Humidification

The setting on your humidifier will set how much moisture you receive to alleviate your symptoms. The higher the setting, the more moisture, and this is best checked first with your Clinician and User Guide.

If you start your setting for example at a midway point, and if your symptoms are not resolved, you may need to turn it up to a higher setting. Continue in this manner until your symptoms are resolved. If you start to experience moisture in the tube, you need to turn it down, heat the room or use a ResMed Tubing Wrap.

If you are finding that you have nasal symptoms at other times of the year, then you should probably use your humidifier. The added humidification will probably increase the comfort of the air as it is more fully moisturised.

The amount of water needed varies from one humidifier to the next, from one patient to the next, and with the temperature and humidity of the bedroom.

Mouth breathing or mouth leak. can make you use more water from your heated humidifier.  All the escaped air through the mouth (which can vary from night to night), uses up the water more quickly

A full face mask should not change the amount of water used each night. If you had a mouth leak before, you could have been losing lots of air and humidity through your mouth, in which case you should use less water now.

The CPAP should always be placed either at the same level or above the humidifier to reduce the risk of water entering the CPAP machine.

To further ensure water does not enter your CPAP machine, empty the water tub and disconnect the humidifier from your CPAP machine before transporting it.

No.

The tubing supplied with CPAP machines can withstand far higher temperatures than the heat generated by the humidifier.

If you find the air dry and irritating, then you may want to turn your humidifier on 20 minutes prior to going to bed.

Humidification doesn't help with OSA or UARS, it does help with side effects caused by CPAP. If you are already on CPAP treatment and experiencing nasal dryness/symptoms, then humidification should help decrease the symptoms. The nasal symptoms are due to the increased flow of air through the nasal passages. Humidification adds moisture to the air breathed and helps the nasal passages cope with the increased flow of air.

The water should be changed for each use - even if you don't use it all in one night.

Distilled water is best.

Using it will maximise the life of the water tub and reduce mineral deposits. However, it is ok to occasionally use tap water to clean your humidifier.

Do not use: bleach, alcohol, chlorine or ammonia-based solutions; moisturising, antibacterial or glycerine based soaps; and water softening and unapproved descaling agents.

Daily

It is recommended that you wash your water tub in warm water, using a mild detergent.

Rinse thoroughly with clean water and allow them to dry away from direct sunlight.

Monthly

Inspect the water tub for wear and deterioration.

Replace the water tub if any component has cracked, become cloudy or pitted. If you notice white powder or deposits in the water tub:

• Inspect the water tub for wear and deterioration.
• Replace the water tub if any component has cracked, become cloudy or pitted.
• Clean white powder or deposits in the water tub by using a solution of one part household vinegar to ten parts water.

This condensation is called "rainout."

If your room is cold, the warmed, humidified air hits the colder room temperature and cools. When air cools, the amount of humidity (water vapour) that it can hold is reduced, which causes the humidity to "rain out."

The amount of water air can carry varies with temperature: warmer air can carry more water while cold air can carry less. As warm air becomes cooler (eg, overnight), it has less capacity to carry water, so water condenses and forms droplets.

There are several ways to deal with this situation.

1. Try turning your humidity level down.
2. Raise the temperature of your bedroom at night to lessen the difference between the room temperature and the humidifier—make sure that your bedroom window is closed.
3. Run the air tubing beneath your blankets to keep it warm. Alternatively, you can cover the tube with a ResMed Tubing Wrap or a tube sock. The goal is to keep the tube and its air warm.

 

Because you can adjust the level of heat, heated humidification offers greater flexibility and reduces more severe symptoms. Both nasal pillows and masks are a viable option when using humidification; however, "rainout" (moisture caused by having the humidifier turned up too high) when using nasal pillows may become more of an issue as the moisture is directed into the nostrils.

Up to 40% of PAP users experience nasal congestion and dryness of the nose and throat. These symptoms can be severe enough to prevent patients from continuing their treatment. ResMed heated humidifiers add moisture and warmth to the air delivered by a CPAP or bilevel system. This reduces symptoms of dryness and congestion, improving patient comfort and compliance. Research also shows that nasal resistance can promote mouth breathing, which in turn leads to additional dryness. Heated humidification can prevent the large increase in nasal resistance that results in mouth breathing and leaks.