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I think you do need to talk to a union rep or safety officer about this. Everyone is probably breathing this in, but while your CPAP doesn't concentrate it, larger volumes of air are coming in, so more of the pollutant, too.

The filters on the CPAP are limited. When a skunk sprays outside my house, my CPAP definitely picks up the odors and they do seem more concentrated to me. On the other hand, there was a big fire nearby and it was very smoky outside--a bad asthma trigger for me. I used my inhaler, put on my CPAP and got fresh, clean air to breathe. But I suspect that smoke particles are big enough to be filtered out, deisel and skunk are not.

GumbyCT, having spent some time on fishing boats and tug boats I made an "educated" guess.

Still... not as fun as throwing darts, but far more productive.

HoseCrusher wrote:GumbyCT, having spent some time on fishing boats and tug boats I made an "educated" guess.

Still... not as fun as throwing darts, but far more productive.

Is the Crystal Ball broken again? You can use my Ouija board if you want?

Rufus T Firefly wrote:Hi,

It's set on 13, why would I be getting dizzy nere and not at my home ?

Thanks

Maybe your home isn't floating on water! Maybe there is more beer on the boat than home. Jim

You need a Carbon monoxide dectector ASAP right in the room where you are sleeping. Carbon monoxide is odorless but is associated with fumes/smoke. If there is enough fumes to need filtering something is wrong with the ventialtion of your boat.

Of course A CPAP unit does not concentrate the air but it does draw air from the room and blows it across your face, and this is not the same as breathing without CPAP. Don't believe me?...Try this, fart near your CPAP unit while wearing it and tell me its the same.

Could you have gotten oil/diesel on your hands and contaminated the filter/hose/mask? Or maybe the room had smoke fumes one time but now it always makes you dizzy? Oil/diesel on your face?

Just curious how are you preventing the humidifier water from splashing into your CPAP unit? Could the problem be the water you are using?

Good luck

avi123 wrote:

How can you work on a tugboat and use a CPAP?

Does that seem odd to you? I am in the same boat, pun intended. I sail as the engineer aboard a 110 ft. 4300 hp tugboat based out of NY City.
I use a CPAP, but Im still a newbie at this only having used it about a month and a half now. Im sure my accommodations and schedule are similar to what Rufus has on his boat; generally each crew member will have his own cabin which is supplied by a common HVAC system; it isnt all that uncommon for the HVAC to draw in random fumes from outside the boat thru open doors and portholes, including engine exhaust and product fumes from barges.
Inside it is possible to have fumes work their way into the living spaces from doors that lead to machinery spaces that dont have a perfect seal against leakage.
Our tug crews will normally work an even time schedule of 14 days on, 14 days off, although I myself have worked up to 70 days straight.
For this whole time the crew is onboard, wherever the tug goes, so does all the crew; we work, eat, sleep, and live on the boat 24/7, there is no such thing as going home at night.

Rufus maybe more sensitive to any fumes, he didnt say which specifically, but it seems he was inferring engine fumes and increasing the amount he breathes in will certainly be increased using a CPAP. I wish I had a solution to offer, but I can only offer my sympathies. Not really sure one of those 'lab boxes' would work either, just something else to tote around on crew change day, but it may be the difference between working and staying 'on the hill.'

My husband uses our bathroom as "his throne" and has been known to stay for up to a couple of hours in there smoking and reading. It is the joke of the entire family how he can stay in there so long without some major issues -- but that is an entirely different story.

I know for a fact that since our bed is located right next to the bathroom door. When he goes in there at night to smoke -- I know it sure seems that the cigarette smoke gets more concentrated -- although I know it is just my perception of things.

I believe his machine is giving him the same perception -- but only with the engine fumes. I wish I had an answer to this dilemma as I hate the smell from my husband's cigarettes so can only imagine his issue withe fumes from the engines.

rad3766 wrote:Rufus maybe more sensitive to any fumes, he didnt say which specifically,...

My crystal ball is back from the repair shop and seems to think this drive-by was referring to fumes from his shipmates.

Everyone else seems to have made ass-u-mptions, they smell too

When I get a new hose or mask, I have to let them out-gas for a week before I can use them. I wonder what else might be out-gassing in the bunk room. Candidates might be mattress, printer, Formica, paint, bedding, the stoker's girl-friend's perfumed love letters. There is something in RightGuard, Eternity, Chaps, Old Spice, and some soaps, that causes my pulse rate to halve.

As I write I am reminded of a Gulf War story about a mechanic who kept passing out. The problem was finally identified as a combination of diesel fumes from passing convoys and bug repellent(?), which combined to form a precursor of nerve poisons. The article I read posited that the reason he was having difficulty while no one else suffered, was his body's response unique response to the cocktail of shots everybody got before deploying.

I'm thinking there should be some way to adapt the filter from a 3M painter's mask, to fit my CPAP. The 3M mask is very awkward for sleeping, or wearing glasses, but the filters come in various grades and plug into the mask-body via a 1/2" pipe with bayonet lugs. It ought to be pretty easy to make an adapter from 1/2" round 3M to 3/4 x 5/4" rectangle CPAP. Military surplus gas-mask filters are available, but I don't know how they attach.

Good luck.

FYI: Considering the preceding response to an ancient thread, adding resistance to the air supply
in the form of high density air filters is not advisable, and will likely void your warranty,
It will also put extra stress on the motor, shortening its lifespan.
Using room air filters will help with air quality both while sleeping and awake, if needed.

Airborne Goats wrote: I have to let them out-gas

You don't say why. Superstition? Reading woo web pages and falling for the nonsense?

Seems times are tough, the Weekend Zombies, are resorting to digging up the decaying threads. While not overly tasty, they are fall off the bone soft. Jim

Goofproof wrote:Seems times are tough, the Weekend Zombies, are resorting to digging up the decaying threads. While not overly tasty, they are fall off the bone soft. Jim

Oh Jim, you crack me up. And, one person's decay is another person's treasure trove of information. Cpaptalk archives will never die be a bwhahaha ))