ASK APRIA

Today's Clinician

Brandon Sweeney

Brandon has been in the healthcare field for 14 years and a Respiratory Therapist at Apria for two years. He helps non-invasive and invasive ventilation patients in Southeastern Tennessee adjust to their therapy. Outside of work, Brandon spends his time with his wife watching their children compete in horse riding, golfing, and going to the range.

Q. Can CPAP therapy cause jaw pain? My jaw hurts when I wake up.

A. Yes, CPAP can cause jaw pain. There are several ways that this can happen.

The most common reason is because the CPAP mask places pressure on the temporomandibular joint (also called the TMJ), causing some pain. The best way to fix this is to check your mask fitting and adjust your mask straps appropriately. CPAP mask straps do not need to be super tight, so loosening them a little can help relieve that pressure that could be causing jaw pain.

Another cause can be because those who deal with sleep apnea often grind or clench their teeth at night. CPAP can also cause jaw pain from what is called “bite change,” which is the result of prolonged use of your CPAP mask that compresses your face and pushes your jaw back, thus, affecting the bite of your jaw. Finally, your set CPAP pressure could be the cause of the pain.

In any of these circumstances, if you are having jaw pain of any kind, please contact your doctor.

Q. The readings from my device will note an “event” – what does an event mean?

A. The “events” reading on your device refers to the number of times your breathing either fully stops or the number of times your breathing decreases significantly during a given hour of sleep.

These are considered apnea or hypopnea events, respectively. In other words, it's how many times you stop breathing throughout the night. You may have heard this called your AHI number, or apnea-hypopnea index. The lower the number of events, the better quality of sleep and overall effectiveness of the CPAP therapy.

Q. Why do I wake up with a headache after using my CPAP?

A. There are many potential causes for headaches. First, your mask fit may not be correct. If your mask is too tight or too loose it can put pressure on your face and cause leaks.

If your pressure settings are too high, you might also experience discomfort, including headaches. For this issue you would want to contact your doctor.

Allergies and nasal or sinus issues can lead to headaches as well. There could be a chance you might be allergic to some of the material with your mask or you could be dealing with something like seasonal allergies, or a cold and you have nasal congestion.

Dry air is another potential cause of headaches with CPAP. For this you would want to adjust the humidity level on your CPAP and talk to your doctor about heated tubing as well, if you don’t already use it.

Finally, if you aren’t getting sound sleep, meaning, if your sleep is constantly being disrupted, this can lead to headaches as well. Your physician may want to change your therapy settings.

If you are experiencing headaches with your CPAP therapy, contact your local Apria branch to speak to a Respiratory Therapist or contact your doctor.

For more information: Sleep Apnea Headaches

Q. How often should I be cleaning inside my tubing? And what’s the best way to do that? It’s impossible to get inside the whole tube.

A. It's recommended to clean the inside of your tubing at least once a week. The best way to do this is with warm, soapy water in order to ensure the removal of any bacteria and debris that can build up over time.

Speaking from personal experience as a CPAP user, I like to use baby shampoo because it’s inexpensive and gentle. You can also use dish soap like Dawn. The way I clean mine, and the way I typically recommend to patient is to fill up a sink with warm, soapy water and place the tubing in the sink and move it around as if you were cleaning dishes, then scoop some water into the tubing, cover or pinch both ends of the tubing and manually agitate, rinse tubing until no more soapy water is left in or on the tubing. Then finish by hang-drying the tubing over something like a shower or curtain rod.

Another thing to note, is that if you are sick you should consider cleaning your tubing daily until you are better.

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