Menthol humidifier additive

Lanolin comes from sheep. It's excreted out into the wool from glands under the skin. Pleasant dreams! Did you really want to know?

jazzer4 wrote:My DME told to about the vicks behind the intake. He said just take off the lid and set it there. But, he also told me he wasn't suppose to tell patients that.
I have done it...it's nice.

Well, that makes sense...just take the bottle off next to the filter intake. No invasion to the tank, no pad to deal with, etc.

Would it not be cheaper to buy a small tub of menthol crystals from the chemist and drop a few crystals into steaming hot water and have your Son inhale the vapour as often as needed (do not inhale too hard or too fast, as the menthol in the vapour WILL cause some discomfort to inflamed nasal cavities.... trust me on this, I speak from experience!)... this provides hot menthol vapour on demand without the worry of damaging your S9.

A small 5g tub of menthol (I have the Care+ brand from Thornton + Ross in the UK) will offer numerous treatments. I should think that Target or CVS or Walgreens pharmacy carries it behind the counter, if not on their shelves (I can't say where for sure, as I live in Canada).

Wonka wrote: I like that idea. But, if you put a cotton ball in the intake of the S9 humidifier, doesn't the air pressure blow it into the water? Or, are you suggesting the filter intake (like Emilia)?

This is were we have to be careful about how we explain our advice. "Intake", either for the blower or the humidifier, may be confusing to some especially since humidifiers used to be completely separate from the blower and attached by a hose so there really was a humidifier "intake". And humidifiers can be separated from the blower unit in the new machines so there is a humidifier "intake" that couples directly to the blower outlet. "Intake" for all intents and purposes means the intake to the blower unit where the air filter is.

I'm absolutely sure the cotton ball idea was to set the cotton ball on the table next to the blower intake, NOT stuffed into the humidifier plumbing or any other part of the xPAP machine. A cotton ball, especially if smeared with petrolium jelly, will not let air through the unit if you stuff it into any part of the machine or as a filter replacement. I see the confusion though, a cotton ball is tempting to stuff into the machine. Just don't.

I just smear some vapo-rub onto a waterproof piece of paper (so the grease doesn't stain my night stand) and place the paper on the night stand next to the blower intake. It can be an inch away from the xPAP machine and I can smell the menthol immediately through the mask. I change the paper daily. For me, I don't find the vapo-rub particularly effective or long lasting in clearing my congestion.

Janknitz wrote:I would NOT put anything but distilled water in the tank. This is a direct route to your LUNGS and it can be dangerous IMHO. The humidifier works like a distiller and can aerosolize little particles that can go into the lungs.

I don't see anything wrong with putting a bit of menthol on a cotton ball behind the intake filter. But NOT in the tank!

So it is your belief that the menthol vapor from the cotton ball is NOT going into your lungs?

Physical chemistry -- you can't escape its laws.

I have used the Pur-sleep Clear and Calm aromatherapy with fantastic results. The aromatherapy has worked so well for me that I now use it regularly. I want to try some new scents. I did find some literature for my ResMed S9 that stated to never add anything to the humidifier chamber. "Clear" is very similar to Vicks vapor rub. The starter pack is available at Amazon.

Lanolin is a by-product of the production of wool. It's a natural emollient produced by the wool of a sheep.

LoQ wrote:

Janknitz wrote:I would NOT put anything but distilled water in the tank. This is a direct route to your LUNGS and it can be dangerous IMHO. The humidifier works like a distiller and can aerosolize little particles that can go into the lungs.

I don't see anything wrong with putting a bit of menthol on a cotton ball behind the intake filter. But NOT in the tank!

So it is your belief that the menthol vapor from the cotton ball is NOT going into your lungs?

Physical chemistry -- you can't escape its laws.

But, the question is...is a small amount of menthol vapor harmful to your lungs? I've used Vicks for almost my entire life starting with chest & neck rubs by my mother when I had a bad cold and putting tabs under my nostrils for many years. Of course, that doesn't mean it isn't harmful.

I've been exposed to so many harmful chemicals in my lifetime (there wasn't much awareness), I don't think Vicks or Aroma therapy is going to greatly reduce my life span. As a college student, working in the steel mills on weekends and full time in the summer I was given a bucket pail full of carbon techtychloride (sp?) and a brush. I would then crawl into a very small opening beneath huge electric motors to remove and clean motor brushes. In Vietnam, there was Agent Orange.

I use a very small amount of sea salt in my humidifier water. I believe there are less potential "issues" with salt than menthol. Unfortunately, the results are subtle and not drastic. If you need drastic results use something else.