Our veteran clinicians share their tips for success for CPAP therapy
Lekisha helps our CPAP and Respiratory patients in the Clarksville, TN area and has been a Registered Respiratory Therapist for 15 years. Lekisha is a mom to two wonderful sons and when she's not at work, she enjoys spending her time with her children and husband.
Q. I struggle with breathing out against the incoming pressure. It impacts how long I can tolerate usage. How can I overcome this?
A. To help you adjust to the breathing out against the incoming air pressure, try using the Ramp Time feature on your machine. This feature allows for a start at a lower set pressure instead of what has been prescribed by your physician. It works on a timer and will begin at a lower starting pressure then gradually build to continuously run at your prescribed dosage so that your body has time to adjust to the pressure.
To use Ramp Time, from your monitor screen, access My Options on Resmed or Settings on Luna, from here you will see an option for Ramp Time. If this problem persists, please call your local office to speak to a Respiratory Therapist.
Q. I am getting sores inside my nostrils from my full nasal CPAP mask. I am washing and drying my mask, what could be causing this?
A. The sores inside your nostrils are most likely from your nasal passage being exposed to the dry pressurized air from your CPAP. A few things can fix this. Make sure that your humidifier is on and working, you may need to increase the humidification level as well.
Another tip is to use an ointment to help with the dryness, but make sure that it's a non-petroleum-based moisturizer. Petroleum-based products will damage your CPAP mask, so avoid items with petroleum. A good option is CPAP Moisture Therapy Skin Cream.
For more information: Nasal dryness from CPAP therapy.
Q. I get the sound of gurgling and bubbling in my airline. It's annoying and wakes me up occasionally. I can even shake out the excess water. How do I stop this?
A. This is from too much condensation in your tubing, often referred to as CPAP rainout. It happens when the heated, moisturized air from your humidifier passes through your CPAP tubing that's at a colder temperature than the air; this in turn causes the air to cool down and turn into droplets and build up moisture within the tube. With the moisture built up inside the tube, air passing through will make gurgling noises.
First, I would try turning down your humidifier a bit. If you turn it down and experience dry mouth or dry throat, turn your humidifier back up and try using heated tubing to avoid condensation. Heated CPAP tubing keeps the air the same temperature from the humidifier to your mask so that condensation doesn't develop. Another trick is running your tubing underneath your blankets to keep it warm. This will also help cut down on condensation building up.
For more information: 5 ways to avoid CPAP rainout.
Q. I’m having an allergic reaction to the silicone with the nasal pillows. Do you have pillows that are made of different materials or is there something I can do?
A. When a mask is too tight, fits poorly, needs to be replaced or cleaned it causes there to be pressure, friction, and moisture when pressed against your skin. This leads to skin irritation that people commonly misbelieve to be a silicone allergy.
It's very rare to have a silicone allergy, however they do exist. In either case, the solution would be similar: wash your mask thoroughly with mild soap, then check to make sure your mask fits properly. Your mask should be snug but not tight, and not loose otherwise the mask can move around on your skin causing more irritation. Try purchasing some hydrocortisone cream to help with the irritated spots as well. And lastly, you can try using mask liners to work as a barrier between your skin and the mask.
If you are having an allergic reaction to silicone in the nasal pillows, you will unfortunately need to talk to your physician about changing your mask. There are mask options available that are gel or foam based that you can try.
For more information: Prevent skin irritation from your CPAP therapy.
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