Intro, Cleaning Habits, etc.

HoseCrusher wrote:I agree that water vapor doesn't carry microorganisms. What I don't agree with is that blowing air over water doesn't aerosolize the water. The aerosol can carry microorganisms.

Given the designs of these machines and the humidifiers, to me it isn't logical to believe that the water is "aerosolized"........it's ONLY vapor. And, with distilled water and filtered air there should be no pathogens in there nor can they be transported out if there are.
If there ARE pathogens in there, they're in your dwelling and you're breathing them the other times you're not hooked up to an XPAP machine.......via unfiltered air.
To my way of thinking, the humidifiers (heated or unheated) are like "water bath" filters.......stuff MAY go in, but doesn't come out........it just lays there in the water.


Den

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Contrary to your idea of logic, the test shows that water vapor isn't the only thing traveling down the hose base upon the ResMed 7 series of equipment that they used in this 2007 test.

You do bring up a good point. How do the microorganisms get into the water in the first place?

All of the cases I have seen have involved bacterial being introduced into the water put into the humidifier. This can be from tap water or in the case of this test they introduce microorganisms into the water. In "normal" use with distilled water there shouldn't be a problem.

Most of us fall into that "normal' use category. But understanding that it can happen may make you a little cautious of grabbing some stream water for your humidifier while camping... or filling the humidifier tank from the tap while in Mexico...

The copy I have is from the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine and the title is:

"Filters Reduce the Risk of Bacterial Transmission from Contaminated Heated Humidifiers Used with CPAP for Obstructive Sleep Apnea"

JCSM Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, Vol. 3, No. 7, 2007

That article has a sizable picture of the row of S7 machines with the filters attached.

Some excerpts:

"The test conditions used in this study apply to the make and model of humidifier and nCPAP machine studied"

"In conclusion, patients treated with nCPAP using heated humidification for OSA may be at risk for respiratory infections caused by contaminated water present in heated humidifiers"

It may be worth noting that the design of the S7 humidifier left something to be desired as the outlet was on the side and only slightly above the water level. The outlet of the S8 series was moved to a different location (top center).

Most HH tanks today have the outlet near the top of the tank.

I still believe that that study was bogus, biased and in light of today's technology.......GARBAGE!


Den

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My testing was done with the 8 series of ResMed, so their improvements didn't eliminate the problem.

If you want to know if your machine does this, test it.

It may have changed with recent technology but if I remember correctly you and I am sure there are a lot of others that are still using older machines.

The point is that the test was done in 2007 and the particular machines used were close to the state of art for that time. We should ask them to do the test again with the new models of machines.

I really don't care.

It's nothing I'm remotely worried about.


Den

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When I started out, I washed my mask daily; then I tried baby wipes while on vacation.
My nasal pillows lasted way longer when I didn't wash them every day in the sink.

My cpap doctor said that standing warm water is an ideal environment for growing germs and bacteria. This seems reasonable. And so I try to daily dry out my humidifier and hose in the morning by running dry air through them. Some machines have this as a built in feature, precisely for the reason stated: warm water is a good environment for germs and bacteria.

But hey I'm an admitted germophobe.

I bought a So Clean machine and am happy. I wash my mask and hose once a week, or less often because I'm lazy and forgetful.