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Sleep apnea affects millions of Americans, myself included. It's a scary disease that can cause you to stop breathing while you sleep, rousing you awake. Often, this results in less-than-ideal sleep quality which can go on to affect your day-to-day quality of life. In some cases, your body doesn't respond in time and folks suffering from sleep apnea can actually die from it. There is a range of solutions for people who suffer the effects of sleep apnea, one of which is to use a CPAP machine to assist your breathing while you sleep. You may have seen it before or know someone who uses one. It's a positive-airflow solution that keeps your airway open while asleep, similar to a respirator. Personally, I've never slept better...and my snoring is gone when I use it!
While I could pine away about the virtues of CPAP machines, I have to bring your attention to a new recall that affects me as well as millions of others. Philips Respironics is recalling their popular "DreamStation" CPAP machine.
According to the recall posted on the Philips website:
Philips determined based on testing that there are possible risks to users related to this type of foam. The risks include that the PE-PUR foam may degrade into particles which may enter the device’s air pathway and be ingested or inhaled by the user, and the foam may off-gas certain chemicals. The foam degradation may be exacerbated by use of unapproved cleaning methods, such as ozone,** and high heat and high humidity environments may also contribute to foam degradation.
The recall goes on to state that affected users (there's a website to use to check if yours is affected) are to stop the use of the machine and consult their doctor. There is no process as of yet to send it in for repair or get a replacement without paying out of pocket.
I wanted to get this word out because I'm affected by this recall as I'm sure many of you are as well. It's complicated without an easy solution and Philips has not been able to answer any of my questions that are not already answered on their website. There is a phone number you can call for more information: 1-877-907-7508.