I am posting and following to keep this issue fresh and alive and provide additional vindication to others who have had this experience.
I am a long time a ResMed Airsense 10 user. I have had no issues with the Airsense 10. Have had 2 of them and had great trust in Resmed reputation.
I purchased an AirMini about 6 weeks ago to make travel and camping more convenient. I have used the AirMini a total of 4 times spread out over the 6 weeks. I use the nasal pillows.
First time I used the Airmini, it had a weird smell to it from the HumidX. I woke up with a tickle up in my nostril and the tip of my nose feeling very cold. I started sneezing non stop for about 30-40 minutes. At the same time my nose started running non stop. These symptoms lasted for for 3-4 days and were not effected by OTC cold medicine. It was pretty miserable. I was not sure if it was the flu or from the Airmini.
The second time I used the Airmini was on a trip. The same progression and symptoms occurred and also lasted 3-4 days. Nothing seemed to help or control the symptoms.
The third time I used the Airmini about a month ago I had a no symptoms.
I was still wary of using the Airmini on important trips. I found on this forum and others that people were having the same experience with the AirMini and that it was possibly caused by humidity issues.
Last night I was in good health and had not been around groups of people for awhile, so I decided to run a test and used the Airmini instead of my Airsense 10. I frequently set my nose, added a few drops of distilled water to the HumidX filter. The first half of the night went ok. I monitored for any symptoms and intended to discontinue at the first sign of any issues.
At 3:30 am this morning it hit. Tickle in the back of the left nostril, some sneezing, and the runny nose. Both nostrils now plugged. I have taken some Benedryl and cold medicine, hoping that I can avoid 3-4 days of misery and chaffed nose.
There is no doubt in my mind that this reaction is caused by the AirMini. As others have pointed out, the disappointment is in not getting a workable product and losing over $1000 in the process. I will contact Resmed but I expect they wii say Airmini is past the return period.
We have a Z1 Auto travel machine, but never find it worth the trouble to use it. My wife and I just take our AirSense 10 machines. When we use our trailer off grid, we use the 12 volt to 24 volt DC adapter. The humidifier and heated hose take a lot of power so I just turn them off so we can manage the discharge of the trailer batteries so they can be recharged the next day with solar chargers. We have not found any significant issues going without a humidifier, but once when it was quite cold I did get some condensation in the hose that was not heated. My advice to people considering a travel machine is to not bother. Not worth the hassle.
I called ResMed and basically got the runaround about how I should be checked for allergies…just ridiculous…allergies to what? No help at all and I’m really annoyed because I do travel a lot and getting the damned distilled water is nearly impossible many times. That’s why I invested so much in the Mini and bought a supply of the Humidex filters. Everyone who has this problem should complain to them. It has been five days now and I’m much better but still not feeling great and taking medication for the symptoms.
My wife and I both have CPAPs. When we travel we use tap water for the humidifier. It just means a bit extra time cleaning the humidifier reservoir with vinegar after you get home to get rid if the minerals. Does not damage the machine or the person. The humidifier acts as a distillation unit and only pure water gets breathed in.
I've given up on the Air Mini. I don't take my cpap machine when I travel. Since my apnea is mild, the doctor said to go to an orthodontist who could make an apnea mouth guard or try making a mouth guard for apnea. The orthodontist made one that I used for a while, till I had some dental work done. Then I bought a do-it-yourself mouth guard for apnea for 30 or 40 dollars and followed the instructions. These seemed to work.
I’m glad (under the crappy circumstances) that we are all experiencing this issue. It’s time we need to think about a class action lawsuit. A $1000 purchase that makes us worse isn’t something to sneeze at, so to speak.
I don’t have apnea. I snore, and to keep my marriage happy, I bought the ResMed AirSense10 (which is flawless) and the Mini, which makes me sicker than a dog. Only I’m not sick. It’s a reaction to this awful device.
If I were to write a letter outlining our issues, how many of you would sign? And no, I’m not a lawyer.
I would be interested. I also plan to write my own letter asking for an explanation or solution and referencing this thread and others of people having the same issue.
It is a horrible feeling to have to deal with for several days at a time, and I am honestly afraid to try to isolate the problem or try different solutions because of the harm to myself while doing so.
It also sucks to have spent over $1000 on something that I can’t use or even try to fix.
I use the Resmed AirSense 10 with no problems whatsoever, at home or on the road. I bought the AirMini for travel as a more convenient option to replicate the performance I got from the Resmed home unit. I had no problems if I used it for only a night or two. I started noticing sever problems with I used it consecutively for more than two nights. I tried everything working with Resmed to see if I could identify and correct the problems I was experiencing. Nothing helped. My supplier ended up buying the AirMini back from me, but at a depreciated value. I was grateful for something. For replacement I purchased a Transcend 365 travel CPAP mainly because it uses distill water as the home unit does. I had suspected that the problems arose from a lack of humidification over extended periods. It worked great replicating my home unit performance. That is until it did not. I noticed that it was not consuming much if any distilled water. When that happened I got sick, miserably sick. Rounds of back and forth with Transcend resulting in them sending a replacement unit. So far, so good. The short is that the issue I think that is effecting us is a lack of humidification. For people like us that are experiencing these terrible effects, the HumidX HME type exchangers do not provide for sufficient humidification. Machines utilizing distilled water do as long as they are working properly. Resmed and other manufacturers that market travel machines with HME humidification systems should first be warning consumers that the travel units may not be a match for certain people and should be working to produce products that do serve those of us that evidently need the higher levels of humidification.
I just returned home from a trip to see my children and grandchildren....and again had major allergy attack, making me miserable for 3 days of my 5 day trip and I am still having the allergy symptoms today. As some of you described exactly the same reaction as I have had, after several attempts, cleaning everything before each use, with humidex and without, with new masks new filters etc. I realized that in fact it is the machine that is causing my severe allergy symptoms. I have used it several times in various climates and locations so diverse that the only common thread is using the AirMini. It never happens the first night so I thought maybe I am allergic to something in the local environment. But I have been to the Northwest, the desert, Mexico and coastal CA. and had the same issue each time. It literally has ruined all of my vacations since I started using it. I also paid $1000 thinking it would be worth not only the size for carrying but the lack of needing distilled water to use. I am so disgusted mostly as to how it affected my enjoyment of my mini vacations to spend with family. I have sent email complaints to both the company I purchased from and ResMed the manufacturer. Based on your experiences I am not expecting much in the way of refunds. So I am all for a class action, sign me up!
Is an allergy ResMed's problem or your problem? If I am allergic to peanuts am I going to be successful with a lawsuit against the peanut growing industry?
Why is the AirMini causing so many people to have an allergic like reaction. I doubt I am allergic to the machine. I also have a ResMed Air Sense 10 at home and have no problem with that, have had it for a few years. Because the symptoms are allergic like that the AirMini is causing does not mean it is an allergy....something in the way it works is causing a reaction. and why are you responding on this forum subject unless you have this problem?
How many people are "so many"? A few posts on social media does not really validate anything. I looked on Amazon for the HumidX cartridges and found they have an 83% 5 star rating with 827 reviews. If these things are so bad I would expect a much lower rating than that. I read a lot of reviews and did not see any complaining of this issue.
I do not have this problem because I would not bother buying one of these things. The standard AirSense 10 works very well for travel, and you can bring it on the plane for free. There is no need to bring or buy distilled water as for a couple of weeks or so, just use tap water in it, and clean the reservoir with vinegar when you get home.
And with the AirMini there is no real need to use the humidifier cartridge if you are "allergic" to it. We run our AirSense 10 without water all the time when we are camping off the grid. It is a nice to have, not a must have.
And last we have a Z1 Auto CPAP that our son gave us because he found it too loud. It never gets used as it is much less of a hassle just taking our AirSense 10 machines. We just keep it around in case we have an unexpected failure of our our machines and need one in a hurry.
When people ask for advice here, I always answer that the AirMini and Z1 Auto are a waste of money. Unfortunately I guess you did not come here for advice before you bought it...
There is a problem with the machine itself if numerous users experience the same symptoms whenever they use it but no symptoms using the regular ResMed machine. $1000 is a lot of money to waste on a flawed product that not only doesn’t function properly but, worse, ruins vacations and makes people sick.
If you feel the machine is a safety hazard then you should report it to the FDA. Those kind of reports got the DreamStation CPAPs recalled due to an identified risk with the sound insulating foam used in the product. See this link:
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/index.cfm?action=reporting.home
Add me to the list. I used it only for travel. Had used Air Mini successfully for quite some time. Then Dec 2022 had a bad reaction. Sneezed horribly, lasting 3 days. Assumed I was just sick. Then had a repeat in 2023. Started to think it was the Air Mini. Changed hose and mask but did not help. Some testing at home leads me to believe it is the humidex cartridge. (I buy the stronger one of the two.) . I'm suspecting they somehow changed the cartridge. Possibly not a design change but some different sourcing of the materials used. I've used cpap machines for 12 years. 100% utilization and never a problem. Last 6 years have been on a ResMed Airsense 10. Never any allergies in my life. I'm convinced it's a problem with the humidex cartridge.
Just a quick survey for those having AirMini symptoms. Do you use the nasal pillows or the full mask? I use the nasal pillows.
Also, some posters on other boards that are having the same symptoms as we are believe that it is caused because the AirMini/HumidX creates excessive dryness. This creates a histamine reaction as the body tries to rapidly compensate and flood the airway membranes with mucus and moisture. This causes the allergy like reaction, which takes several days to run its course.
I am thinking about adjusting the settings on my AirMini to lower the pressure to see if that helps, but I am also hesitant because I don’t want to create another week of being sick again for no reason. I wish ResMed would take this seriously and do some research on this issue, and develop a better system to create humidity. The science exists and is pretty advanced in new membranes that create and transfer moisture. Maybe something like an in-line vape cartridge instead of the HumidX.
I am grateful to those of you who have experimented. I’m too afraid of getting sick again to even try. It does look, however, as if the filters aren’t the main problem. I’m going to risk derision and disinterest and contact both my provider and ResMed again……SO frustrated…..leaving in a few weeks on vacation and this expensive “thing” will be left behind again in the drawer!
I am on day 14 of a 14 day trip through Portugal, Spain, Morocco, and UK. I hauled my big ResMed Airsense10 with me in its travel bag the whole trip just because of this issue with my mini machine. Pain in the butt, but of course I had zero problems. Just filled the basin with tap water (except Morocco). We shouldn’t have to lug our home machines on the road, but it worked. So, all is not hopeless. I’ll still like my $1K back for the mini, though.
I tried all scenarios, the two different Humidex inserts and none, had a problem in each attempt. I also traveled to all different climates, tropical Mexico, California desert, North West in Portland and then at home in San Diego. At first I just thought it was allergies as I was in new surroundings with plants etc. and different seasons, and since I only used for travel and my trips were spaced out, I also did not figure it out in time for any refund. I plan to send back to the company I purchased from and they are returning to ResMed. I have emailed both companies and included a link to this site for reference. I wasn't sure but thought it must be the machine since no other common element in my trips, and then I googled something very general about allergies to Cpaps and this is the first result that came up. I would also love to have it fixed or find a way that it worked but am just getting better from last use. After going through so many tissues my nose got a cold sore which is still healing. So I am not anxious to try again yet. If anyone can find a work around I would be anxious to try as I hate to carry the big machine as my trips are usually short to see family. Thanks for posting the info is helpful.
