Head colds and AHI?

robysue · Post by **robysue** » Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:59 am

Only been doing CPAP for about a month now. But as I'm definitely in my first head cold for the winter, I have to ask:

Can nasal congestion from head colds/flu/etc increase an S9's reported AHI by a bit?

On nights where congestion has not been issue, my AHI has most typically been between 0.3 and 1.0.

On nights where congestion has been an issue---in the sense of causing me to toss and turn because one or the other nostril feels completely stopped up even with my nasal pillows---my AHI seems to run between 1.5 and 2.0.

So---is nasal congestion the culprit?

For what it's worth, the 95% leak rates don't seem to differ much between the nights when I've got nasal congestion and when I don't. Last couple of weeks, the 95% leak rate is always < 10 L/min and most often < 5 L/min. And I've had 95% Leak rate = 0.0 both with and without serious nasal congestion problems.

Thanks

Hawthorne · Post by **Hawthorne** » Wed Oct 20, 2010 8:52 am

I find that I need to turn the humidifier up a point or 2 when I have a cold. That seems to help the congestion. As others have said on a similar thread, I feel must less congested when I go to bed with cpap on and some extra humidity, when I have a cold.

It's been a long while since I had a very bad cold and the last time I did have a bad one, I did not have software and I had an older machine that gave no data, so I don't know if my AHI was up or not.

robysue · Post by **robysue** » Wed Oct 20, 2010 12:42 pm

I find that I need to turn the humidifier up a point or 2 when I have a cold.

Well, I have increased the humidity a bit. But I think I need to bump it up again until this cold is less bothersome at night.

Jersey Girl · Post by **Jersey Girl** » Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:23 pm

Dear Robysue,

Yes, I think that having a head cold can affect your AHI numbers. Mine always go up if I have a sinus infection or bad cold. Sometimes just being overtired or not feeling well in general affects my numbers adversely.

I actually purchased a full face mask just in case I get such a bad cold that I can't breathe through my nose. I haven't had to use it yet - so far I use nasal pillows for every day and have used a nasal mask when I have had a cold. I also found it helpful to turn the humidity up just a little bit when I had a cold.

Oh, and I read your original post where you talked about your dream of being force fed as a goose and I did laugh! Such a crazy dream. I also had a strange dream when I was first on cpap. I dreamed that I was at my old job and I went to work with my cpap mask and hose on my face - I didn't realize it but everyone else did!

Hope you are feeling much better soon!

Warmly,

Jersey Girl

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:36 pm

I noticed my Ahi Numbers increase when im congested too. They also increase if you sleep less hours by going tto bed too late.

Head colds and AHI?

Head colds and AHI?

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