Any downsides to heated tube?

[Big Guy]

I have a heated hose for my machine, although I never turn it on. When it comes to cleaning it, that's done every Monday morning. 

It gets submerged in hot water and Dawn dish soap, and then swished around. I make sure that it is full of hot soapy water. It gets rinsed with hot water and then hung up all day to dry out. By bedtime, it's as dry as a bone in the desert.

That's pretty much what I'm doing with my current non-heated slim-line tubing, except that the handout sheet I got from my sleep clinic told me to do it daily. I'm wondering if this is really necessary -- I'd probably clean the mask components daily, but the tube less often -- but since I had a prior history of sinus infections while on APAP I guess I'll err on the side of being ultra-clean.

The handout sheet also calls for "disinfection" of the mask components, tubing and humidifier chamber "as needed," but there's no indication as to how to decide when it's needed, or how to do it.

My face mask and pillow gets wiped down every morning with a Clorox anti-bacterial wipe. The water reservoir gets emptied every morning and then wiped dry with a tissue. I'm now using tap water in it instead of distilled water. 

I soak and wash my headgear with the hose every Monday morning. The lid to the water reservoir also gets a good soaking, but not the reservoir itself, as does the face mask hose elbow. 

For me, all this isn't a problem. I'm retired and tend to be a bit of a neat (clean) freak, but not so bad that others might see me as strange. Just organized and well......clean. 

[Melman]

My face mask and pillow gets wiped down every morning with a Clorox anti-bacterial wipe. The water reservoir gets emptied every morning and then wiped dry with a tissue. I'm now using tap water in it instead of distilled water. 

I soak and wash my headgear with the hose every Monday morning. The lid to the water reservoir also gets a good soaking, but not the reservoir itself, as does the face mask hose elbow. 

For me, all this isn't a problem. I'm retired and tend to be a bit of a neat (clean) freak, but not so bad that others might see me as strange. Just organized and well......clean. 

From the Resmed manual: "Do not use bleach, chlorine, alcohol, or aromatic-based solutions, moisturizing or antibacterial soaps or scented oilst o clean the device, the water tub or air tubing. These solutions may cause damage or affect the humidifier performance and reduce the life of the products."

Resmed recommends a mild detergent.

[Dyssomniac]

From the Resmed manual: "Do not use bleach, chlorine, alcohol, or aromatic-based solutions, moisturizing or antibacterial soaps or scented oilst o clean the device, the water tub or air tubing. These solutions may cause damage or affect the humidifier performance and reduce the life of the products."

Resmed recommends a mild detergent.

Do you have any idea what my HMO would be referring to when, in their handout sheet on PAP gear, they say that masks, nasal pillows, slim-line tubing and the humidifier chamber should go through "disinfection" with frequency "as needed"?

[jaswilliams]

The DME like you to clean daily as it wears out things quicker and they will supply new to a schedule as often as insurance will allow it increases their profits.

I wipe my mask with a unscented baby wipe daily and wash it weekly in washing liquid. The hose I clean maybe once a month or three, it only has air blowing through it I don’t use a humidifier

[Mosquitobait]

Heated tube isn't dangerous, but I can tell you from experience that if you lay on it or step on it, you will break the wires. I only need a heated tube for a couple of months twice a year. Otherwise, I use a regular one. That's because I keep stepping on the darn thing despite being careful!

[Sleepster]

The only downside for me is that a heated hose induces central apneas.

Is the air particularly dry where you live? If so, you could purchase one of those inexpensive mist humidifiers at the drug store for your bedroom. These can be a problem, though, if you use hard water.

It may be, though, that you will be fine with just the equipment you do have now. CPAP machines, including their humidifiers, have improved a lot in recent years. I suggest you turn the humidity up as high as you can without getting condensation in your tubing (what we call rain out). You can also insulate your hose to prevent rain out.

[JVWEIL]

A sense of nasal cooling with each inspiration promotes the sensation of adequate breathing due to nasal cooling. Nasal obstruction or nasal anesthesia blocks this sensation a promotes a sense of suffocation and published studies indicate that they trigger periodic breathing and central sleep apnea. Too much heat and humidity prevents nasal cooling and promotes a sense of suffocation. My first night with climateline auto did this and was corrected by lowering the tube temperature.

[Sleeprider]

A sense of nasal cooling with each inspiration promotes the sensation of adequate breathing due to nasal cooling. Nasal obstruction or nasal anesthesia blocks this sensation a promotes a sense of suffocation and published studies indicate that they trigger periodic breathing and central sleep apnea. Too much heat and humidity prevents nasal cooling and promotes a sense of suffocation. My first night with climateline auto did this and was corrected by lowering the tube temperature.

I would like to see links if you know where to find this. We deal with a lot of people with idiopathic centrals and this might be helpful.

[vroomvroom]

The only downside for me is that a heated hose induces central apneas.

Is the air particularly dry where you live? If so, you could purchase one of those inexpensive mist humidifiers at the drug store for your bedroom. These can be a problem, though, if you use hard water.

It may be, though, that you will be fine with just the equipment you do have now. CPAP machines, including their humidifiers, have improved a lot in recent years. I suggest you turn the humidity up as high as you can without getting condensation in your tubing (what we call rain out). You can also insulate your hose to prevent rain out.

A sense of nasal cooling with each inspiration promotes the sensation of adequate breathing due to nasal cooling. Nasal obstruction or nasal anesthesia blocks this sensation a promotes a sense of suffocation and published studies indicate that they trigger periodic breathing and central sleep apnea. Too much heat and humidity prevents nasal cooling and promotes a sense of suffocation. My first night with climateline auto did this and was corrected by lowering the tube temperature.

I'm just getting started and I was prescribed a heated tube. Should I not use the heated feature? I'm in the Silicon Valley area which can get fairly dry.

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A sense of nasal cooling with each inspiration promotes the sensation of adequate breathing due to nasal cooling. Nasal obstruction or nasal anesthesia blocks this sensation a promotes a sense of suffocation and published studies indicate that they trigger periodic breathing and central sleep apnea. Too much heat and humidity prevents nasal cooling and promotes a sense of suffocation. My first night with climateline auto did this and was corrected by lowering the tube temperature.

I would like to see links if you know where to find this. We deal with a lot of people with idiopathic centrals and this might be helpful.

Would you recommend not using the heated feature whatsoever?

[JVWEIL]

Just turn down the tube temperature in under manual control.