Hi im new!

Hi everyone. Im new to cpap and I thought I would join the forum. Ive been using the cpap for about a week now, I do feel I sleep deeper but there are a few things that I want to know.

Whenever I wake up my nose is stuffed and dry, I have to get up to the bathroom and clean house.

Whats the point of the hudmidifier? I tried to on different settings, the higher i go the more water that gets stuck in my tube and mask... is that normal?

My nose also broke up the first couple times I used it... Is that normal?

My air pressure is 6.0 so thats fairly low... whats yours ?

welcome noob...you found a good place for those who want to help themselves...

the humidifier is to try and keep the moisture... the higher you turn it, the more "rainout" you get... It takes a few nights of playing with it to find the optimal level. There is different tricks to try and minimize the effect (heated hoses as an example) but I have never tried em. I just played with my machine until I got to where my nose stays dry...

what do you mean your nose broke up, nasal congestion? For me it is actually good at clearing a stuffed nose...

pressure of 6 is pretty low, but everyones different... I was tirated at 10 I think? I have since changed to an auto and think I am set between 9 and 12...

Do not be afraid to ask questions, there is a lot of helpful resources in here. Taking control of your threrapy puts you in control and makes staying compliant a lot easier. I am about 6 months on a hose now, and have never missed a night. No doubt in part to many of the folks in here who are a great source of support and information.

A passover humidifier can help to keep your nasal passage from getting too sore. Still having a cracked nose is fairly common when you first start out. Pugsy has recommended nipple cream, which I think is a very good idea when you consider the parallels. Both have to toughen up considering the road ahead, but neither need to be in pain to get there. You can order this easily online.

Hey thanks so much! My nose is always stuffed in the morning, so stop a rainout I should just trial and error? I thought maybe The water level wastoo high but last night it was pretty wet even though i put it an inch below the max line

Nipple cream? are you messing with me? Thanks for the reply

Do you live in a particularly humid place?

West Chester PA, outside of philly... its very humid in the summer but nothing like down in texas im sure

Sigh. Nooo I suppose there aren't one in a hundred places as humid as Houston (no contradictory comments please, I want to wallow in that right now).

If you're getting more rainout it might be your heater setting. Turn the heater down and try. If you get all the way to level one and still have too much humidity use a snuggle hose https://www.cpap.com/productSearch.php? ... nugglehose to insulate the hose. Next attempt, adjust your bedroom temperature to be warmer. (Goal is you're trying to match the temperature outside with the temp. inside the machine). Last attempt - use hose management system, like the Cozyhose, to hang the hoses at different heights which may help (I haven't tried this one, so someone else will know more about it).

And I'm not joking about the nipple cream. It's just cream honey, if repackaged by any other name would it work just as well? But okay, perhaps I have too much fun recommending it. Try those other ideas, and if your broken skin is too painful, I've used chapstick and regular manly lotion to help that.

I live in SW Missouri. Not particularly arid in terms of relative ambient humidity. I used to live in Las Vegas, NV and their "high" humidity is what we would consider very low humidity here.

The humidifier adds extra moisture into the air that goes in your nose. The amount of water in the tank doesn't really matter (unless I suppose it is very low) because it is the humidifier setting that determines the moisture content of that air going into your nose. When we exhale into the mask interface our breath also contains moisture so if the combination of exhaled breath and moisturized air coming from the machine along with outside air temperature that is cooler, can cause condensation in the mask interface and/or hose. This condensation is called rainout because our faces get "rained" on.... Annoying to say the least.

So if rainout is a problem a person has to figure out best way to deal with it. Most common thought would be to decrease the humidifier setting so that less moisture will be in the air coming from the machine. Works for some people. Not good if you are a person that needs more humidity in the air going up your nose. This is a personal comfort preference thing. Some people need more to be comfortable, some people need less.

Another choice is to try to keep the air coming into the mask interface warmer so that it does not cool down and condense on the way to your nose. Some people use little hose huggies and some people have to use even more warmth like a heated hose. Some people keep the bedroom warmer.

Some people (like me) can't sleep when outside temp is warm plus I need lots of moisture in the air going up my nose. Some people like a much cooler bedroom. This is going to increase the chance of rainout if all the other factors tend to lean towards condensation. So a person needs to look at all aspects of the physics of condensation and try to adjust accordingly.

Nipple cream? Lanonish ointment used by breast feeding moms to help with chapped nipples. It is useful for tender nares or exterior nostril surface when using nasal pillow mask interface. It can safely be used at night with the nasal pillows. For the over the nose type of mask you show in your profile it probably would not be of much use for you.

Thanks again for the insight! its usually 60 degrees in my room at night, whatever it is outside it seems to be in my room. I think I need new insulation

Missouri huh? arnt there snakes there? i hate those things. So this red line on my nose will go away in the future? if i keep using it?

thanks!

matt

mtb211 wrote:Missouri huh? arnt there snakes there? i hate those things. So this red line on my nose will go away in the future? if i keep using it?

Yeah, snakes here in the Ozarks. Copperheads, cotton mouths and a few rattlesnakes are the bad guys and lots of good guy snakes. Though the really worst offender here in this area is the brown recluse spider. They are everywhere.

The red line on your nose?? All around? Just one area? Painful? Goes away quickly? Lots of causes. Generally the mask shouldn't be painful and redness shouldn't be present. Most common cause is the mask is too tight or not fitted optimally. I only use the nasal pillow mask system so I am pretty much clueless with the other mask types so I can't help much.
Don't let the mask create a sore spot or abrasion on your face. Something is wrong if it does.

Welcome Matt Your humidifier also needs to be below your head when you lay down, I wrap my hose in a lite towel and that seems to help with "rainout" good luck

katherinefulmer wrote:Nooo I suppose there aren't one in a hundred places as humid as Houston....

Katherine, you live in a swamp, even if y'all call it a bayou! Many yrs ago I flew into Houston; when we landed and they opened the door of the cabin (so long ago you walked down steps to the tarmac & hoofed it to the terminal such as it was back then)...anyway, as I approached the door that hot wet swampy smell hit me like a ton of bricks...worse than being in So Fla's Everglades. My sympathies.

Hey there again, Wow about the reptiles down there in Missouri. My parents bought a house in florida, Ive seen quite a few snakes down there.... also went on a windboat through the everglades.. SOO cool.

Anyway, I have a split on the top of my nose... a straight red line , its not painful... Just looks like im recovering from a broken nose or something

My face didnt get rashy this morning, and i slept great. My hudmifier was set a few inches lower than me.... doctor told me not to put the cpap on the floor... I dont really understand why.

Thanks for the towell trick, Any other tips would be great!

Matt

I like to sleep with it cool/cold but definitely not freezing, I live in Montgomery County, MD(D.C. used to be swampland so in the summer it is humid)(I grew up in Texas and Oklahoma so I know how it is down there) and I have had just a little rain-out not too much, I usually use between 1-3 with my Heated Humidifier. I was originally fitted with an HC407 Nasal mask on August 10 of this year and on the bridge of my nose I have gotten an irritation/soreness/redness that went away after using the Opus 360 Nasal Pillows(small insert). If you use CPAP.com's mask sizing guide like I did recently(Found out that the Fisher and Paykel HC406 was recommended but have to wait another couple of weeks till I can talk with my doctor and DME about other masks.

DJ