It’s vacation time! If you’re not up for a road trip, chances are you’ll find yourself on a plane, cruise ship or a train. Vacationing with CPAP machines isn’t as hard as you think.  Don’t think because you have one, it limits you to your home or commutes around town.  It is very common to see people carry their CPAP machines and supplies just like any other bag.

Keep in mind, if you are traveling internationally and you have a newer machine, it will be compatible with different voltages you might come across.  Make sure to pack those universal power supplies. If not, you’ll have to run off the available power system.

Make sure whether you are on a plane or train to reserve a seat that is handicap accessible or has enough room to compensate for the CPAP machine.  Make sure to tell the airline, cruise ship or train company that you’ll need to use it if you travel overnight. They may ask for a doctor’s note and prescription information. Be sure to explain any special regulations or accommodations you’ll need on the trip.

Keep in mind while traveling to get to your check-in or security check-in at least two hours before departure.  This allows enough time to have security check through your CPAP machine bag. CPAP machines can be checked in and classified as checked luggage or carry-on items.

Security will more than likely inspect your machine and supplies and remove the machine from the travel case, while not un-hooking the face mask or tubes. They will also be checked for explosive traces. For everything to expect during a TSA examination of your CPAP machine, check out our previous blog on the topic.

CPAP Central offers a wide selection of CPAP equipment, including travel-sized CPAP machines. Please feel free to contact us with any questions!

Depression and sleep apnea are two very distinct and different illnesses that can be tied together for many people. Sleep disorders like sleep apnea and depression may both share biological factors, and treating the sleep apnea may go a long way in treating the depression.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, results from one study showed that close to 73 percent of sleep apnea patients had clinically significant symptoms of baseline depression. That number was cut down to 4 percent after participants spent three months being CPAP compliant.

One of the biggest similarities in the two disorders is how often they go undiagnosed and untreated. Studies show that as many as half of all people that have clinical depression are undiagnosed. If you are struggling with depression as well as the following symptoms, you might want ask your doctor about being screened for obstructive sleep apnea:

• Daytime fatigue
• Irritability and difficulty concentrating
• Sleep that never feels like “enough”
• Trouble falling asleep
• Trouble going back to sleep after waking up during the night
• Waking up at all hours of the night
• Waking up before the alarm clock goes off

Aside from showing depressive symptoms, those with obstructive sleep apnea are also at risk for a number of other health risks, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

Getting a good night’s sleep can go a long way towards managing your depression.  That’s where we come in. CPAP Central offers a wide variety of CPAP machines, CPAP masks and CPAP supplies that are a great way to treat sleep apnea and sleep better.

Using a CPAP mask been proven to significantly reduce or even eliminate the symptoms of depression while also treating sleep apnea. Medication and counseling are also recommended and should not be stopped without talking to your doctor.

We tend to think of the classic sleep apnea patient as an overweight, middle-aged man. While that may be true in many cases, they are certainly not the only group that suffers from sleep apnea. What about children?  That’s right; sleep apnea doesn’t just affect men and women, it also affects children.

Like all sleep apnea, it can go undiagnosed for quite a while. The main thing to notice in a child who may have sleep apnea is their behavior. Lack of concentration and disruptive behavior are two of the most common results, but these may often be diagnosed as other problems like ADHD or ADD. Being overly tired, crying easily, exaggerated moods (mainly bad ones) and trouble staying awake in school are all potential signs. Many parents and grandparents may just see these behaviors as kids being kids, so look more carefully.

There are other red flags for pediatric sleep apnea besides behavioral changes. They can include weight loss or not being able to gain weight, snoring and mouth breathing, a sore throat in the morning and restless nights.

If you suspect that your child has sleep apnea, a pediatric sleep study can be done to help confirm the diagnosis.

Should the sleep study come back positive for sleep apnea, your doctor will probably first recommend an adenotonsillectomy, tonsillotomy or a tonsillectomy. Having enlarged tonsils and adenoids are a common childhood problem, and their removal can aid in OSA treatment. In the past, doctors were much quicker to have the tonsils removed than they are today. If surgery is not an option, the next line of treatment will often be CPAP.

No matter what age a patient is, CPAP Central has CPAP machines to fit your needs. You will find the right size and style of CPAP masks and CPAP supplies by visiting our website today.

It’s the hot time of the year, which means you may find yourself tossing and turning at night. CPAP Central would like to offer some tips on getting a good rest sleep no matter how hot it gets this summer:

1. Keep the house from heating up during the day by keeping the house dark during the day. Close your blinds and pull your curtains or drapes in the morning and leave them closed during the heat of the day, especially on south and west sides of the house. Look into lined curtains that are built to keep light and heat out. Before drapes were decorative, they were used to keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer months. This will help you from having to run the air conditioning as much during the day too.
2. Keep windows closed. Letting in the hot, moist air of an open window will heat your house. A hot breeze is not a good breeze.
3. Change your sheets. Choose breathable cotton sheets for the best feeling of coolness. Look for a higher thread count and replace bedding that has worn too thin. Cotton will feel cooler against your skin and keep you from sweating as you sleep.
4. Lose the big, fluffy pillows. Think about it; when most of your head is surrounded in a pillow, your head will be hot and you can only flip to the cool side of the pillow so many times!
5. Run the air conditioning when you sleep. You won’t need to set it as cool as you would when you are awake and moving around because our bodies are more susceptible to feeling cold when we are asleep.

If you use a CPAP machine from CPAP Central the rest of the year, keep using it in the summer. If your device has a humidifier, continue to use it. It may be humid outside, but you need to worry about the humidity on the INSIDE of the house. Remember, sleep apnea doesn’t look at a calendar.