CPAP therapy, which stands for Continuous Positive Air Pressure, is a common treatment for sleep apnea. It works by providing a steady flow of air pressure into your airway to prevent your airway from collapsing during sleep. This constant airflow can feel uncomfortable for some because it can dry out the mucous membranes in your mouth, nose, and throat.
To address this issue, CPAP machines are often equipped with humidifiers. These humidifiers add moisture to the air before it enters your airway, which helps prevent CPAP dry mouth, nose and sore throat. You can adjust the humidity level on your CPAP humidifier to find the setting that is most comfortable for you.
It's hard to be compliant with your sleep apnea therapy when it's uncomfortable and many factors affect how well you sleep. Your pressure needs to be accurate, the air needs to be just warm and moist enough and your CPAP mask needs to seal well. If you're struggling to adjust to CPAP, here are some tips to improve CPAP compliance from the RespShop medical staff.
Most CPAP machines today have a built-in heated humidifier, while older models tend to feature detachable humidifiers. Inside the humidifier is the water chamber that rests on top of a heating plate. As the water heats up, it evaporates and adds moisture to the air from the CPAP machine that flows over it. This heated and humidified air then enters the CPAP tube and travels to the user.
RespShop offers detachable humidifiers from older CPAPs from top manufacturers such as ResMed, Philips, and Fisher & Paykel.
Not sure which one you need? Please call 866-936-3754 to speak to a RespShop medical team member.
