EMF and CPAP

[JWR]

OK  Ommyohellyes I'm afraid that I must inform you that you have used your 1000 post limit and have now gone over it ! Lol  .   Congrats  .       yes I deal with the rear EMF's  many many times a day ..   It's all fun till someone EMF's in the intake while masked up , nothing like hi pressure direct injection to wake you up . Bad dog very very bad dog !!!  OK back on subject the heated hose is  still way less than an electric blanket . As others have said,   switch to a non heated hose and maybe add a hose cuzzy to help with rain out and frozen nose .

[CB91710]

I like the blanket, and the Hose Buddy.
The Hose Buddy helps to drain rainout back into the reservoir, or into the mask (very small amount if any)... without it, the hose loops down between the bed and stand and rainout collects in the bottom and ends up burping and gurgling. Not a fun way to wake up, particularly knowing that I'm going to get flooded when I lift the hose.

For the temperature, I actually prefer the air to be cooler and never pre-heat my reservoir.

[Reznik]

Hi guys,

I'm new here and I'm sorry I got to this thread so late.  

I, too, share concerns about EMF exposure, particularly relating to the use of a heated tube along with the DreamWear mask, which puts the tube right next to your brain.

Sleepster is correct that we know that (1) unshielded microwave radiation can be dangerous because it can heat the water molecules, (2) we know that ionizing radiation can be dangerous because it can directly damage DNA, and (3) we currently do not know of any mechanism by which other types of EMF may be harmful.  However, it does not follow that all other types of EMF are safe.

Someone else made a reference to visible light.  Visible light can actually be harmful if it is bright enough.  And the sun also produces ultraviolet light, which is non-ionizing but still quite dangerous.

If someone is asserting that a thing is safe, the burden is on him to prove that it is, and not the other way around.  Without a scientific study, his assertion that the the thing is safe is no more valid than someone else's assertion that it is not.  

With low frequency EMFs, we simply do not know.  There are no studies proving that low frequency EMF is safe for long-term use, principally because its impossible to conduct a double-blind, placebo controlled study with human beings over their entire lifetime.  Likewise, there are no studies that prove that low frequency EMF is harmful in the short or long-term.  The risk, if there is any, is truly unknown.  It might be totally safe.  And it might not be.

Whenever we choose to expose ourselves to any type of risk, known or unknown, we engage in a cost benefit analysis.  I chose to expose myself to ionizing radiation when I had a dental X-ray and when I had a CT scan of my abdomen, because the medical benefits of seeing inside my body without cutting me open outweighed the known and unknown risks of ionizing radiation exposure.  I go outside and get exposed to UV light, despite the known risks, because staying inside all day would be intolerable.  

So, what's the benefit to the exposure to the heated tube?  We prevent rain-out.  Is that a sufficient benefit that you're willing to take an unknown risk?  

Are there alternatives that can get you the same benefit without taking the risk?  It seems as if putting a cover on the hose, or keeping the machine on the floor, or using a hanger with the hose, or keeping your room above 65 degrees, will eliminate the rain out risk altogether, and avoid taking the as yet unknown risk of exposing your brain to low frequency EMF 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, for 20+ years.  

For me, the analysis is a no-brainer.  Since there are easy alternatives that get me the same benefit without taking the unknown risk, I'm going with them.

[CB91710]

If someone is asserting that a thing is safe, the burden is on him to prove that it is, and not the other way around.  Without a scientific study, his assertion that the the thing is safe is no more valid than someone else's assertion that it is not. 

OTOH, if someone is asserting that something is unsafe, but is generally considered to be safe, without data to back it up, then "common knowledge" wins out.
As for long term studies, no, of course there are, and can be no proper double blind scientific studies, simply due to the fact that every person living in the civilized world is constantly bathed in 50/60hz EMF, as well as transmitted radio and TV waves... there is no control group without going to primitive tribes, and every inhabitant of an industrialized nation would be in the "non-placebo" group.
Of course, sometimes information is later discovered that proves "common knowledge" to be incorrect...  or sometimes information is revealed that shows that science has always known it to be incorrect, but it was concealed, such as the risks of smoking.

[Reznik]

While it's true that we're exposed to EMF all the time, it's also true that people acquire all sorts of illnesses as they age and we have no idea what causes every single one of them.  And people are exposed to different levels of EMF depending upon where they work, where they live, and whether they have a CPAP with a heated hose.  There's simply no way of knowing for sure whether any particular illness is, or is not, caused by exposure to low frequency EMF until we know what actually causes that illlness.  

Science rejects the idea of "common knowledge."  But, if "common knowledge" is the test, then it is beyond debate that certain types of EMF (microwave, UV, and ionizing, for example) are dangerous and can harm people, and there's no evidence to show that other types of EMF don't also present risks.

[Walla Walla]

After a very long study it has been proven that everyone dies from something.

[chill]

Life is a communicable disease that is invariable fatal.

[Sleepnrg]

I have been using the heated hose for over a year now. I have also become increasingly concerned about emf exposure; so, I bought an emf meter. I had the same experience of testing the machine and then testing the hose. The readings coming off the hose were the highest I have gotten from any other source I have tested, including the modem, router, pc, hair dryer or electrical outlet. So, I stopped using it completely.

I could continue to use the standard hose; but, I did like the air temp control the heated one provided.

I came to this forum not to have a whole host of "experts" tell me I am a whack-job; but, to possibly gain some solutions that others, who share my concerns, have found to enable them to continue the use of the heated hose and block the emf.

If anyone here has something of offer in that regard, I welcome it wholeheartedly. I would love a dialog with others who share my concern about emf exposure from the heated hose and how you have dealt with that.

If you are, at all, tempted to go full-on snark with this, please just keep scrolling.

Many thanks, sleepers!

[Reznik]

Have you tried just turning it off?

On Resmed machines, the instructions indicate that the heated hose keeps the temperature of the air at 80F when set to Auto.  I've found that once the humidifier heats up, it heats the water and the air to 80F when set at level 2, and the air coming out of the end of the hose is usually between 78 and 80.  Anything above level 2 delivers air out the end of the hose that is already above 80F.  

As a result, the heated hose may only be really doing something all night if you have the humidifer set below 2, i.e. at 1 or 0.  Otherwise, it's only doing any significant heating while the humidifier heats up.  

If you're really concerned about this, as I am, I recommend that you turn the heated hose off, and the next time that a replacement is due, save yourself some money and buy the slimline hose instead.  

If you find that the heated hose makes a difference for you, try a hose cover instead.  Resmed makes a model both for the slimline hose (which fits on the heated hose as well) and for the standard hose.  I've found that they perform almost as well as the heated hose, but they don't generate any EMF whatsoever.

[blueeyessinging]

Thanks for raising the EMF question. I recently discovered I'm sensitive. When there is a blackout, I feel more grounded, as if I am in a more natural state wjen aeay from electricity. ROFL if you must!

My hunch was confirmed when I felt suddenly headachy on my couch. I had forgotten I'd moved my router to behind the couch. I unplugged it and felt better.

Now as far as cpap hose, I dont have any measuring devices to contribute data, but am interested if people who are EMF sensitive, or who are avoiding excess EMF, found switching to a regular hose made a difference.