sore throat and machine

I've had a severe sore throat for 6 days and haven't been able to use cpap. My throat gets extremely dry and the cpap air blowing on my throat makes it drier. I use a humidifier so I thought I would have enough moisture.
so now I'm tired and grumpy from no sleep as well as the severe dry painful throat.
Any suggestions ???? I've used aspirin, tylenol, ibuprofen, cepacol max throat spray, cepacol lozenges, vicks vaporrub, vitiamin c, salt and water gargles, popsicles. I had a negative strep culture.

Are you sure the humidifier is working? Does the water level drop? Have you turned up the heat on the humidifier?

You are using a nasal inteface. Do you know about mouthbreathing and losing the therapeutic pressure?

The humidifier must be working. I have to fill it every day and I have it set on 3.
Yes I know about mouth breathing, but the sleep tech said there was none , although I don't think I slept long enough for her to detect any mouth breathing.

I recommend that you check out this link on heating tubes. This will allow you to really crank up that humidity and it might help you.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27579&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... epti+cable

newname wrote:The humidifier must be working. I have to fill it every day and I have it set on 3.
Yes I know about mouth breathing, but the sleep tech said there was none , although I don't think I slept long enough for her to detect any mouth breathing.

Sleep tech is not hanging around your bedroom. Try chin strap and various way to keep your mouth closed and a full face mask. sore throat is a classic sign of mouth breathing.

noname:
Since you've been doing this for nearly 3 years, I imagine this is a new development.
Perhaps your sore, raw throat is more sensitive to something that never bothered it before:
maybe just the airflow, maybe fumes from cleaner or disinfectant not completely rinsed out of hose or tank.
Maybe fumes from something new in the room? A new nightstand, carpeting, pet care product? (if you have a pet)
Maybe your doc can prescribe something to temporarily reduce the sensitivity, or you can find and remove the irritant.
Good luck with your quest for sleep.

I'm generally NOT a mouth breather, but lately I've been waking with the horrible dry mouth and throat. I use a FF mask, and I'm absolutely certain I have started mouth breathing lately because of some nasal congestion (when I wake like this I find my nose stuffy too).

So I'm stepping up the "nasal hygiene", using saline spray and doing whatever I can to keep my nose clear. I usually keep my humidity setting low, but I've raised it a bit and that's helped keep my nose clear--I often have sinus issues in the winter when the air in the house gets very dry from our central forced air furnace.

If you're sure the soreness is from dryness, then is it possible that you perhaps are going to bed a little too dehydrated?

Another thought, since your sore throat hasn't responded to lozenges or medications - we are just emerging from the holidays with lots of special meals and unusually rich food, so is it possible that you might have a touch of acid reflux that's making your throat sore? (I noticed this season that when I partook of the Christmas cookies or Hanukah latkes brought in by co-workers, my long-dormant reflux came back and I'd awaken next day with a horrible sore throat and cough).

Just a couple of thoughts! I hope you feel better soon.

It could be a throat infection having nothing to do with CPAP.

Try wrapping 1 turn of an ace bandage, gauze or something else you can breathe through over your mouth some night. If you're mouth breathing, it will probably get damp from condensation from your exhaled breath.

Have you turned the humidifier up. I put it on what the people at the place I got my machine from and then got a bit more educated and upped it from what they said. It's so nice to breath and not be stuffy.

newname wrote:I've had a severe sore throat for 6 days and haven't been able to use cpap. My throat gets extremely dry and the cpap air blowing on my throat makes it drier. I use a humidifier so I thought I would have enough moisture.
so now I'm tired and grumpy from no sleep as well as the severe dry painful throat.
Any suggestions ???? I've used aspirin, tylenol, ibuprofen, cepacol max throat spray, cepacol lozenges, vicks vaporrub, vitiamin c, salt and water gargles, popsicles. I had a negative strep culture.