Pneumonia - Still use the cpap?

Hi all,

I have been sick for 2+ weeks. Went to ER and Chest xray confirmed pneumonia and I am currently on antibiotic meds, although it is likely viral.
I called my sleep apnea doc to see if I should use the cpap with pneumonia. She has moved out of state and no one can answer my question.
The ER doc wasnt sure. I need the sleep and quality rest to heal - but I dont want to make things worse with my lungs. I am wondering if the cpap caused my pneumonia in the first place. Any ideas?

I would still use the machine. The humidified air is actually good for the lungs in this situation. Remember croup tents for people with pneumonia or kids?

To avoid the unlikely chance of reintroduction of any bad germs I would be extra diligent about cleaning the mask and hose though. It's extremely unlikely that using cpap actually caused the illness. More likely it is just bad luck that the germs (viral or bacterial) got ahead of the body's immune system. Lots of people use cpap without developing pneumonia and people who never use cpap do get pneumonia.

No, the CPAP did not cause your pneumonia. The viruses could have come from anywhere, and are much more likely to come from some door handle than your machine, as long as you clean it regularly.

As for using the CPAP, unless a doctor tells you not to, you should. As you said, keeping your airway open and your body well-oxygenated is crucial to helping your body's immune system do it's job.

When I've had bouts of severe bronchitis, about the only time I was comfortable was when the CPAP was ON. It helps keep the airways open and I didn't need to cough constantly. I cranked up the heat and humidity and that helped me be much more comfortable. And I was getting clean, filtered air to breathe.

I had pneumonia a few months ago and my doctor told me that I should definitely keep using it. I tried one night without when I was having some trouble with my throat that was made worse by the machine, and I was definitely miserable the next morning. Of course, I had pneumonia, so I would have been miserable anyhow, but I was MORE miserable than I would have been with my CPAP.

i was in the hospital with pneumonia last week. the doctor not only said yes to my cpap during treatment in the hospital, he wrote an order so i could use my own machine and mask. i'm surprised you're not in the hospital. pneumonia kills. if anything doesn't feel right, get back to the er.

cpapfriend99 wrote:Hi all,

I have been sick for 2+ weeks. Went to ER and Chest xray confirmed pneumonia and I am currently on antibiotic meds, although it is likely viral.
I called my sleep apnea doc to see if I should use the cpap with pneumonia. She has moved out of state and no one can answer my question.
The ER doc wasnt sure. I need the sleep and quality rest to heal - but I dont want to make things worse with my lungs. I am wondering if the cpap caused my pneumonia in the first place. Any ideas?

Call another sleep doctor and get a definite answer from a qualified professional. Playing a guessing game with pneumonia is not wise.

Oxygen may be needed besides CPAP. I would enter an hospital,
and NOT take advice in chatrooms.

Discussion

Continuous positive airway pressure provided
effective ventilatory support in our patients
suffering from severe community acquired
pneumonia, improving both symptoms and
hypoxia thereby allowing time for antimicrobial
treatment to effect a clinical improvement
and for recovery to occur. That this was
not sustained in one case was due to the
development of a recognised complication of
community acquired pneumonia and subsequent
deterioration in pulmonary function.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 1-0094.pdf

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community- ... d_symptoms

Thanks everyone. I contacted several other doctors and got mixed reviews. I will go back to ER first thing tomorrow if i am not feeling a better.
I have a pulse oximeter and am watching my oxygenation levels closely. Still not sure what to do but dont want to risk it. Thanks

don't let the o2 fool you into false security. i had the early stage of pneumonia when they admitted and treated me. i put off going to the er because it didn't feel like pnuemonia and my o2 was fine. i finally went because i just didn't feel right with my breathing.

cpapfriend99 wrote:Hi all,

I have been sick for 2+ weeks. Went to ER and Chest xray confirmed pneumonia and I am currently on antibiotic meds, although it is likely viral.
I called my sleep apnea doc to see if I should use the cpap with pneumonia. She has moved out of state and no one can answer my question.
The ER doc wasnt sure. I need the sleep and quality rest to heal - but I dont want to make things worse with my lungs. I am wondering if the cpap caused my pneumonia in the first place. Any ideas?

Absolutely the best thing on the market! I wore mine during the day working from home because there is nothing like warm humid air to help you breath!

I think you definitely need to since your breathing will probably be worse during infection and your airways may be narrowed by swelling and inflammation

Let me play my broken record and recommend people get pneumonia shots. They're pretty cheap, apparently safe, and you only have to get them a few times in your lifetime.

Pneumonia is a symptom, not a particular kind of germ. The vaccine helps protect you from a number of the most common germs, but not all.

You also need to realize that your pneumonia isn't necessarily even the same germ as someone else's pneumonia, so watch out about advice or information from someone else about their pneumonia.

Be really careful if it takes a sudden turn for the worst.

Best wishes and let us know how it works out.

I would consider my CPAP an integral part of treatment for any respiratory infection.
The only exception would be if the doctor made it a point to tell me not to.

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