Talking about temperature and CPAP......

[Ulrika]

I need some advice - I am in Tasmania so I talk in Celcius sorry, but in winter it gets to about 5 degrees in my bedroom some nights (I have started to turn on an electric heater for when the main wood fire dies down early morning because I had mask seal issues when it got too cold)

I was wondering if it is better not to use a humidifier... or use one. I find i get a dry throat if I don't but get "rained" out if I do! I am only hiring my machine atm so a heated hose is not an option (not that I really understand how they work anyway.)

The other thing is I am going to Western Australia in December and it will be really hot, maybe 30 degrees plus at night, what do I need to know about that??

I have so many questions!! lol

[Cutter]

You could wrap your hose with some cloth to keep it warm. You can sew up something as fancy or simple as you like. You could use scraps or old clothing. By keeping the hose warm you stop moisture in the air from condensing. A hose blanket won't work as well as a heated hose but it is better than nothing.

[Ulrika]

that's a good idea cutter... I did try putting the hose under my doona which did help somewhat but had to resort to turning on an electric heater which is costing us a fair bit more now.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Ulrika, I don't know the answer to your question about temperature but another thing you could do when you get rainout is to maybe turn your humidity back a notch.

[PaulaO2]

Rainout is just like when you have a glass of ice water on a hot summer day. The condensation forms on the outside of the glass because that's where the warmth is. With rainout, the water in the air coming from the machine is slightly warmer than the hose and condensation forms inside. A heated hose such as Resmed's climateline heats the hose itself, keeping it about the same as the air from the humidifier. This prevents condensation from forming.

Putting a cover on the hose helps it to retain the heat of the air from the humidifier and helps to prevent rainout.

If rainout is a problem, there's a few other things to do to help with it. The biggest is to have the machine lower than your head. That way the condensation runs back to the humidifier instead of forming in a loop and gurgling. Or running into your nose.

That said, I did the conversion of your 5C to F and see it is 41F. If you are having rainout at that temp, you may want to turn the humidifier down. While it is cooler than the air from the humidifier, the hose is not going to be so cold it can't react. If you are renting the machine, ask the supplier to also rent you the climateline hose.

30C is 86F and I would assume it is a dry heat. In that case, you are probably going to need to turn the humidifier up.

Humidifiers are a pain in the arse but they do their job well.

[mjbearit]

I need some advice - I am in Tasmania so I talk in Celcius sorry, but in winter it gets to about 5 degrees in my bedroom some nights (I have started to turn on an electric heater for when the main wood fire dies down early morning because I had mask seal issues when it got too cold)

I was wondering if it is better not to use a humidifier... or use one. I find i get a dry throat if I don't but get "rained" out if I do! I am only hiring my machine atm so a heated hose is not an option (not that I really understand how they work anyway.)

The other thing is I am going to Western Australia in December and it will be really hot, maybe 30 degrees plus at night, what do I need to know about that??

I have so many questions!! lol

Hi Ulrika
I have a hose cover for my machine it is made out of flannel with a piece of velcro on each end so you can snug it around the hose and it won't move around. I think it cost me about $15 or so, but at the cost of fabric over here it was cheaper than making one! They have them quilted, denim, all sorts of stuff with many different designs and prints. If you are making it be sure to make the "tube" about 1.5x to 2x the diameter of the hose. You want some "dead air" in there for it to work right. I haven't had this through winter yet, but spring and summer, dry and humid I have had no rain out at all. I also have my machine about a foot and a half (half a meter) below my head so that is there is any water, it goes right back where it belongs!
My machine has 3 levels of humidity and I leave it on the middle one. That's just where I started and it was comfortable. If you are having rainout issues play with the level a bit too. Turning it down may help a bit. When you go on your trip I am sure you will probably not have a problem in the warmer climate, at least with rainout. If the heat dries you out a bit, turn up the humidifier.

[JudgeMental]

There are two or three things that you can do to help avoid the condition called "rainout" and those have already been nicely suggested, however to dwell a bit on them. I would try to reduce the humidifier temp a bit,,,,make a cozy or cover for your hose.. ( I made one very easily from scrap flannel. use rubber bands to secure the ends) I like MJ's idea of velcro. Will do another for winter, such as it is here in FLorida. Keep your CPAP machine lower then your head, and be sure that you don't have any part of the hose lower then the rest of the hose or you will get some gurgling..

[Ulrika]

thank you so much for all the advice and information.... it has helped me to understand it more, I have managed to work it out somewhat this winter but didn't really "get it" and am worried about taking my machine somewhere I can't have a warm enough room...