Understanding Cpap Machines
It is a fairly safe bet that most people do not really know what a CPAP machine is unless themselves or one of their loved ones have had to use one. CPAP machines, however, are increasingly common in modern American society.
CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. Basically, it is a fancy way of saying that it is a machine that pumps steady blasts of air through the user's air tube via tubes that go in their nostrils.
CPAP machines are used to treat people who experience sleep apnea. When a person suffers from sleep apnea, their airways close at night as the muscles in their throats relax. This cuts off the oxygen supply to their lungs and deprives their blood and cells of oxygen. Responding to this sort of unintentional asphyxiation, the body arouses the sleeper back into consciousness. Thus, one very common sign of sleep apnea is the inability to sleep because one constantly wakes up during the night. Those with sleep apnea may also be known to fall asleep during the day without knowing it, suddenly dropping into sleep and dozing for a minute or two before waking up again. Obviously, this condition can be dangerous, especially if driving or operating machinery. Sleep apnea is sometimes accompanied with moderate to severe snoring.
What the CPAP machine does is pumps a stream of air through the tubes. When the user puts it on, the air stops and their airway is kept open with the difference of air pressure. Pressure flows from a high gradient to a low gradient. When the airways begin to close from muscles relaxation, the pressure shifts in it to low pressure, causing the high pressure gradient from the CPAP machine to flow through and reopen it, allowing the wearer to breath. They are generally used in conjunction with a special CPAP pillow.
The main portion of the CPAP machine looks like a mask. Most common models cover both the mouth and the nose, though there are many that cover only the nose. Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition. If someone is concerned that they may have it, a doctors visit is highly recommended.
Tags: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, Cpap Machine, Cpap Machines, Cpap Pillow, experience sleep apnea, Sleep Apnea, what does a cpap machine do
April 14th, 2010 at 6:34 am
I have a Dell Latitude Laptop using Windows XP. I took it to Geek Squad because it was skipping and the freezing up when I played DVDs or any kind of audio. When it freezes I have to turn it off witut shutting it down. It also wouldn’t freeze right away..it freezes into about 10 minutes of playing DVDs or youtube videos. It was also making weird noises when it froze. Best Buy informed me that the noise wasn’t any hardware issue, but the kind of noise the computer makes when it’s frozen. They said nothing was wrong hardware wise, and that I had 6 viruses on the laptop. Well now, all those viruses are removed, and my laptop is still skipping and freezing when I play DVDs..to the point where I have to turn off the computer without shutting it down. If it’s not viruses, and geek squad said everything is fine with the computer physically, then what is it?