the flu and apap/cpap therapy

I began using my autopap again after a yrs hiatus. With a diff mask. Swift to replace my nasal aire. Sometimes using humidifier, sometimes not. I've noticed that I do a lot of coughing through the night. I get a sensation like post nasal drip or "tickling" and end up coughing sometimes feeling like things are swelling up in my nose/throat. Sometimes feels like a coughing fit and hard to catch my breath once.

Today I had what I'd guess are flu symptoms. I'm thinking the air blowing into the back of my throat would make it even worse...esp the coughing reflex.

Wondering if I've developed some kind of allergy that has made autopap use difficult this time around. All the coughing made if so the back of my throat is sensitive when I swallow saliva...don't have that prob with warm chicken soup and tea.

Is it best to discontinue apap use till this passes? T

No!!! Don't discontinue therapy. There are many on this board who will help you through the problems. I don't feel qualified yet to do that. But if you discontinue even for one day, you're not getting the oxygen your body needs to function properly. So please use your machine every night and work on solving the problems.

I think you might be a great candidate for a full face mask, which lets you mouth breathe (when you're asleep and don't realize you're doing it) and is good if your nose is congested, e.g. if you have a cold. I say this because I think it could apply to you - the coughing could be due to dryness brought on by losing the cpap air through your mouth, and not having it go down where it belongs. I don't think not using it when you're sick is a good idea, but if you can't breathe with your present mask, then I guess you need to judge for yourself. Also if you use a humidifier, and are congested, turning it down may help with that, though may make things worse for your throat until you have a FF mask.

Flower51 wrote:I began using my autopap again after a yrs hiatus. Today I had what I'd guess are flu symptoms. I'm thinking the air blowing into the back of my throat would make it even worse...esp the coughing reflex.
Is it best to discontinue apap use till this passes? T

I recently had the flu....although flu and cold symptoms can make using xPAP more challenging, it is important to make your best effort to continue using. With OSA you already have compromised breathing while sleeping, cold/allergy/flu/asthma adds additional breathing insults!!! I discovered I had oxygen desaturations even with my APAP and flu treatment. I suspect it would have been worse w/o. It's good to have a full face mask available for illnesses and nasal congestion, treat allergy symptoms to reduce nasal congestion. For some people, cough is a primary symptom of asthma. You might want to consider as well.

Be Well.

elg5cats

I'm not breathing through my mouth so that's not the issue. It's the flow of air hitting the back of my throat that seems, along w/the postnasal drip, triggering the coughing. T

Flower51 wrote:I'm not breathing through my mouth so that's not the issue. It's the flow of air hitting the back of my throat that seems, along w/the postnasal drip, triggering the coughing. T

Tried gargling warm salt water?

elg5cats

Flower, I had that air hitting throat then cough as I was recovering from my 18 day cold (kid who gave it to me had 2 days of sniffles ). In my case, turning up the humidifier helped. I got some rainout in my pillows but not in the oral cushion (I wear the Hybrid FFM) or the hose, so I was OK with that. Lasted a few nights. I chewed a piece of sugarless gum abou 20 mins before maskup to get lots of saliva flowing and moisten throat. I also upped my water intake in the mornings figuring I was a bit dehydrated from all the mouth breathing I'd been doing.

Thanks guys. I'm gargling w/warm salt water, using saline spray in my nose, drinking tea and clear soup and water. Also some ibuprofen to reduce the swelling. I'm wondering if the swollen neck is because my lymph nodes went into overdrive w/the cll. This morning I woke up sputtering and it was kind of scary but I'm much better now since I've been up and drinking lots of liquids. Anybody have an inexpensive suggestion for elevating my side of the mattress? Going to try putting some spare pillows from the guest room underneath the top of the mattress. It may squish them down too much to make a diff but I'll see. Thanks Terry

I find that for me, when I have a cough from a cold, I take 2 Tylenol. It is amazing, but the Tylenol stops the cough for about 4 hours.

All the best,
Gail

Hi Terry,
I join with all the others who have welcomed you to the forum. This is a great place to be. I have one suggestion to add to the good ones you have received. You listed the things you are doing to help your post-nasal-drip. You included a saline spray. I used that for years, and I think it did some good, but it never cured the nasal drip.

After 5 nasal surgeries, I found a doctor who recommended nasal rinses. There are several ways to do it. I have only tried a couple. You can go on the search panel, under the Cpap logo & type in Neti Pot. Many people swear by this method. I have said before, I swore at it, and I did. It was too messy for me. There are NeilMed Sinus Rinse kits you can buy. They contain a bottle and packets of premixed saline solution.

Because my Post nasal drip had turned into sinus problems, my doctor recommended a Grossan Nasal System. There are many types of this product, it is kinda like a water pik. A saline solution is pumped into one nostril and comes out the other. I used it regularly for about 6 months. My sinus and post nasal drip was vastly improved.

If it begins again, I do the nasal rinses till it is gone, but I don't do it on a daily basis. It helped me tremendously and has improved my general health.

?Best wishes to you.

Jan