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sleeptech

sleeptech
Joined Jun 2017
sleeptech
Joined Jun 2017

CPAPs and related equipment (masks, humidifier chambers, tubing etc) only really NEED to be replaced when they don't work any more. How often this is varies wildly from one person to the next. I have some patients who manage to wear out a mask in 3 months and others who have the same mask for 10 years and it still looks pristine and works a treat. Those replacement frequencies you quoted, Sierra, are just ludicrous, and there is no doubt in my mind that is simply a ploy by the manufacturers to push more product. 2 hoses a month! You could open your own shop at that rate, especially if you had a large family all on CPAP machines. Even the manufacturers only recommend replacing your mask once a year.

CPAP is very simple mechanically. As long as your machine blows the right amount of air, your mask and tube get it in to you and you sleep well, that is all that needs to happen. If your gear works and you're happy, why keep wasting money and resources on replacing it unnecessarily? In an age when it has become so obvious that we need to reduce the amount of waste we generate if we are to avoid destroying our planet, such profligate waste is very unethical. And if there was not this push for people to replace their equipment unnecessarily, we could instead replace stuff that actually needs replacing and still have far less wastage. Doesn't it seem stupid that one person is struggling with a busted old mask, or a new one that is totally wrong for them, when someone else (theoretically) has a cupboard full of new masks which they will probably never use? Maybe I'm just a silly idealist.