A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is often scary for people who are concerned they have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or have already been diagnosed with it. After all, it doesn’t exactly look comfortable. People who already use it sometimes struggle with ensuring that their CPAP is effective.
Let’s look at the main ideas behind:
A CPAP machine is a small, rectangular box that provides continuous air pressure to keep people with obstructive sleep apnea from lapses in breathing.
CPAP machines provide pressure via a motorized fan inside the device. The small fan is the heart of the CPAP device because it delivers gentle, positive pressure through a connected hose to the breathing mask. The result, no more lapses of breathing at night because the positive air pressure keeps your airway open. The pressure can be a little strange at first, but it’s rare that people report any long terms problems associated with it.
The flexible tube that leads from the fan to a breathing mask is lightweight and kept warm in order to reduce condensation. Among other things, too much condensation can lead to sanitation problems like, namely, mold growth.
Finally, CPAP machines often are accompanied by a humidification chamber that humidifies CPAP airflow. We recommend always getting CPAP machines with the humidification chamber unless you have a specific reason not to, as the humidification chamber helps keep your nose and mouth from drying out.
It is the primary tool used in CPAP therapy and is considered the gold standard for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It’s common for people to say “CPAP changed my life.” Don’t believe us? Just go ask someone who struggled with OSA before using their CPAP.
The reason CPAP therapy is so popular is because it is:
Additionally, CPAP therapy makes dramatic differences in OSA sufferers’ lives by allowing them to live sleep-deprivation free.
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when your upper airway becomes blocked while sleeping. OSA happens because the breathing muscles in the back of your throat relax, causing the back of your throat to collapse fully or partially. Once collapsed, your airway can be blocked by the back of your throat, your tonsils, or your tongue. You will then not breathe for a period of time and have to rouse yourself to wake up. Each cessation in breathing, is called an apnea, or apnea event.
You will not remember rousing in the morning, and this can happen dozens to hundreds of times per night.
Some of the most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea are:
The main concern with OSA is that it causes sleep deprivation, which leads to shorter life expectancy, lower quality of life, medical conditions, and lower performance in many areas of life
CPAP is the primary way to treat OSA.
Taking care of your CPAP machine is critical for it to perform well and last a long time. In other words, if you don’t take care of it you won’t get the most out of it. Here are best practices for taking care of your machine:
There are several things you can do to ensure that your CPAP machine is working optimally:
Some tips for using a CPAP are:
If you live in Alaska, and are concerned that you or a loved one has sleep apnea or has already been diagnosed, please take this online sleep test and start the road to recovery: