What to do in powercuts?

[SilverRainbow]

Hi there,
I was just wondering if someone knew what to do about using the cpap machine when we're having a series of powercuts?

Because we live in a rural area we seem to be more prone to them occurring (well we never had so many when we lived in a very populated town). and then when we get one powercut (even if it lasts only a short while), the power is on and off most of the night.

Now as it happened(powercut that is) last night I got to thinking that if the power went off and I had my machine on and I was asleep I wouldn't notice and I would suffer a further lack of oxygen as there would be no warning from the machine to say no air was getting through. So what I wanted to know is do these machines have a battery back up or can you get them?

Just thought I'd ask all you experts on here before I get my mum to start pestering the hospital (as I can't use the telephone).

Many thanks
SR

[Tigers Fan]

If you have the right machine

Hi SilverRainbow

Most certainly there are battery packs for CPAP (check the Intus site) but, as far as I am aware, not all machines have a 12V DC connection.

Google "battery pack for (name of your machine)" and one of the American sites will tell you yes or no. Better yet, call Intus.

TF

PS you won't suffocate if the pwer goes off whilst you are using CPAP, the mask has a valve that opens to atmosphere if the internal mask pressure drops.

[Tired Jack]

Hi there,
I live in an area that is bad for power fluctuations and cuts and the cure for me was to buy an inverter unit . This has internal batteries that take over in a power cut automaticlly so prevent the feeling of a lack of pressure in the middle of the night. The unit I use is an Elipse 300 which has done well over the last year and will run the cpap machine and humidifier for over an hour.
Hope this helps
Jack

[Biggles]

Thanks for the info Jack, something I can look into. Last power outage we had here was just gone midnight and no power till 09:30. I spent the time in the kitchen making hot drinks on the gas and trying to read by candlelight. When the power came back I retrurned to bed!!! We have a fair few power outages here. Not a pleasant feeling when the power goes

[MrsDanvers]

Hi SilverRainbow,
If it is any consolation from personal experience I can assure you that you won't suffer from a lack of oxygen; the valve opens and you will breathe air.

We had a power-cut during the heavy snow in January and I woke up thinking something was wrong, then realised I was breathing unpressurized air and the room was rather quiet.

However, we were lucky enough for the power to return fairly quickly, despite living in an area that has more than its fair share of cuts.