Travel CPAP (inc Transcend)

[martin]

This is baby gail frolic(k)ing in alpine plants

[Gizmo2005]

I travel a lot in my job, I'm at the airport every week. I find it very funny that I have to remove my laptop from my cabin back to put it through the x-ray machine. But NOT the CPAP ! I have taken it through 20 or 30 times and no one has ever said to me "whats that large electrical device ion your case?".

I don't take the humidifier add-on as you also need purified water and getting that is a pain when you traveling, so I live without it for a couple of days. I can't take the purified water with me because of the ban on liquids at the airport.

[Sleep2Snore]

I have always had to put the CPAP machine through the x-ray machine, but then again I carry it in its own bag and take it on as hand luggage.
As for water I never use purified water, never have.
If I am in a bad area I will pick up bottled water.
Never had any problems.

[martin]

Cpap is a relatively simple machine I'm guessing, or more likely no one has thought to make a rule so no one enforces it. Baby Gail stays in my back pack and only been asked about once by someone who was thinking of being tested. Re water, in Europe I frequently just use tap water in the humidifier chamber without the heater attachment, not sure if I would try that in more foreign climes. There is a flat humidifier available in the states that doesnt seem to be in Uk, would be easier to carry than the ordinary chamber as its just a flat box with inlet and outlet, think its called a passover unit.

Tom _ just curious, any idea why it didn't catch on. The one I came across was made by Resperonics, just found its pic, hopefully attached.

[dravidio]

Yes my sleep cube has been through dozens of security checks and no questions asked. If I am travelling light with hand luggage only I can't take the dehumidifier. But if I have hold luggage I put it in my suitcase.

[Fredxx]

If you think about it, it is essentially not much more complicated than a hairdrier - just a big fan and a few control parts. There isn't really anything to worry security

[Sleep2Snore]

It's not the machine that bothers them, its what can be packed inside.
A small amount of explosive can be packed into a transistor radio that would bring down a plane. That is the real threat, and it has already happened. Explosive packed into a radiocassette brought down a jumbo jet.
I am surprised they still let CPAP machines into the cabin without being stored in a special bomb proof container at the rear of the aircraft.
I would walk off and forget it if it were there

[Gizmo2005]

I'm surprised they let CPAP's through without any fuss. Glad but still surprised.

[Fredxx]

It's not the machine that bothers them, its what can be packed inside.
A small amount of explosive can be packed into a transistor radio that would bring down a plane. ...

The difference here is that a transister radio is packed full of electronics, batteries etc. The CPAP machine is essentiall a box with a couple of small components and a lot of fresh air, and that can be seen easily on the x-rays. It may be a big box, but there isn't much in it that could be swapped for explosives.

[martin]

I can think of a couple of teenagers that think fresh air might kill them..........glad they ain't mine, nice kids but they think sea/mountain air is dangerous.

[Tom @ Intus]

Baby Darth has arrived! It's at my partner's house and he has sent me photos. Grown-up Darth is a Fisher Paykel but the new machine will be for when I travel. Can't wait to try it out.

Hi Poppy, just wanted to follow up on this and see how you were getting on with your Transcend? Have you used it on your travels yet?

[Poppy56]

The Transcend is great - I can't believe how small and light it is and the battery weighs next to nothing. I have tried it a few times, for a night at a time. The first time was difficult - I found it very noisy with different sounds when you inhale and exhale, much noisier than my Fisher Paykel. No dry mouth in the morning though. The next time was easier and I suspect I just don't notice the noise the Fisher Paykel makes and it's a matter of just getting used to a different sound. My partner thinks it's no noisier. I'm going away for work for 2 nights next week and will take it then. I may not need the humidifier gadget but that will become apparent when I use the Transcend for a few nights in a row. The only thing I'm not sure about is the ramp feature - it doesn't feel as though this is working but, again, it may be that the noise is different from the Fisher Paykel.

Very pleased, in summary.