It’s almost wintertime, which means a few different things for a different people. For some, the winter may mean that you have to salt your driveway and reseal your windows. For others, it may mean making sure your flue is open and there is enough firewood. For sleep apnea sufferers, the winter means making sure that your CPAP experience is fully winterized. With colder months means more rainout
(water in your CPAP tube), bacteria and other issues having to do with cold weather and storms. Here are a few winterization tips for sleep apnea sufferers and CPAP users.
Clean Your CPAP Thoroughly To Avoid The Flu
There are two things you can’t avoid in the winter: the flue and the flu. With the former, it’s as easy as flipping a switch. With the latter, you can take a few precautions. As a sleep apnea sufferer, you can avoid the flu by making sure your CPAP is clean as a whistle. The best way to do that is to wipe down your equipment, especially your mask, with specialized CPAP wipes.
You may want to invest in the SoClean 2, which is by far the easiest way to kill 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and mold without ever using a single drop of water.
Warm Up Your CPAP Tube To Avoid Rain Out
When the weather gets colder, it means that you have to add a few layers, especially when you sleep. It also means that you may start experiencing rainout as a result of the temperature difference between the room you sleep in and your CPAP hose.
This is why you need heated tubing for your CPAP. Or cozy up your CPAP tube with a tube wrap. Rainout can make sleeping impossible and it can make you avoid CPAP treatment, which is the last thing you want to do in the wintertime.
Get Yourself An Extra Battery Pack In Case Of A Black Out
During the wintertime, you may experience extreme storms and blizzards, which could knock out your power for several days. Sure, this can be really uncomfortable, but it will be even more uncomfortable if your sleep apnea symptoms come crawling back. This is why you need a CPAP battery pack, so that you can still undergo CPAP treatment without any source of grid power. In the wintertime, the last thing you want is to be reliant on grid power, especially as a sleep apnea sufferer.
A Full Face Mask Can Make A Stuffy Nose More Tolerable
If you are a nasal pillow mask kind of person, the wintertime may not be your favorite season, especially if you are prone to the flu or a stuffy nose. Sure, stuffed other things, like pie and stockings, bring joy and glad tidings, but a stuffed nose certainly does not. This is exactly why you need a full face mask on hand, continuous positive airway pressure treatment. In the end, you don’t want to wake up on a holiday morning feeling groggy and miserable.
