News

I started CPAP therapy and now I have a “cold”, what happened?

I got water in my tubing, what do I do?

My CPAP is making funny gurgling noises, please help!

All of these questions are related to the same subject, humidity.

But what is humidity and how does it affect the CPAP user?
When we are breathing normally, our nose and throat help to humidify (moisten and warm) the air coming into our body. When we add the increased air flow from the CPAP, the body can’t keep up and this can cause either dryness or congestion.

When they get congested (or a stuffy nose), may people feel that it is because there is too much moisture from the machine, however it is actually the opposite. Your body is producing more moisture in the nose in response to drier air. If you are experiencing any nasal congestion or dryness, you want to turn up your humidity level. If you require assistance with how to change your machine’s humidity levels, contact us by phone 1-888-310-1444 or send us an Email

Sometimes if there is a large difference between your room temperature and the CPAP air temperature, condensation can show up in your mask or tubing. When the air in the CPAP tubing cools, it will lose the humidity created in the humidifier’s water tub, and water pools in the tubing. This is similar to what happens when you have a nice cold drink on a hot day, and water starts to pool up on the outside of the glass. When this happens with your CPAP, you have a few options to help correct it.
The best way is to use a heated hose (not available on all CPAP machines). This hose will insulate the tubing, maintaining a constant temperature, so that the air flowing through it doesn’t cool down and form condensation.
Another way to help is a tubing wrap. This is a good option for those who have CPAP machines without a heated tube option, or for those who need more help maintaining humidity or preventing condensation. A tubing wrap is a sleeve that goes around the tubing, usually made of fleece with ties on each end.

Humidity levels will often need to be changed with the different seasons, or if a person is travelling to another climate. A good rule of thumb is if you are congested or dry, increase humidity (and tube temperature if possible), and if you have any condensation or water in your tube or mask, go down on your humidity level (and/or up on your tube temperature if possible).

Having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning? Pressing snooze more than once to get a couple more minutes of “shut eye” before your day begins? Or you’re noticing its becoming more difficult to concentrate on your work throughout the day? It is very possible that your sleep habits and overall health may be contributing to more than a lack of good quality sleep, but longer term health issues.
On Friday, March 13, 2015, World Sleep Day will be celebrated all over the globe. This annual event is a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep. This year’s theme is “When Sleep is Sound, Health and Happiness Abound,” focusing on insomnia, with several other identifying messages. Let’s take a look at each of the statements in this year’s slogan.

Sound Sleep — How do you know if you’re getting sound sleep? If you are breathing well, dreaming well and resting well your sleep will be continuous and uninterrupted, deep and of adequate length resulting in restorative sound sleep. If all of these are achieved you should feel alert and rested throughout the day. If you have the inability to sleep or deal with habitual sleepiness you may have insomnia, which can affect every aspect of your life.

Health Abounds— People with any level of insomnia may not realize all of the health risks that can result from sleeplessness. There is a higher risk of cardiovascular issues, as well as cognitive and memory deficits; children with insomnia may have learning disabilities and suffer behavioral problems.Individuals that struggle with getting an entire night’s sleep without any interruptions also experience higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and other chronic illnesses.

Happiness Abounds — Studies have shown that people with insomnia suffer from more symptoms of anxiety and depression than people without insomnia. The quality of sleep can disturb day to day mood and affect relationships depending on how you socially interact and perform your daily activities. With better sleep, life will result in a happier life for yourself and also for your colleagues, family and friends. It will also help prevent the aggravation of mental health illnesses.

October 26 – November 2 is Respiratory Therapist Week in Canada. This week is a chance to recognize all the Respiratory Therapists who make a difference in the lives of people living with Cardio-Respiratory disease every day.

From the Intensive Care Units to the homes of individuals dealing with the long term effects of chronic respiratory disease, Respiratory Therapists apply their knowledge and skills as part of the healthcare team to improve respiratory health and well-being.

From managing ventilators that assist breathing to providing education and disease management skills to people suffering from Asthma or COPD, RT’s make a difference every day in the lives of British Columbians.

As a company founded by Respiratory Therapists, We are committed to promoting the role and benefits of our profession. We would like to salute our Colleagues and acknowledge the excellent work they do.

Thank you

MedPro Respiratory Care

MedPro Respiratory Care is pleased to announce Dr. Sharnell Muir, a dedicated Dental Sleep Medicine provider, will be available to provide access to Oral Appliance therapy for clients complaining of snoring, mild OSA , Moderate OSA and where CPAP therapy was unsuccessful or not tolerated.
Dr. Muir will provide no charge evaluations to determine if clients are good candidates for oral appliance therapy for OSA and snoring at our Vancouver Office located at # 200-1841 West Broadway.
Dr. Muir’s Oral Appliance program is comprehensive including no charge initial 30 minute consultation to discuss oral appliance therapy, review previous sleep studies and treatment options tried and discuss appointments needed and costs of treatment.

Oral Appliances have been recognized as a first line treatment for Snoring, Mild OSA and Moderate OSA when provided by a Dental professional with specific training in dental sleep medicine and combined with a thorough follow-up program.

Dr. Muir is a member of the American Academy Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) , BC College of Dental Surgeons (CDSBC), Canadian Dental Association (CDA), Canadian Sleep Societies (CSS) and World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM)

This song about Obstructive Sleep Apnea and CPAP was written and composed by our very own respiratory therapist, Jennifer Drummond, who works with patients suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea and other breathing disorders of sleep on a regular basis.
She first performed the song solo at one of our regular training and education sessions and it was such a hit we said she should put it on Youtube. She did, and with the help of her ukulele singing group, put together this great video.
We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

MedPro Respiratory Care is committed to removing obstacles to effective treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Respiratory Illness. Along with our no charge CPAP/Bi-Level therapy introduction MedPro offers a wide range of financing options (OAC) to clients to finance all or part of their CPAP/Bi-Level/ASV or Oxygen equipment needs.  Speak to a MedPro team member about iFinance.

We always appreciate client feedback and Thank-Yous so we were pleased to receive this humorous poem from a former client.

An Ode to Oxy and her twins, Gen and Gen
They’re taken away, Hooray Hooray,
They’re taken away, Hooray!

Oxy and GenGen, are returned to their home.
No longer house bound, I am free to roam.
Whilst here, they were helpful to my sickly condition.
My ribs, cracked and bruised, enjoyed their emission.

Oxy’s thin tube, fifty feet in all,
Limited my travel to once ‘round the hall.
Gen and Gen were great for travel,
They just loved the car, nary a rattle.

Was asked on the street what caused my condition.
“’Stralian Rules Footie mate, Seniors Division”
Much more exciting than falling down stairs,
No one believed me, “You’re putting on airs”.

Was at the Pharmacy, for the drugs they dole out,
When asked by a young lad, not more than a sprout,
“What’s that thing that you carry? What does it do?”
“Why it’s my extra lung.” “Muuum, he’s a cyborg, can I have one too?”

To bed at night with 2 and a half litres of oxygen sent,
Through plastic tubes to awake in the morn all bent
Out of shape as 2 and a half meters of damned bloody tubes
Are wrapped ‘round my neck, my head, and manboobs.

I’ll not miss Oxy’s dull little hum,
Or her roar as she fills my outside lung.
I’ll not miss the tangle of plastic tubing
Or the two crazy big booger like things strapped up to my nostrils that are those damned frustrating and
bloody well awkward and irritating Nasal Cannula.

They’re taken away, Hooray Hooray,
They’ve been taken away, TODAY!

Never the less; Thanks to the wonderful folks at: Island Health, Medpro Respiratory Care, Blue Cross, and, in particular to Dr. Manhas.
jhe

2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey Results (British Columbia)

In 2011, like every year before, MedPro Respiratory Care asked over 300 of our customers to comment on their service experience with our various offices across the province and again this year they gave us a resounding vote of confidence and support rating our service > 9 out of 10 on every question!!

Survey Questions

Question #1
Call answered professionally and courteously?
9.23 Scale (1-10)

MedPro is committed to providing professional and courteous service to all of our Home Oxygen and CPAP customers, be it on the phone or in person. It is gratifying to see we are working towards this goal as experienced by our customers.

Question #2
Were our staff helpful and knowledgeable?
9.20

MedPro clinical, technical or support staff is trained to provide knowledgeable support to our customers during all interactions. Being ‘the experts’ and a resource to our customers is our goal and I’m glad to see we are working towards this end.

Question #3
Did you have ample time to ask questions of staff?
9.24

No one wants to feel rushed when dealing with their respiratory supplier! We are committed to making sure that doesn’t happen when dealing with us. Our clients seem to be saying that we are living up to this standard.

Question #4
Would you recommend MedPro to others?
9.40

The biggest compliment we can receive is the recommendation of our service to friends, family and co-workers by our client’s. This is the ultimate validation of the service we are providing!

While the results of our latest satisfaction survey make us smile and let us know that we are doing right by our clients, we know that it will take the ongoing commitment and focus of each staff member throughout the province to ensure the level of service experienced by our clients continues to meet or exceed this high standard.

We are committed to this goal!

George Louvros
Registered Respiratory Therapist
President

MedPro Respiratory Care, along with parent company Carestream Medical, relocated its head office November 1, 2010 from Coquitlam to a new 18000 sq. ft. facility in Langley, British Columbia. The new space allows for an expanded warehouse, improved equipment service center and new central call and billing center, all of which will improve service to customers.

We look forward to serving customers from our new facility.