(03-18-2020, 09:50 PM)Dom Wrote: Well, the next best thing to a respirator is a cpap machine. Since I don't plan on entering the medical system should I get sick, I have looked at those. Holy shit they are expensive! Probably people will start hoarding them too, once they realize the usefulness. Then again, toilet paper isn't all that useful, so that doesn't seem to make a lot of difference these days...
I have a CPAP although I don't regularly use it anymore because Mrs Mordant is a light sleeper and I get up too often to empty my bladder, so TBH we no longer sleep together except when traveling, which right now is to say, never.
I do not know that it is any kind of substitute for a ventilator, which can be used to control depth of breathing in ways that don't damage the diseased airways. CPAPs also take some getting used to. It's rather like a bicycle in that once you get the hang of telling yourself you're not suffocating, you don't lose the knack.
For me, it's always been a tradeoff. I don't have official sleep apnea, I just used the damned thing so Mrs Mordant could sleep in the same bed as me. I find I sleep a little more deeply with it, but it's also less comfortable and restricts sleeping positions, which makes it harder to GET to sleep. Occasionally it irritates your skin around the face and you need a break from it.
Selfishly it's just a different set of problems so given the choice I'd rather not use it.
I'm not sure if it'd help as a ventilator substitute or not. But yeah they are ridiculously expensive. Try one of the online sources, they are usually a lot cheaper than your friendly local medical supply store.
