Water in lungs due to humidifier?

Hi,

My first month or so on cpap, I solely used an ffm, and for ease and comfort of breathing, left the humidifier off. I liked that best.

I got a swift lt, trying to have a smaller profile mask that is easier for me to move around when I move from side to side sleeping. With all the air going in the nose, dryness occurred, so I started to take the humidity up. Now I'm at a 4 of 8.

Using the ffm I've used 2, just so that as I swap back and forth, everything is moist night to night, FWIW.

But every day I wake up feling like I have fluid in my lungs. Like being sick and have congestion in the lungs. as the day goes on it goes away, so it is a sleep/cpap issue.

Does anyone else notice this? Like wet lungs/congested deep in the lungs because of moisture from the cpap?

Thanks!

You are probably mouthbreathing with the Swift LT and getting poor therapy.

No I don't feel any congestion in my lungs. I use the following:

Use distilled water.
Humidifier is set at 5 out of 8.
I keep room temperature at 75 F, so I don't need to use the climate controlled air hose.
Before going to sleep I use Waterpik Neti pot to clear my nose:

http://www.waterpik-store.com/detail/WAT+SWN-260

JHZR2 wrote:Hi,

My first month or so on cpap, I solely used an ffm, and for ease and comfort of breathing, left the humidifier off. I liked that best.

I got a swift lt, trying to have a smaller profile mask that is easier for me to move around when I move from side to side sleeping. With all the air going in the nose, dryness occurred, so I started to take the humidity up. Now I'm at a 4 of 8.

Using the ffm I've used 2, just so that as I swap back and forth, everything is moist night to night, FWIW.

But every day I wake up feling like I have fluid in my lungs. Like being sick and have congestion in the lungs. as the day goes on it goes away, so it is a sleep/cpap issue.

Does anyone else notice this? Like wet lungs/congested deep in the lungs because of moisture from the cpap?

Thanks!

If you are mouth breathing then you get a lot of mucus build up which feels the same way. Stick to your ffm which was successful for you. If you want a smaller foot print use the respcare hybrid

I doubt it has anything to do with humidifier. When you are sleeping, you don't clear your throat or cough stuff up etc. I'm asthmatic so this is a problem for me. I generally wake up in the morning (even pre-cpap) and have to clear crud out of my lungs. Just stuff that accumulates overnite from sinuses draining and secretions from lungs. You may be mouth breathing also. Possibly use a chinstrap to prevent this.

JHZR2 wrote:Hi,

My first month or so on cpap, I solely used an ffm, and for ease and comfort of breathing, left the humidifier off. I liked that best.

I got a swift lt, trying to have a smaller profile mask that is easier for me to move around when I move from side to side sleeping. With all the air going in the nose, dryness occurred, so I started to take the humidity up. Now I'm at a 4 of 8.

Using the ffm I've used 2, just so that as I swap back and forth, everything is moist night to night, FWIW.

But every day I wake up feling like I have fluid in my lungs. Like being sick and have congestion in the lungs. as the day goes on it goes away, so it is a sleep/cpap issue.

Does anyone else notice this? Like wet lungs/congested deep in the lungs because of moisture from the cpap?

Thanks!

I run distilled, changed and cleaned regularly.

Haven't run the swift since last sun., yet have been noticing this running humidity in my ffm. Getting good therapy, like ahi of 1-2.

We keep our home at 62-65F as it is more comfortable and far lower heating bill. The cpap has a heated hose and has no signs of water in the hose or mask.

It doesn't feel like mucus, and my nose has been amazingly clear since starting cpap. I used a mucus analogy just for the feeling.

Sorry, no explanation to what you are sensing but I have never had any similar sensation with my lungs or airway and I use the humidifier at maximum humidity...I like the moisture.

The moisture in your mask (either one) is likely from the moisture in your exhaled breath condensing in the mask. It happens often especially to those of us who like really cool bedroom temps for any reason.

If the moisture in general from your humidifier is a contributing factor to what you feel in your lungs then perhaps reducing the humidifier setting will eliminate it....if your nasal mucosa is okay with less moisture.
It might also help with reduction of any moisture in the mask, at least with the part that comes from the humidifier.

Normal lungs can handle quite a lot of water and are pretty soggy all the time, anyway.

I wouldn't normally expect humidity to do this, but it's possible that almost any change can make fluid in the lungs/throat better or worse. It's even possible you're sleeping better, not tossing and turning or coughing and the fluid builds up more. Or the humidity might irritate your airway and make more goo. Be sure to consider the possibility of air leaking from your mouth and irritating your throat.

Tinker and find what works for you.

I run my Humidifer at the lowest setting, my room is ranges from 70-72 degrees. It seems to take 2 weeks to run out of water. At that rate, I doubt that much water would stay in my lungs. At 2, it feels too warm and muggy for me. I agree that I too cough when I wake up, but I've always done that with my Lung problems.

Your skin will normally sweat a little bit, I would expect that breathing alone with a body temperature of 98.6 will cause you to expell more humidity naturally that what might be artificially from the CPAP, especially if you're not using the Humidifier.

cpaptex wrote:I run my Humidifer at the lowest setting, my room is ranges from 70-72 degrees. It seems to take 2 weeks to run out of water. At that rate, I doubt that much water would stay in my lungs. At 2, it feels too warm and muggy for me. I agree that I too cough when I wake up, but I've always done that with my Lung problems.

Your skin will normally sweat a little bit, I would expect that breathing alone with a body temperature of 98.6 will cause you to expell more humidity naturally that what might be artificially from the CPAP, especially if you're not using the Humidifier.

The "warm and muggy" defines it well. That and the fact that it gos away hours after cpap made me think moisture. Dont want to get pneumonia from cpap!

My CPAP does not have a heated hose and predictably showers a horrific rain-out of water in the hose or mask, soaking my face, hair, pillow and bedding, after waking me up first with the slapping water-in-the-tube sound or even a sensation of drowning when this water goes deeply into my lungs. I ALWAYS have serious lung saturation that quite frequently turns into a chronic cough, at best, and a septic pneumonia at worst. I feel like I am alive if I use the CPAP, since I have 35% oxygen level - every 30 seconds an event- without. But this "living" now with a CPAP after 30+ years of deteriorating brain function and crushing fatigue by being oxygen starved, means "living" with a tickle/cough or a feeling of drowning from the rain-outs or an infection when the air in my bronchi is replaced nightly with CPAP water. I have to choose... brain death, fogginess and complete loss of energy OR drowning, soaking, waking up 40 times per night to adjust the hose, the mask and clean up the water blasts. I can't go on like this.... my life is so dysfunctional because I can never get restorative rest without nearly drowning. Any ?

Put your machine on the floor next to your bed (or on a short stool). That way, any water in the hose will run downhill to the humidifier tank rather than to your mask and face. You could also try a hose hanger.

Cpapiscrap, have you tried using your CPAP without the humidifier? Are you sure you even need it? I stopped using mine shortly after I started because all it did was stuff up my nose so I couldn't breathe. My sleep doc gave me some hideous steroid nasal spray without even suggesting that the humidifier could be the problem. Figured it out myself and ditched the spray and the humidifier. People without sleep apnea don't have unusual requirements for humidified air. Why do we?

Most of us need to replace the moisture that is blown out of our mucus membranes by the airflow.
Proof: Clotheslines work best on a windy day.
Some people have discomfort from humidity--but not most of us.
Placing the machine low and adding a fleece hose wrap should help.
If you can afford it, I recommend a heated hose.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/hybern ... -hose.html