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Do CPAP Machines Aggravate Coronavirus? A Doctor Explains
Sleep apnea can be traumatic on the best day. With the prevailing the coronavirus pandemic, it can feel like a nightmare. However, with the correct precautions, you can use your CPAP machine without worrying about the safety of yourself or your loved ones. That raises the concern of how to prevent coronavirus for you and your loved ones.
Understand that sleep apnea and coronavirus have a complicated affiliation
According to Dr. Raj, there are no studies that indicates that obstructive sleep apnea will put you at a higher risk for getting coronavirus. However, Dr. Raj explains that certain underlying conditions that are often present in patients with sleep apnea could make you more vulnerable to COVID-19. That includes complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and even being elderly.
Such people are at a greater risk of getting obstructive sleep apnea anyways. That may be associated with coronavirus, though maybe not directly. The solution here is to take precautions that everyone else is taking including practicing social distancing, wash your hands thoroughly, and prevention of coronavirus with mask while going outside.
Keep using your CPAP machine if you do not have symptoms.
Since the coronavirus is more infectious to older persons and those with respiratory issues, you have likely wondered if your CPAP machine is doing more detriment than good. The question is, will my machine make it worse if I have COVID-19? Dr. Raj says that the answer is no. Wearing your CPAP mask will not make the disease worse.
Without evidence of infection, there is no reason to disturb your sleep by declining to use your CPAP machine. Dr. Raj is clear on this point that you should continue using your CPAP device because you will not get that good quality sleep otherwise. Even so, it is prudent to have regular cpap machine cleaning and disinfecting to keep you CPAP clean and effective.
If you have COVID-19, isolate and sleep alone
If you are symptomatic or have tested positive for COVID-19, it is only reasonable for you sleep away from anyone else in your household. According to Dr. Ral, there is a likelihood that you could be spreading the virus even more. You might put the other people in your house at risk of coronavirus infection from cpap machine.
Even if you are not showing symptoms, you might still want to consider sleeping in a different room with anyone else in your home during this public health emergency. Note that contaminated air from asymptomatic CPAP users could seep out of the machine and infect others.
To minimize exposure, isolate yourself in a separate bedroom and only use a cpap disinfectant machine when cleaning your CPAP machine. If self-isolation is not a choice in your location, Dr. Raj recommends that you contact your sleep physician before making any changes to your nightly routine. They might be able to suggest short-term solutions for halting CPAP machine use.
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