Dry cough - caused by CPAP?

[JaneAM]

Hi - I've been using my Philips Dreamstation APAP for almost 11 months now and am very happy with the results (much less daytime sleepiness).  But - the last couple months I can't seem to shake a middle of the night dry cough.  I live in Utah  (pretty dry) but use the humidifier on the machine all the time.   I don't have any cough during the day.    Any suggestions on what to do?    Thank you!

[justMongo]

May not be from CPAP. It is spring; so, it's allergy season.
Since you are in Utah, maybe the humidifier just isn't enough for low humidity room air.
You might give some though to a room humidifier.

Plus, do you by chance take a med known as an ACE inhibitor. Some people develop a dry cough when taking ACE inhibitors.
ACE inhibitors are primarily for high blood pressure.

[JaneAM]

"Plus, do you by chance take a med known as an ACE inhibitor.  Some people develop a dry cough when taking ACE inhibitors.
ACE inhibitors are primarily for high blood pressure."

Thanks for your response.  I don't take an ACE inhibitor, but trying to turn up the humidity setting on my machine sounds like a good idea.   I'll look into that.

[Crimson Nape]

I've found that I will start coughing while using my CPAP when the humidity drops to 45% or below. I have to use the humidifier and a heated hose to avoid this.  As the humidity drops my coughing increases.  Anything above 45% and I can use the CPAP without any problems.  I've seen posts in the past where people that were raised or a long time resident from a more arid location will have the opposite effect.  It seems to be one of those "Go figure" things.

[OpalRose]

I have to keep the humidity up to combat dryness, but if it gets too high, I start coughing.

I also run a separate humidifier in my room, and use a hygrometer to measure the humidity.

[Mosquitobait]

Play with your humidity settings. If you still have that cough in a couple of weeks, make an appointment with your doctor OR if you have one of those Patient Portal things, send a note to your doc to find out if this is something that should be checked now or later. I usually see doc twice a year due to diabetes, so most things can wait until that appointment, but not everybody has a chronic condition.