What is it and how do I stop it?
‘Rainout’ is the term used to describe the water droplets that appear in your mask or tube whilst using your CPAP machine and is a common issue during the change of season.
Rainout occurs when the vapour coming from your machine hits a cold spot in the tube, which then condenses, causing water droplets to appear in your mask.
To stop rainout, you will need to completely dry out your equipment and ensure the tube connecting to your machine doesn’t dip down (such as the dip that often occurs, from the bedside table to the bed). By doing this, the tube won’t be sitting in a cold spot, but rather maintaining the same temperature from machine to mask.
We suggest, keeping the tube in bed with you, tucked behind the pillow and out of the way, or even under the blankets.
Humidification settings
Humidification and rainout are connected, as the higher the humidity the more moisture there will be. Generally, the tube temp and humidity on your machine needs to be reduced, this can be done in climate control on your machine. For the ResMed AirSense 10 machine, the humidification settings will be automatic, but can be changed to manual to adjust them. It is best to only adjust these settings slightly, as less is more. If adjusted too much, you may find your airways getting overly dry, as this is a comfort setting.
A lot of trial and error goes on with humidification, as each person is different and so is the environment they are sleeping, due to the varying room temperatures of each household. If an adjustment is not working for you, don’t stress, this can be altered.
