CPAP usage when you have a cold and sore throat.

If you have a cold and sore throat, can CPAP usage lead to Pneumonia? Can the air pressure force bacteria down into your lungs. Should you temporally stop CPAP during a cold or just continue CPAP usage as normal. Thanks for any advice on this subject.

I am not a medical professional, but I don't see any way that using a CPAP when you have a cold or sore throat would make anything worse. The virus and bacteria are in you already and you have to breath air in to stay alive, so there is no way to avoid it whether you use a CPAP or not. You may want to clean your mask and hose more often, but like I say you are the source of the bacteria, not the mask or machine.

I have had COVID once and probably twice. I used the CPAP through both infections and my thoughts are that the CPAP actually helps with the congestion and breathing. A more sophisticated form of a CPAP called a ventilator is used in the treatment of COVID in hospitals. They help with the breathing and keep your oxygen levels up.

Thank you. I did not mean to imply that the CPAP was the source of the the bacteria. I was just wondering if the bacteria, in your throat for example, would be pushed further down into the lungs. From your answer, it appears that this is not the case. Your point about Covid 19 and the use of ventilators actually helping people to breath through Covid makes your point. I suppose if one was not washing the CPAP mask and hose frequently enough, one might expect to get lots of colds and sore throats, and not pneumonia every few years on a regular basis in conjunction with an infrequent cold. Thanks again.

I like to blame my CPAP for everything Danl, and it could be that by keeping the airways open, and effectively preventing the normal cough reflex, that CPAP facilitates mucus making it's way deeper into the lungs, but as much as I hate to admit it, I tend to agree with Sierra that the CPAP, once you get it started, generally helps with congestion, perhaps by drying out the airways and probably the lungs to some extent and preventing the lungs from gradually shutting down. Having said that I have developed pneumonia a few times while using CPAP. I guess some things are inevitable with or without CPAP.