Would love to hear about things that the doctors and the DME's don't tell you, but would be helpful to know.

As an example, I've only been on the CPAP for a couple weeks....here's what I've learned so far, that nobody told me I need to know...

1) Wear sunscreen.  I Took the boat out for the first time since being on a CPAP.  When I got on the water, I realized I had better use sunscreen on my face because a full face mask and a forehead support cushion would not be very pleasant to deal with on a sunburned face.

2) After learning the above, I was thinking about what may happen if I'm camping with a mask, and I happen to use mosquito repellent on my face before bed.  Latex and plastic do not react well with DEET (the active ingredient in bug spray) so it would probably be a good idea to think about that if you go camping with your xPAP

Mr. Ed wrote:

2) After learning the above, I was thinking about what may happen if I'm camping with a mask, and I happen to use mosquito repellent on my face before bed.  Latex and plastic do not react well with DEET (the active ingredient in bug spray) so it would probably be a good idea to think about that if you go camping with your xPAP

Wow, i never thought about that! Thanks for the tip! I am going camping Wednesday - Sunday, I will be sure to wash my face before bed!


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Started CPAP 4/08, pressure 10
nights camping with CPAP: 11!

interesting points

Haha your sunscreen warning reminds me of a post I did a couple of months ago after i got my first sunburned face after starting on my cpap... Definatly a learning experience to say the least!!

I never thought about the bug spray issue... thanks for tossing that one out.. I try to use Skin so soft on my face to detour the skeeters, instead of actual bug spray. So the oils in the SSS would make getting things to seal pretty tough!!


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Optilife mask by Respironics
Remstar Plus M with c-flex and heated humidifier
Pressure set at 18
Started Cpap on 12-13-07

CPAP or not, you should be using sunscreen, especially on the water!

As for the mosquito repellent on your face at night, surely you should be sleeping under a net instead, to protect the rest of you.  Deet wears off after several hours anyway unless you use so much that you really are not nice to be near.