Those who experience disrupted sleep or continued incidents of snoring may find themselves going through a sleep test to assess if they have a common condition called obstructive sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder. People who have this condition repeatedly stop and start breathing while they sleep, affecting their overall health, energy and sleep quality.
There are several types of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the throat muscles relax and block the airway. This happens off and on many times during sleep. A sign of obstructive sleep apnea is snoring.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is treated with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). In order for the CPAP machine to provide you with consistent and steady air pressure, you must wear a nosepiece or mask.
While utilising continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP), certain patients frequently experience unwelcome and bothersome nasal dryness. This is due to the fact that the nasal airway occasionally finds it challenging to maintain adequate humidity and warmth due to the flow of CPAP therapy. Because of this, CPAP users may experience moisture loss in their airways and eventually display signs of inflammation and upper airway dryness like:
- Dry nose
- Bleeding Nose
- Dry Mouth
- Dry Throat
- Dry Cracked Lips
Due to the high level of blood flow in your nasal airway, dry, chilly air can easily dry it out. Luckily, we have some approaches for you to use in order to avoid dry mouth and nose while using CPAP therapy and maintain adherence to treatment.
You can suffer a mouth leak when using a CPAP machine to sleep. Since incoming air can pass through the lips without first passing through the lungs, unidirectional airflow is possible. The nasal passageways' increased exposure to cold, dry air may cause mucosal dryness and rebound congestion.
Rebound congestion may cause inflammation and swelling, which can reduce the diameter of the nasal airway. As a result, nasal airway resistance (NAR) has increased. When you start mouth breathing because of NAR, your mouth leak increases, which feeds the cycle.
If you live in a humid area, it's likely that you have air conditioning and dehumidifiers going, so the air passing through your CPAP is chilly and dry. This can result in discomfort and more frequent nose symptoms. Your nasal airways cannot produce enough humidity to humidify the increased airflow of CPAP therapy, even if you live in a humid environment.
As a result, the nasal mucosa may not have the necessary amount of moisture to humidify the air.
Luckily, Nadu has CPAP Soothe for nasal dryness, tips and some products can help.
CPAP Nasal Dryness Tips and Tricks
- Make sure the CPAP mask fits snugly. A leaking mask can cause your nose to get dry. The mask isn't fitting properly if you regularly have to tighten straps to stop air leaks. A CPAP machine with a heated humidifier attached to the air pressure device may be of assistance. The level of humidification can be changed. Using a nasal saline spray before bed can also help relieve a stuffy, dry nose.
- Apply Nadu CPAP Soothe Balm. Soothe and protect your skin with this non-greasy, non-sticky balm. Formulated for CPAP safety, it provides hydration and protection, and relief from dryness, dehydration, flaking, cracking, chafing and injury.
As often as necessary, apply it to the afflicted area. Apply the moisture cream on the outside and inside of the nasal passageways, or nares, if you're wearing a nasal pillow.
- To avoid having a dry mouth, wear a full-face mask and a heated humidifier. Because it adds the proper quantity of humidity to the air that your nose can't, heated CPAP humidification can minimise NAR. This is particularly useful if you use a nasal mask or nasal pillow and wake up with a dry mouth. In this situation, mouth breathing is probably what you're doing. If you do use a heated humidifier and a full-face mask and you still wake up dry, it's probably not being used correctly. Try increasing the heat. The higher the heat, the more wetness you will receive.
- Alter the settings on your CPAP machine or mask. You could not be using the right mask for the settings on your system. Find out what alternative solutions are available by speaking with the equipment provider or sleep specialist. Your CPAP settings may be set too high. If so, try adjusting the setting until you start to see the drying lessening or stopping altogether.
For those who experience discomfort from their CPAP therapy might benefit from adjusting some of the things we mentioned above to improve the comfort, increase the therapy compliance and feel better!
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