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Nah, the windy day analogy doesn't apply. Moisture is not "blown out of our mucous membranes" when using CPAP. Air volume and flow is a function of lung volume and respiration rate and is the same with or without therapy. The only difference is the pressure of the air, not flow rate. Clearly, some people benefit from humidification but I don't understand why unless they would have very dry nasal passages sleeping without CPAP as well. In that case I get it.

For those suffering with rain out and congestion, try a few nights without the humidifier before looking any further.
Worth a try.

SleepyBobR wrote:Nah, the windy day analogy doesn't apply. Moisture is not "blown out of our mucous membranes" when using CPAP. Air volume and flow is a function of lung volume and respiration rate and is the same with or without therapy. The only difference is the pressure of the air, not flow rate. Clearly, some people benefit from humidification but I don't understand why unless they would have very dry nasal passages sleeping without CPAP as well. In that case I get it.

For those suffering with rain out and congestion, try a few nights without the humidifier before looking any further.
Worth a try.

I disagree....I'm with "the frog" on this one. Direct air flow into the nose will dry out the membranes. Why do they use fans to dry out wet basements?

Stop trying to confuse the man with science!
Of course, leaks out of the top of my mask dry my eyes out really bad; and with no leak, my eyes are fine. Hmmmm.

If you use the nasal pillow mask and no mouth breathing I do not see that there is a reason for it dries out the mucous membranes.

Lazer1234 wrote:If you use the nasal pillow mask and no mouth breathing I do not see that there is a reason for it dries out the mucous membranes.

Maybe you don't see the reason but it does.

It dries them out as you have more volume of less humid air constantly running through the mask, in nose and then out the mask vent. More volume means the capacity of the air to remove more moisture from the sinus area. Richard Feynman's book "Six Easy Pieces" describes this process brilliantly if you are interested.

avi123 wrote: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

Wow! No way I could sleep with the room temp at 75 degrees. In the winter our room is at 62 degrees with my heated hose is set somewhere from 71 to 75 degrees.

Just like PAP masks where one size or type doesn't work for everyone, humidifiers may or may not be necessary or work for you. My need to use an humidifier is not more validated just because I get someone else to agree that it is necessary. The fact that through trial and error it has been found to be of a great benefit for me should not be seen as a challenge to someone elses experience where it isn't for them, whether theirs is from personal experience or based on scientific principles.

IMO, it isn't complicated. The use of a humidifier works for me, if it doesn't work for you great. It is just that simple... no need for me to try to convince others that they should somehow need it or use it; we are all individuals.

Lazer1234 wrote:If you use the nasal pillow mask and no mouth breathing I do not see that there is a reason for it dries out the mucous membranes.

Lazer1234,

You're like my brother: The CPAP air just doesn't bother the mucous membranes in his (or your) nose. And my brother long ago took the heated humidifier off his Resmed S8 and hooked the hose directly up to the blower unit.

But I tried one miserable night having the hose hooked up directly to my blower unit. The nose was painful the next morning, and the additional noise interfered with trying to get to sleep. (My System One seems to be much noisier if the hose is hooked directly to the blower unit instead of using it withe the humidifier.) And if I set my System One humidifer at 3 or below, I wake up with a nose that is painfully dry. At 4 my nose won't be painful, but it will not be particularly happy. At 5, my nose is content. And for me---the amount of sinus congestion I get tends to be less at 5 than it is at 3. But my brother is just the opposite---if he tried to use his heated humidifier at its maximum level, he'd be super congested.

In other words, whether a humidifier is useful or not really depends on the person PAPing. There's not a magic setting (including OFF) that works for everybody

2 B Sleeping and RobySue are correct. If the humidifier works for you then use it by all means. My suggestion to turn it off was for Cpapiscrap for whom the humidifier clearly isn't working. He may find he is better off without it, like me, and it costs nothing to try it. Chunkyfrog, other than the controlled leak through the vent, airflow through a CPAP is determined by your respiration; air is not blowing into your nose when you use CPAP. If it was you'd inflate like a balloon. And Spinner, of course a mask leak will irritate your eyes if the leak is aimed directly into it. That is a malfunction unrelated to the topic. Puncture a garden hose with the faucet open and the nozzle closed and you get the same effect.

SleepyBobR wrote:2 B Sleeping and RobySue are correct. If the humidifier works for you then use it by all means. My suggestion to turn it off was for Cpapiscrap for whom the humidifier clearly isn't working. He may find he is better off without it, like me, and it costs nothing to try it. Chunkyfrog, other than the controlled leak through the vent, airflow through a CPAP is determined by your respiration; air is not blowing into your nose when you use CPAP. If it was you'd inflate like a balloon. And Spinner, of course a mask leak will irritate your eyes if the leak is aimed directly into it. That is a malfunction unrelated to the topic. Puncture a garden hose with the faucet open and the nozzle closed and you get the same effect.

Have you ever used a nasal pillow mask? CPAP = CONTINUOUS positive airway pressure.

Yes, the pressure is continuous. The flow is not; it is variable and is determined by your breathing effort. If you stop breathing there is no airflow (other than through the vent) but the pressure throughout the system remains constant (continuous). This is how CPAP works.

Yes but as the OP, I have a heated hose, the hose never gets logged with water, its purely a moisture/water in lungs issue.

The air with any humidity level feels thick and difficult to breathe, like breathing on a 100% humidity day vs when it is really dry.

Kind of have gotten used to the feeling, and it does indeed clear out. I generally keep the humidifier between 0 and 2 out of 10, which is more than sufficient. More ofter at the 0 setting, as the water gets some slight heating just from the electronics in the CPAP (F&P Icon).

YES! I often find myself waking with a watery feeling in my lungs, I havent been using the CPAP long but I have the moisture level on 2 and still I find myself with water lung and brain fog. Anyone else experience that?
Schlaflos

schlaflos wrote:YES! I often find myself waking with a watery feeling in my lungs, I havent been using the CPAP long but I have the moisture level on 2 and still I find myself with water lung and brain fog. Anyone else experience that?
Schlaflos

Well, turn it DOWN or OFF (and leave the water in the tank).
I've had mine turned off since I started over 9 years ago and have never experienced "a watery feeling in my lungs".


Den

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