Cpap and Bronchitis/Pneumonia

SewTired wrote:This ancient thread has been reactivated several times, but it does have some interesting information. FWIW, a PA at Mayo Clinic suggested that anybody with chronic lung problems after they have started cpap, should to meticulously clean their equipment, but also to add a biofilter (available through cpap.com) and get their machine off the floor. Finally, get treatment for GERD. Many people already have it before starting CPAP and CPAP sometimes aggravates the condition. GERD can cause bronchitis, which leads to pnemonia. They've only known that for 5 or 6 years. You start with GERD, get post nasal drip, coughing and then bronchitis. So, yeah, this isn't the solution for everybody, but if you don't know about it, you can't try it.

What's really interesting to me is that I suffered from GERD, acid reflux, heartburn for years. Was on Prilosec or any other variety of meds for it for two decades. Since starting CPAP in October I have not had one episode, and have finally stopped having to take medication for it. A very happy side effect of CPAP therapy for me.

From some Google searching of Bronchitis and from the Mayo site:

Bronchitis

Definition
By Mayo Clinic Staff

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the lining of your bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from your lungs. People who have bronchitis often cough up thickened mucus, which can be discolored. Bronchitis may be either acute or chronic.

Often developing from a cold or other respiratory infection, acute bronchitis is very common. Chronic bronchitis, a more serious condition, is a constant irritation or inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, often due to smoking.

Acute bronchitis usually improves within a few days without lasting effects, although you may continue to cough for weeks. However, if you have repeated bouts of bronchitis, you may have chronic bronchitis, which requires medical attention. Chronic bronchitis is one of the conditions included in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).



Causes
By Mayo Clinic Staff

Acute bronchitis is usually caused by viruses, typically the same viruses that cause colds and flu (influenza). Antibiotics don't kill viruses, so this type of medication isn't useful in most cases of bronchitis.

The most common cause of chronic bronchitis is smoking cigarettes. Air pollution and dust or toxic gases in the environment or workplace also can contribute to the condition.



Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic Staff

Factors that increase your risk of bronchitis include:

Cigarette smoke. People who smoke or who live with a smoker are at higher risk of both acute bronchitis and chronic bronchitis.

Low resistance. This may result from another acute illness, such as a cold, or from a chronic condition that compromises your immune system. Older adults, infants and young children have greater vulnerability to infection.

Exposure to irritants on the job. Your risk of developing bronchitis is greater if you work around certain lung irritants, such as grains or textiles, or are exposed to chemical fumes.

Gastric reflux. Repeated bouts of severe heartburn can irritate your throat and make you more prone to developing bronchitis.


Den

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Another thought/question........
I wonder how many of these folks who complained about a "constant cough" were taking Lisinopril.......a known cough contributor.


Den

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Cough presenting asthma can be confused with bronchitis (instead of wheezing you have "bronchial spasms") or related to it. It can be triggered by changes in air quality and by GERD. It is treated the same way regular asthma is.

In my case the cpap machine bringing warm humid air relieves my symptoms, I have to be careful when I take my mask off so the difference in air doesn't trigger anything. The asthma then is NOT caused by the cpap but by the actual room air!

Just got my second bout of pneumonia from CPAP use. Taiwan did a 5 year study and upper respiratory infection were 34% greater in CPAP users. GOOGLE it. And no, I will not stop using my CPAP I'm just tired of reading posts from folks on here stating you're less likely to get pneumonia with a mask. What a crock!

Steve in Biloxi wrote:Just got my second bout of pneumonia from CPAP use. Taiwan did a 5 year study and upper respiratory infection were 34% greater in CPAP users. GOOGLE it. And no, I will not stop using my CPAP I'm just tired of reading posts from folks on here stating you're less likely to get pneumonia with a mask. What a crock!

Get a pneumonia shot!!! If you didn't get one after the first bout, then it's YOUR fault for not taking precautions.

You also misread that Taiwan report. I've read it before and just reviewed it. The infection rate was higher for people WITH Sleep Apnea. Not necessarily in people who were using CPAP therapy. The reason is that the people who have Sleep Apnea more often have immune systems that are compromised and more susceptible to infections.
But, many "researchers" can prove almost anything they want to if they make up their minds.
"Global warming" and "Climate change" are prime examples. They need to keep their sources of income flowing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonia


Den

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Wulfman... wrote:Another thought/question........
I wonder how many of these folks who complained about a "constant cough" were taking Lisinopril.......a known cough contributor.


Den

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On a totally OT note, I was reading on another site that doctors commonly blow off this drug side effect. One person went through very expensive testing before discovering the med was the culprit. I am sure she wasn't the only one in this situation.

It was because of you Den, that I learned about this side effect. I never took this med but if god forbid, I have to, at least if that happens, I will know exactly what is going on. Obviously, my chances of learning this from the physician are slim and none.

49er

Lisinopril has been around for a long time. Old doctors tend to ignore new research.
This may sound ageist, but I prefer a young, curious doctor to an older one.
The last old doc was showing signs of senility.

I got so, so sick with bronchitis and asthma (as it turned out) after my Afib and before I started my CPAP therapy. I was taking Lisinopril and my docs switched my BP meds because of the correlation with coughing.I think I'm lucky to have pretty good docs, even if I am in kind of a podunk town.

49er wrote:

Wulfman... wrote:Another thought/question........
I wonder how many of these folks who complained about a "constant cough" were taking Lisinopril.......a known cough contributor.


Den

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On a totally OT note, I was reading on another site that doctors commonly blow off this drug side effect. One person went through very expensive testing before discovering the med was the culprit. I am sure she wasn't the only one in this situation.

It was because of you Den, that I learned about this side effect. I never took this med but if god forbid, I have to, at least if that happens, I will know exactly what is going on. Obviously, my chances of learning this from the physician are slim and none.

49er

Thanks.

Due to my own experience with it and the ones they switched me to, I've been very sensitive to others when they post about coughing when on this therapy. And, since quite a few of people with Sleep Apnea have blood pressure issues and/or Diabetes issues, many are prescribed Lisinopril. Consequently, it's one of those subjects that jumps out at me in the posts.

I strongly suggest that anybody who is taking or is being prescribed medications to do some research on them as soon as possible.
I primarily recommend using http://www.drugs.com and/or other reputable sources for the research.

Regarding these medications, here is some information and some links for further information about them.
In my case, my doctors switched me to Diovan/Valsartan and then later to Cozaar/Losartan.


Lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor. ACE stands for angiotensin converting enzyme.

http://www.drugs.com/drug-class/angiote ... itors.html

Zestril/Lisinopril

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisinopril

http://www.drugs.com/lisinopril.html


Losartan is an oral medication that belongs to a class of drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Other ARBs include irbesartan (Avapro), valsartan (Diovan), and candesartan (Atacand).

http://www.drugs.com/drug-class/angiote ... itors.html

Cozaar/Losartan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Losartan

http://www.drugs.com/cozaar.html

http://www.drugs.com/losartan.html


Den

.

Wulfman... wrote:

Steve in Biloxi wrote:Just got my second bout of pneumonia from CPAP use. Taiwan did a 5 year study and upper respiratory infection were 34% greater in CPAP users. GOOGLE it. And no, I will not stop using my CPAP I'm just tired of reading posts from folks on here stating you're less likely to get pneumonia with a mask. What a crock!

Get a pneumonia shot!!! If you didn't get one after the first bout, then it's YOUR fault for not taking precautions.

You also misread that Taiwan report. I've read it before and just reviewed it. The infection rate was higher for people WITH Sleep Apnea. Not necessarily in people who were using CPAP therapy. The reason is that the people who have Sleep Apnea more often have immune systems that are compromised and more susceptible to infections.
But, many "researchers" can prove almost anything they want to if they make up their minds.
"Global warming" and "Climate change" are prime examples. They need to keep their sources of income flowing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonia


Den

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Not only that, but people with sleep apnea often suffer from GERD. GERD may be caused by the pressure gradient of struggling to breathe through a closed airway, which pulls gastric contents up into the airway and that can be aspirated into the lungs causing pneumonia. I woke so many times feeling like I was drowning in my gastric juices before CPAP. I though it was going to kill me.

I agree with you 100%. I have used a CPAP for approximately a year and one half. Recently I developed a sore throat and within two days I had chest congestion and today I was told that I have pneumonia. I am religious about cleaning all of the apparatus as instructed by the manufacturer. Prior to this incident of pneumonia it is not something that I normally experienced. An independent research study is definitely needed. If you have an organism in your throat I would think that it could easily be spread into you lungs by the force of the air pressure. Maybe users should be told not to use their CPAP machines when fighting off a cold.

Fellow Sufferer wrote:I agree with you 100%. I have used a CPAP for approximately a year and one half. Recently I developed a sore throat and within two days I had chest congestion and today I was told that I have pneumonia. I am religious about cleaning all of the apparatus as instructed by the manufacturer. Prior to this incident of pneumonia it is not something that I normally experienced. An independent research study is definitely needed. If you have an organism in your throat I would think that it could easily be spread into you lungs by the force of the air pressure. Maybe users should be told not to use their CPAP machines when fighting off a cold.

Ever cough? When you cough, you usually take a big breath of air in to give you the force needed to cough out. That's probably far more pressure than you get from your CPAP and any "organisms in your throat are going to be pushed into your lungs by air pressure" as easily as from CPAP pressure. Just because you never had pneumonia before CPAP doesn't prove that CPAP caused your pneumonia because you happen to use it now. Your throat infection likely caused an inflammatory response throughout your respiratory system. The inflammatory response is to produce a lot of mucous and that mucous makes a nice growing medium for pneumonia viruses and bacteria that are present all the time but slight fluctuations in our immune systems (probably mediated in the gut) can allow a pneumonia virus or bacteria to get the upper hand. I highly doubt the CPAP is to blame.

As Janknitz says, PAP doesn't blow stuff down your throat. It expands the tract, and to some extent the lower lungs. The pressure just sits there and does its thing keeping the airway open. It is breathing that forces things in and out, and breathing, as they say, is a good thing!

I have asthma and allergies. I am 44 years old, and I have been using cpap for 5 years. I have had bronchitis ONCE, back when I was 19 or 20.

Now, let me tell you about a similar experience that I had. I started cpap in April of 2012. In June, I got sick. I had a lot of blowing, chronic cough for about a month, and I, too, thought it was cpap since that was new, and this cough had never happened to me before. It finally cleared up, but I had repeated bouts of coughing. A week here, a couple weeks there. Then 8 weeks of it. Finally, in October, I got sick again, and my dad commented that I was coming home from every trip sick. (I go to a lot of cat shows). I responded back that this was not true, and I listed the events where I did not come back sick. I suddenly realized that those were the events where I traveled in somebody's car, not my mom's minivan. I then remembered that my mom's friend had a bottle of liquid fertilizer that spilled in the van and smelled weird for awhile. Turns out, that was the end of May. Every time I borrowed her van for a weekend trip, I got sick. It was an allergy/asthma reaction that made me sick. Once we recleaned the van, the problem stopped. It had nothing to do with the cpap machine, just happened to be within a few months of starting.