severe allergy reactions

I have severe sleep apena and started on the nasal pillow in September. A couple of times a month i would wake up with allergy type systems but would normall go away in a day or two. A month later it got extremly worse when i sleep with the cpap i wake up miserable with sneezing, runny nose, eyes watering I have missed several days of work because i feel just miserable. I have been back to the sleep apena center, my pharmistist, my regular physician and an ENT all all have told me that they have not heard of such a reaction. My boss has recommended I see an allergist at this point because he has seen me in the mornings after sleeping with the cpap and when i dont sleep with it im FINE. I want to use it and need to use it. Can anyone please offer some suggestions. I have tried the humidifier on all different levels, i use distilled water

Do you use a humidifier with your cpap?

Could it possibly be a reaction to the rubber pillows????

The allergy reaction... does it happen while you're still masked up or not?

If it does... when did you last change your filters?

If it doesn't... it could very well mean that you need to use some allergy medication.

tls wrote:I have severe sleep apena and started on the nasal pillow in September. A couple of times a month i would wake up with allergy type systems but would normall go away in a day or two. A month later it got extremly worse when i sleep with the cpap i wake up miserable with sneezing, runny nose, eyes watering I have missed several days of work because i feel just miserable. I have been back to the sleep apena center, my pharmistist, my regular physician and an ENT all all have told me that they have not heard of such a reaction. My boss has recommended I see an allergist at this point because he has seen me in the mornings after sleeping with the cpap and when i dont sleep with it im FINE. I want to use it and need to use it. Can anyone please offer some suggestions. I have tried the humidifier on all different levels, i use distilled water

Hi,
When I read your post I thought for a minute I had written it. I have had these allergy symtoms since I have been on c-pap the first of January.
I have been seeing my allergist and he thinks it could be the c-pap!! He says the air being forced into my throat like that is not normal.
I am on nasal rinse [neti pot] Flonase,Claritin, and allergy shots every 10 days.
I was getting allergy shots every 3 weeks before c-pap, now I can't wait that long.
now, I had allergies before c-pap, don't get me wrong, but c-pap has made them much worse.

God Bless You

I just found this forum. I've been looking for information on what appears to be an allergic reaction to CPAP and if anyone else had it.

I began wearing one about 4 months ago. The first week went well and was an instant improvement in my life and I was thrilled and hadn't felt better for years. Then I began have problems. First a rash type on my face, then bumps. I've always been sensitive to plastics and their new smells, so I thought it must be that. The rashes and bumps subsided but I began having terrible sneezing fits, watering eyes. It in itself could be debilitating. And it hasn't stopped. I get what look like blisters of irregular shapes under and over my eyes. I've tried allergy medications (which I'd really prefer not to take forever), nasal sprays. They haven't done any good. I can't go back to not sleeping, but I don't know what to do about this. It's been interesting to see that others have had similar experiences. When I told the provider of the stuff, he said it wasn't latex so it couldn't be the problem (yeah), I told the doctor and he acted like he'd never heard of such a thing. I'm at a loss. I love sleeping. I hate the side affects.

Jann - look at your other post - there's at least one answer. I find it ridiculous that a doctor of any kind would say using Cpap is "not normal"! Maybe you need a new doctor! And for other health professionals to not have heard of e.g. latex allergies, or the fact that ANYone can be allergic to ANYthing at any time in their lives is also nonsense. If they don't know how to address it, they should refer you somewhere else. Have you tried any antihistamines? I hesitate to suggest using them because they tend to make you even more sleepy than OSA, but hopefully someone else here has had similar problems and can give you some answers.

Someone of my family suffered when she was wearing her glasses. Doctor thought it was eyes condition. One day she broke them and she realised that she was allergic to the plastic glasses cutlines.

That to say that allergic reaction to mask is true possibility.

Why not try to put coton on the face under the mask like when someone try to prevent leaks?

Just my two cents.

I am glad to know I'm not the only one! I've tried allergy stuff - one kind put me to sleep (Benydril) and the others (Claritan and a couple of others) didn't do anything, or not much. Nasal spray (steroid) didn't really help either. For over a couple of months now, I wake up with swollen eyes and still have the sneezing fits and watering eyes. Almost as debilitating as not sleeping. I don't know if I can go without the machine to see if it's it, I dread going back to where I was before sleep. Thanks.

the most likely allergy is to silicone rubber, the soft part of most masks, some masks are available made of a different soft plastic

however all new masks have strong chemicals on them such as release agent and starch and size on the headgear
so all new masks should be soaked in warm water with mild detergentthen gently washed and rinsed, suck the soapy water into the airhose

some say the plastic mask parts 'outgas' for a while so should have the above treatment often when new