Nasal CPAP users! Did you receive a humidifier with your CPAP or Bi-Level unit?
If you didn’t, and if you suffer from any of the following symptoms, speak to your equipment provider and ask for one to be delivered to you.
- Dry, burning sensation in the sinuses either during the night or upon awakening from sleep.
- Nosebleeds after using the Nasal CPAP or specks of blood in the mucosa when you blow your nose.
- A feeling of tightness or constriction in the nasal passages after a few hours use of the CPAP or Bi-Level.
- General difficulty breathing through the nose after a few hours use of the CPAP or Bi-Level.
- Frequent mouth-breathing during sleep.
Nasal CPAP and Bi-Level devices require that we breathe continuously—for the entire night—through our noses. This is why drying of the sinuses is such a common consequence of CPAP and Bi-Level treatment.
Ordinarily during sleep we alternate between mouth and nose-breathing, which gives our sinuses time to rehydrate themselves. If we use a CPAP or Bi-Level device though, our sinuses don’t get a break—which is why we need to add humidity to the air we breathe.
If you don’t have a humidifier and think you may benefit from one, don’t delay. 90% of all CPAP users—when given the opportunity—prefer breathing humidified air!
