If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, then your doctor likely has prescribed CPAP therapy to treat your condition. CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, is used to help people with sleep apnea get enough air flowing through their lungs when they sleep. Sleep apnea causes a person to stop breathing during sleep, and this can lead to more serious conditions such as heart disease and stroke. It may take some time to get used to a CPAP machine, but it is necessary for good health.
Instructions
Getting Used to a
1. Place the CPAP machine as close to your bed as possible and in a position that will allow you to comfortably reach it with your hands. This is in case you need to reach the machine in a hurry to turn it off.
2. Put on your CPAP mask and lie down on your pillow. Even though the mask was fitted by a trained CPAP technician, it can have a different fit when you are actually lying down on . If the mask moves too much when you are , then tighten the straps to hold it in place better. Be careful not to make the straps so tight that they are painful.
3. Take a deep breath and your CPAP machine should start up with full air pressure. If you cannot tolerate full pressure to begin with, then turn off the machine and press the ramp-up button. The ramp-up button will start you out at a lower pressure and gradually build up to the pressure prescribed by your doctor.
4. Place the tube in such a way that you can easily move your body and your head without blocking the tube or pulling the tube from the CPAP machine. CPAP tubes are normally very long, and the entrance on the mask rotates 360 degrees to accommodate your movement. Try either lying the tube along the back of your bed and have it come down over your pillow, or lay the tube on the bed between your shoulder and your neck. One of those two tube positions should allow free movement.
5. Breathe normally and allow the air to flow through your nose and mouth.
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