Bronchitis

I was diagnosed with a nasty case of bronchitis today. I have antibiotics, an inhaler and some good codeine cough syrup. Hopefully that will help clear things up fast. But, I'm wondering if there's anything special I should consider when it comes to using my BiPap during a bout of bronchitis?

This started with a sore throat. I set my humidifier on 3 instead of 2, where I normally have it and it seemed to help my throat feel better. I wonder if having the extra humidity is helpful for the bronchitis or if that would make it worse?

What about cleaning? I clean my mask everyday with Dawn and water and rinse out my humidifier and put new distilled water in it. I wash the tubing every few weeks with Dawn and water. Should I be cleaning it different while I'm sick?

The mask... I'd make sure to use vinegar when cleaning it... especially when you're sick

Make sure that you've got your machine set with a big enough window that it can go higher than normal.

LisaEileen wrote:... Should I be cleaning it different while I'm sick? ...

Really sorry to hear about the bronchitis! "Weak Lungs" runs in my family. If I get a cold it turns into a chest cold in no time.

Fortunately, since I had my pneumonia vaccine, it does not seem to turn into bronchitis as often. It should not make a difference, but it sure has.

There are two challenges that I face when I use my xPAP unit when I have a cold.

First, I need to keep my nasal passages open. So, when I get a cold, I start using a nasal spray decongestant. But I *ONLY* use that at night before going to sleep. The rest of the day I use a saline nasal spray as needed. Remember, that a nasal spray decongestant can be addictive. Use it ONLY if needed and wean yourself off it as quickly as possible.

Second, I need to keep the mucous in my lungs as loose as possible. I find that Musinex (and any generic of that) seems to work the best at helping me keep my lungs clear. Also, though I hate to when I am feeling poorly some exercise also helps me keep my lungs clear.

Oh, I also find that my ears tend to plug up all too quickly. I try to keep that in check by using broth and such.

Though the xPAP device tends to exaggerate these symptoms, I've *always* had issues with these symptoms. It's just that after 20 years, I've been able to figure out what works pretty well at helping me shake a bad cold and not have it get worse.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

LisaEileen wrote:I was diagnosed with a nasty case of bronchitis today. I have antibiotics, an inhaler and some good codeine cough syrup. Hopefully that will help clear things up fast. But, I'm wondering if there's anything special I should consider when it comes to using my BiPap during a bout of bronchitis?

This started with a sore throat. I set my humidifier on 3 instead of 2, where I normally have it and it seemed to help my throat feel better. I wonder if having the extra humidity is helpful for the bronchitis or if that would make it worse?

What about cleaning? I clean my mask everyday with Dawn and water and rinse out my humidifier and put new distilled water in it. I wash the tubing every few weeks with Dawn and water. Should I be cleaning it different while I'm sick?

I found that turning the humidifier up as high as possible really helped. Remember they advise those steam humidifiers for colds, flues and other nasties...

Be sure its ok to continue using the cpap until your bronchitis clears up. I read my manual and it mentioned that therapy can aggravate certain conditions that have to do w/sinus, lungs, etc... and so there are times when it shouldn't be used. My doctor and my dme never told me...glad I read the manual. Terry

In the Sleep apnea patient ed program Kaiser gives, they said the only time you should not be using CPAP is if you are sneezing a lot and it's not clear, thin mucous (ewww, sorry). Simply because it's hard to keep the mask and hose clean if you are spewing a lot of stuff out. Otherwise, the humidity is good for the sinus passages, though you may want to use a full face mask so you can cough.

Sorry to hear you're feeling poorly. I had a terrible bronchial infection in March, and used my cpap the whole time I was sick. I think I wouldn't have recovered nearly as quickly if I hadn't had the cpap to help me rest. While I'm usually in the once-in-a-blue-moon camp when it comes to cleaning my equipment, I made an exception and cleaned it every couple of days while I was sick. I was only starting my 3rd month of cpap at the time, so wasn't confident enough to adjust my settings, but my AHI was about the same as usual. Cough syrup can be a problem, but it was worth the risk to me to be able to sleep. Hope you feel better soon!

Hi, I too am so sorry to hear that you are sick. I am prone to getting bronchitis all the time but [knock on wood] I haven't had it since I've been on c-pap. The machine seems to help with that.
I will tell you though that I think it will make you feel better while you are sick. I just got over a 3 month long allergy flare up and the only time I could get any relief was when i was on my c-pap!
I do hope you feel better real soon! Rest well!
GOD BLESS YOU!

Thanks everyone! I feel so much better today! I really think using my bipap was a huge help since I could turn the humidity up and keep all that nasty mucous loose. I don't think I would be able to sleep without it. I've had it for a bit over a year now and it has been such a God send! I'd love to look into getting a different mask though. It was a 6 month battle with my insurance company to get this thing so I was just happy with whatever mask they threw at me at the time. But, that's another story. Somehow I managed to sleep from 10:30pm-9:30 am!!! My dh said I probably haven't done that for over a decade. I know I wouldn't have been able to do that without my bipap. I would have been snoring and snorting all night. I'm still weak and feeling slightly icky, but no where near like I did the past few days.

My cold turned into bronchitis, but I continued to use my CPAP. The pressure punched through the congestion after a few seconds. Unfortunately, I found myself waking up every 45-90 minutes throughout the night several nights in a row for a variety of reasons. Although my sleep has been very broken, the CPAP seems to have given me more energy so that I feel less drained than is usual when I am sick. The CPAP did not make anything worse, as I am prone to developing bronchitis when I get sick.

LisaEileen wrote:I was diagnosed with a nasty case of bronchitis today. I have antibiotics, an inhaler and some good codeine cough syrup. Hopefully that will help clear things up fast. But, I'm wondering if there's anything special I should consider when it comes to using my BiPap during a bout of bronchitis?

This started with a sore throat. I set my humidifier on 3 instead of 2, where I normally have it and it seemed to help my throat feel better. I wonder if having the extra humidity is helpful for the bronchitis or if that would make it worse?

What about cleaning? I clean my mask everyday with Dawn and water and rinse out my humidifier and put new distilled water in it. I wash the tubing every few weeks with Dawn and water. Should I be cleaning it different while I'm sick?

Ask your doctor.