Searching the best sleep apnea equipment is a legitimate quest for anybody who suffers from Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS). What should you choose from the several alternatives that are on the market today? We will list the major manufacturers and what should you look for when buying sleep apnea equipment.
The most recommended and used equipments for SAS are the CPAP machines that represent a natural and non-intrusive treatment for people who suffer from this condition. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure.
The principle is simple. Because in the OSA the blockage is physical, such as an enlarged tongue or tonsils, a CPAP machine is customized to push air in the mouth at a specific rate of speed. This ensures that the tongue and tonsils will not block the airway. The device comes with a special mask that is attached to the face with stripes.
These are the most known manufacturers of sleep apnea equipment:
Resmed is one of the biggest manufacturers on the market and makes CPAP, AUTO and Bilevel machines.
Respironics is the other big company that produces sleep apnea equipment. Most of the people have devices produced by these two companies. Respironics makes CPAP, Auto, BiLevel and Auto BiLevel machines. Their machines are divided in the following categories:
M Series Sleep Systems, these are the newer models that Respironics produces.
REMstar Family (pre-M Series), these are the older models of machines, but many people still like and use them.
BiPAP Family (pre-M Series), represent the older models of Bilevel machines.
Puritan Bennet is a smaller manufacturer. It makes plain CPAP, Auto and Bilevel sleep apnea equipment.
Fisher and Paykel is again a smaller manufacturer. The machines produces by this small manufacturer can be included in two groups:
SleepStyle 200 CPAP Series, which are CPAP machines, and
Sleep Style 600 CPAP Series, which are CPAP that in addition have a heated hose.
Devilbiss is produced by Sunrise Medical. This company makes CPAP, Auto and BiLevel machines.
Aeiomed is another smaller manufacturer that produces the Everest machine.
It is recommended that regardless the model you choose, the sleep apnea equipment to have two features:
To be a fully data-capable machine, which means it stores the data regarding your sleep and thus it can be viewed by your doctor, and based on that he can make adjustments or further investigations. Especially if your apnea is not under control, the doctor doesn't have any other way to know what is happening if your machine doesn't collect all this data. To have a heated humidifier, the reason being that a CPAP treatment can be very difficult without a humidifier. The air is pushed into the nose and it can be dry, even when you are in a humid environment, which can irritate the tissue.
Before buying a sleep apnea equipment research very well the machines that are available and choose the one that suits you best. The mask is important because your comfort depends on it, but the machine is the most important piece in this puzzle.
