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CPAP Safety - silverback57 - 11-26-2012

Recently my brother had a home fire and was not awakened by the smoke in the room as his CPAP was filtering the smoke out leaving him in a vulnerable state. Fortunately his spouse woke up and alerted him to the fire and smoke buring their home. I had near identical situation in my home several years ago. The CPAP filter incoming air and thus if you are a deep sleeper it leaves you comfortable free of the choking smells of heavy smoke. On the other hand if I lose power and my CPAP shuts down I wake quite quickly gasping for air. My brother agress and reacts the same.

It would seem to me odds are great we are not alone in this occurance nor are we alone in knowing this is a very large concern to those who have encountered a similar situation. I am wondering if or how difficult it might be to sway manufacturers to add an internal smoke alarm to CPAP machines that would either set off an alarm or shut down the machine or both in the event smoke is detected. It would work double well for me with a spouse who sneaks a cigarette from time to time in my bedroom while I sleep with my CPAP on. BUSTED!!!! LOL. Just thoughts of a newbie folks, this seems like a great site and resource. Be happy, be well and be safe!


RE: CPAP Safety - zonk - 11-26-2012

by law all homes should have a working smoke alarm also its insurance requirement
someone mentioned they going to get an alarm in case power goes out
anyway its interesting topic ... getting late going to bed
Sleep-well


RE: CPAP Safety - SuperSleeper - 11-26-2012

Possible solutions:

1. Keep a very loud smoke alarm right in the bedroom near your head to alert you. If the alarm is out in the hallway or another room, the sound can be muffled.

2. We have UPS systems (Uninterrupted Power Supply) that beep when the power goes down... one would think that someone might be able to devise a "Smoke Alarm Shutdown" system that would plug into the wall between the electrical outlet and the CPAP machine, whereby if smoke was detected, the electrical circuit would switch off.

Heck, I'd even bet that some creative electrician tinkerer could devise something like that pretty easy. Simply get a regular plug-in smoke alarm/carbon monoxide detector and a basic electric power strip, unhook the smoke alarm's wire that goes to the buzzer (alarm) and hook it up to some sort of breaker switch to cut the power to whatever attaches to the power strip. Could use something like that for not only CPAP, but whatever else you want to "turn off" during a house fire.


Thinking-about

If anyone wants to use this idea, better patent it now... of course, if you make millions of dollars from your invention, please remember to donate a few bucks to Apnea Board. Bigwink Too-funny



RE: CPAP Safety - PaulaO2 - 11-26-2012

I don't see how the CPAP machine filtered out the smell of the smoke. If it was not enough to wake up his wife, then the CPAP was not filtering it any more than his wife's nose hairs were.

I have had no problems smelling things through my machine. I have a Rottweiler with gas issues.

Smoke detectors and/or fire alarms are cheap.

As for gadgets, there are adapters that will turn a device on and off (usually a lamp) in response to loud noises. They make these for those who are deaf.


RE: CPAP Safety - 2Tim215 - 11-26-2012

I agree with Paula. I also wouldn't think the CPAP would prevent any smoke smell as they work well with scent therapy products that go through even the hypoallergenic filters which have a much lower micron passage. However, I do believe because of the better sleep with therapy we should ALL have a good Smoke Alarm right in our room as well as other places in the home. Another suggestion is to be sure we are using clean filters at the least according to suggested manufacturers guidelines. A "clogged" filter could limit some smells for sure although I'm not suggesting that was the case but something we should consider as part of this topic and the importance of using clean filters. Welcome to the Forum, glad you joined us!


RE: CPAP Safety - SuperSleeper - 11-26-2012

Some of the issue is that many times, as folks get older, their sense of smell deteriorates. My sense of smell is doing that. My father-in-law has lost all sense of smell now that he's nearing 80 years of age. Lost all sense of taste also (I guess they go together).

For those folks, they can't smell smoke at all unless it's nearly at the suffocating level, and by that time, it may be too late for them anyway.




RE: CPAP Safety - 2Tim215 - 11-26-2012

Good point SuperSleeper! Also many lose hearing abilities or decreased hearing where smoke alarms may not be affective. Maybe another option could be a Vibrator at the Pillows or Mask when it detects smoke? That would cover both issues, smell and hearing, and if someone here patents it they could still make a donation! One thing that always bothered me was how many smoke alarms sound like alarm clocks that people end up ignoring over time as an alert when they can't reach the "snooze"!


RE: CPAP Safety - PaulaO2 - 11-26-2012

All the more reason to have smoke alarms, eh?

As for the law, Zonk, here in the US individual home owners are not required to have one. However, any rented house, apartment, or dwelling has to have one. Many states say it must be hard wired vs battery. I think this is a federal law vs state.


RE: CPAP Safety - TheDreamer - 11-26-2012

Yeah, the laws on smoke detectors are set by state and local government. States will have a requirement to have them when you're selling your home, but they don't seem to care the rest of the time. But, if its a rental or lodging....they get into things. Since I own....I guess they don't care about me...though I know the fire marshal goes around once a year checking the rentals around me....usually the same day the state fire marshal is making his rounds at work (state university).

I think around here in new construction they require smoke detectors in various places, including one in each bedroom...to be hardwired and interconnected to all go off if one trips, with some municipalities adding battery backup to the requirement. Back when I rented...that was the kind of thing I had....totally didn't know that there was a battery until it needed to be replaced. Which was so annoying....

But, allow battery and non-interconnected for existing structure sales.

There were smoke detectors all around (4 - one in each bedroom + living room) when I bought this condo. They're the battery type, since it was an existing structure renovated into condos. I think the detectors are nearing end of life now....one of them failed last year. The detectors only had a 5 year warranty on them, and they say they only last about 7-10 years. I've been here almost 6.5 years now.... Been thinking of replacing them all with interconnected type. Perhaps one that integrates with my home security system (I did get a combo police/fire permit for it....)

The Dreamer.


RE: CPAP Safety - trish6hundred - 11-26-2012

Hi silverback57, WELCOME! to the forum.!