Bad Effects From Tap Water In C-Pap?

[SaxonViolence]

Friends,

 

I know that this one is a bit off-the-wall but…

 

My sister uses a C-Pap—you know, one of those gadgets to fight apnea.

 

You're supposed to use distilled water to moisturize the air that you breath, but sometime about 7 months ago she ran out of distilled water and for reasons best known to herself she started using tap water.

 

Now for the last 6 or 7 weeks she's had clogged sinuses that won't quit even with applications of prescription Flonase.

 

She asked me to talk to all my friends to see if this could be a consequence of not using sterile distilled water.

 

Like perhaps she got bacteria or mold into her sinuses.

 

Anyone know?

 

Thanks.

 

 

Saxon Violence

Edited September 3, 2015 by SaxonViolence

[Buffy]

Yah, that's a really bad idea. Tap water is filled with goop and critters of various kinds, most of which aren't too bad for you for *drinking*, but then your mouth and gut are pretty hostile environments built to handle that kind of thing. 

 

Not so much your sinuses, which are pretty darn delicate and are designed to absorb stuff (because it's a scent sense organ).

 

At the very least she should boil the heck out of any water she uses on it, but even that is no guarantee that it's free of stuff that might cause a negative reaction.

 

You may have seen this or similar videos:

 

 

That's non-organic material that' isn't killed by boiling but will get filtered in distillation, which is why they tell you to use distilled water.

 

The same advice goes for contact lenses and their cases by the way too, for all the same reasons.

 

This doesn't invalidate the ongoing argument that your tap water is probably cleaner than the bottled (non-distilled) mineral water you buy at the store, which--depending on where you live--is often true.

 

 

The only drink I like ice in is water, because you can’t water down water, :phones:

Buffy

[Turtle]

Another issue with tap water is the minerals. These will precipitate out in the machine and leave crusty deposits which then provide a substrate for the nastys to grow. A gallon of distilled water costs a couple bucks; small price to pay.