

I use my humidifier 100% of the time in the winter months, set on the third notch. Now, I just use passover mode. I also have a humidifier (water bottle) on my 02 mixer that I use 100% of the time.

Interesting topic and poll. (I use my humidifier two or three days/yr, or less, so I voted never.)

Something the DME told us when several of us apneic patients were assembled to pick up our new machines, those who can get along without the humidifier, should do without it, adding that going without increases chance of success. Nobody asked her why, and I've never seen a study, so I guess that her opinion was based on anecdotal feedback.

Some posters, especially the venerable Wulfman Den, describe greater success with unheated "passover" humidification. After I got data reporting capability, my experiments put me in this category. If I do not heat the water (or if I do not humidify) my AHI is reduced to an impressive one-third of the typical value I consistently got with heating the water.

I sometimes wonder how many folks who have problems and high AHIs despite full compliance w their xPAP might get some better results by turning off the heat, or skipping humidification altogether.

Every patient is different, and many (if not most) folks do better w heated humidity.

There is a subset of patients, however, that will see an improvement if they experiment by removing the heat.

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100% of the time......in "passover" mode. I even keep my distilled water in the refrigerator.

And, like "sagesteve", I'm also at 5800' elevation......and it's dry here, too.


Den

Captain_Midnight wrote:...If I do not heat the water (or if I do not humidify) my AHI is reduced to an impressive one-third of the typical value I consistently got with heating the water.

I sometimes wonder how many folks who have problems and high AHIs despite full compliance w their xPAP might get some better results by turning off the heat, or skipping humidification altogether.

Good thing to know -- might post in the "Our Wisdom" section.

I went without it once and hated it!

Spent first 5 months before quitting without a humidifier. Was told since I did ok without it during split nite study I probably wouldn't need it. Hey, what did I know? When I bought a machine from a member here, I began using the humidifier. Seems passover worked best for me for a couple years. If I turned it on too warm, I'd wake up so congested and miserable that I had to take the mask off. The past several months though I've found that a setting of 1 is working best.

I only ever use it in passover mode; otherwise my asthma acts up.
~joan

One other anecdote - I just started on PAP March 1 of this year. For the last 20 winters prior to this one, I've had at least two sinus infections every winter. One right after the furnace went on in late fall, and another in the late winter/early spring. As usual, I had one this past fall. But - I didn't have one in the spring. Call me crazy, but I attribute that to the humidified PAP air keeping my airways moist during the night.

I quit using a passover humidifier completely 2 or 4 yrs ago. Before that I used it in the winter when the inside humidity gets down to 20%. What changed? My solution was to turn off the heat register in my bedroom in the winter, temperature would drop to 60 F and 40% humidity when the rest of the house was 70 F and 25% humidity. And in the summer I keep the AC set at night to keep the bedroom nice and cool, and also 40% humidity.

I now live in a house with forced air electric heat. Because there is no combustion going on it does not pull in the really cold dry air from outside. Sometimes in the winter I still have to run the exhaust fans to get the humidity DOWN to 40%.

When I got the machine last Oct, the humidifier was set on 2. When it got cold, I started getting rain out issues so I turned it down to 1. Recently, I was having problems with getting dry spots in my nose so I turned it back to 2.

Please excuse my ignorance...
I assume 'passover mode' would be water in the humidifier with not heat.
Is this correct?

My own experience it to run the heat at one third.
On humid days I have to drop it a notch to avoid rainout.

Mark

I voted 100%, I use my heated humidifier everyday of the year with a setting between 1 & 1.5, I also use my aussie heated hose all year round!
I have a super dry nose & can't tolerate the cold air so that is why I never go one night without it!
BTW, I live in California
SleepyNoMore