Lavender oil in cpap?

Has anyone ever used lavender oil in their cpap humidifier?

I have used lots of various essential oils but never in the humidifier water.
I put the oil on something (like a cotton ball) on a little dish or something right behind the air intake on the machine and I can then adjust the level of intensity of the aroma...sometimes I put too much on the cotton ball or if I am using the Pur Sleep discs..too much on the disc.

I have never put oil in the water...doing that has always been a big no no but even if it wasn't a no no and wouldn't/couldn't hurt you or the machine...the oil would make cleaning the inside of the water chamber more work and I never do more work than I just have to.

Not a healthy choice.

I read that someone does this so I thought I would ask your opinions. Thank you for your responses.

From what I understand scientifically about the ability of the water vapors that constitute the moisture in the air that goes from the humidifier....I don't see how the oil could hitch a ride on those water vapor molecules or whatever but this is one thing that I wouldn't want to risk...inhaling any sort of oil into my nose/lungs or whatever.
We have always been told....don't add oil to the water in the humidifier chamber.
I take a lot of risks but this is one I would never take...it's potentially very harmful to the body and there's simply no need to take the risk...putting the oil near the air intake accomplishes the same goal and can't hurt a person.

They have an odor. That means that they are volatile organic molecules. They are not "attached" to the water molecule. I do not know that I would want to inhale various organics into my lungs.

When the scent is movable, the intensity can be adjusted simply by moving the cotton ball.
If oil is in the tank, and it is too strong, you will be up in the middle of the night, scrubbing and cussing.
Good luck with that.

Despite the problems stated here, oil is lighter than water and makes a film that floats on water, making the humidifier less able to do it's job. With added Pure O2, it would be a fire Hazard too. Only use water in a HH period. Jim

Learned about the dangers of oil in air back in the 1970s during SCUBA courses. (worn compressors filling air tanks with oil vapors is very bad !) Lipoid pneumonia info- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid_pneumonia - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21128754

Goofproof wrote:Despite the problems stated here, oil is lighter than water and makes a film that floats on water, making the humidifier less able to do it's job. With added Pure O2, it would be a fire Hazard too. Only use water in a HH period. Jim

Two points I hadn't thought about. Thanks for adding those.

My wife and I use Lavender EO to help get to sleep every night, and although we have ultrasonic EO diffusers, we find the most effective way is a single drop or two on the sheet between our pillows. I believe a single drop on a cotton ball a foot or so away from the CPAP intake would work the same.

The plastic in purpose-built EO diffusers is selected for its ability to hold up in contact with EOs. Clear polycarbonate plastic can crack or even melt in contact with some EOs, as some have found when trying to use room humidifiers as diffusers. Good EO diffusers also use ultrasonic transducers to turn the water and oil floating on it into mist, rather than heat, which can cause the oils to break down. Your CPAP humidifier is the wrong tool for diffusing EOs.

Thanks for all the wise advice. I will not use lavender oil in my humidifier. This is a very unhealthy choice.

I keep a small dish full of menthol crystals right near the intake vent. It really seems to help keep my nasal passages open through the night as well as helping me breathe better the next morning.