Get more comfortable in the cold

When the weather outside is frightful, using humidification can make CPAP therapy more delightful. Cold, dry air:

• Is often less comfortable to breathe.
• Can cause you to wake up with uncomfortable dry mouth.
• Makes your nose work extra hard to heat air up before it reaches your lungs, which can cause sinus headaches and irritation.

The Resmed Air™ 10 humidification system, consisting of any Air 10 machine connected to a HumidAir humidifier, plus Climate Control paired with a ClimateLineAir™ heated tube, can help you avoid all of that and sleep more comfortably this season – and really all year! Here are some tips for breathing heated comfortable air during the cold months.

1. Use Climate Control with a ClimateLineAir™ heated tube to automate your settings – and your comfort

The Climate Control feature on your AirSense™ or AirCurve™ machine adjusts your humidification settings for you based on the room conditions to help you get the right amount of humidity for added comfort. Plus it automatically balances your settings to protect you from rainout – a discomforting event that occurs when humidified air cools in non-heated tubing, causing some moisture to condense and reach your mask as water, dampening your face. Climate Control paired with ClimateLineAir helps you sleep more soundly and in more comfortable positions thanks to reduced machine noise and a new flexible swivel at the end of the heated tube.

2. If you choose to manually change your humidification, make small changes

Some nights, you may want to manually control your humidification settings, especially when the weather turns cold, dry and/or rainy. It’s easy to do if you have an Air10 machine connected to a ClimateLineAir™ heated tube; just follow these simple steps. But we suggest making small changes to help avoid:

• Air that’s much warmer in the humidifier than your tube, which can cause rainout.
• Air that’s too hot, causing the desired air moisture to evaporate, leaving you once again with non-humidified air.

3. Even if you haven’t needed humidification yet, it may help in the winter

If you don’t use humidification, you still might find it helpful as the weather gets colder and drier, if you get sick and experience congestion, and/or you have seasonal allergies. In each of these cases, your nose will have to work extra hard to perform its crucial air-warming job, humidification with Climate Control paired with ClimateLineAir can help make that job easier and more comfortable by reducing nose and mouth dryness. This is true if you experience allergies or congestion in any season or environment.

4. If your CPAP humidifier runs out of water, address mask leak

Your humidifier should never run out of water. If you find that it does, that’s likely because colder conditions are magnifying an existing problem – most likely mask leak. Learn the three common causes of mask leak and how to address them.

If your room is particularly dry, ask your equipment provider if you should consider getting a room humidifier as well. It might give your room’s air that little bit of moisture needed to help out your humidifier and keep your CPAP air warm throughout the night.

This blog post contains general information about medical conditions and potential treatments. It is not medical advice. If you have any medical questions, please consult your doctor.