Urgent Recall: Sleep apnea sufferers frustrated over CPAP machine recall
- Replies 4
There is an urgent recall for millions of Philips CPAP breathing machines which are used to treat sleep apnea, world-wide. Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts throughout the night, preventing the sufferer from getting a good night's sleep. A continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP machine, pushes a steady stream of air into the user’s nose and mouth, keeping their airways open. According to The Morrison governments sleep health awareness inquiry, without the assistance of these breathing machines, sleep apnea sufferers are risking their health - and even their lives - by failing to get the recommended nightly seven-to-nine hours of "good-quality sleep", and there are warnings that just five bad nights of sleep could disrupt hormones and put the body into a pre-diabetic state.
The machine recall was announced after it was discovered the sound-dampening foam used in the ‘DreamStation’ “may degrade into particles" and "off-gas… chemicals." The FDA has stated that breathing in these particles could "result in serious injury which can be life-threatening" or "cause permanent impairment" ranging from irritation to asthma… or even "toxic or carcinogenic effects."
Four in 10 Australians suffer from sleep apnea with research suggesting that the amount of Australian males aged 40–69 years suffering with the condition, could be as high as 49% and for males aged >70 years, as high as 62%*. With these high numbers, and assuming many of these may use the breathing machine to assist them, the product recall is extremely concerning, especially considering the lack of media coverage on the recall. The lack of media coverage is due to the recall being ‘voluntary’, meaning the users can ‘choose’ to return the machine or not, with a Philips spokesperson saying, "I'm advising the more severe patients to stay on CPAP. and then I'm to some degree in the milder cases, letting them choose, because I also feel uncomfortable with saying I can't know that this is safe."
Image source: Sydney Morning Herald. 'Braun Mennusko has lost more than 20 kilograms after being treated for sleep apnoea.'
In other words, CPAP users apparently have a ‘choice’ of using a machine that the company says could actually hurt their health, or they can go without, which means they won't get a decent night's sleep, which according to research also leads to poor health and risking their own lives. It is important to note that at the time of reporting no deaths have been reported in connection with the recalled devices.
It has been disclosed that those using the CPAC devices should talk to their doctor before discontinuing their use and for more information, you can read the official Philips statement here.
*Statistics found at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5103243/
Research conducting using the following articles assistance:
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...and-it-s-also-killing-us-20190410-p51ct2.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cpap-machine-recall-sleep-apnea/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/philips-cpap-machine-recall-ventilators/
And finally, a big thank you to member Betty B. for bringing this recall to our attention.
The machine recall was announced after it was discovered the sound-dampening foam used in the ‘DreamStation’ “may degrade into particles" and "off-gas… chemicals." The FDA has stated that breathing in these particles could "result in serious injury which can be life-threatening" or "cause permanent impairment" ranging from irritation to asthma… or even "toxic or carcinogenic effects."
Four in 10 Australians suffer from sleep apnea with research suggesting that the amount of Australian males aged 40–69 years suffering with the condition, could be as high as 49% and for males aged >70 years, as high as 62%*. With these high numbers, and assuming many of these may use the breathing machine to assist them, the product recall is extremely concerning, especially considering the lack of media coverage on the recall. The lack of media coverage is due to the recall being ‘voluntary’, meaning the users can ‘choose’ to return the machine or not, with a Philips spokesperson saying, "I'm advising the more severe patients to stay on CPAP. and then I'm to some degree in the milder cases, letting them choose, because I also feel uncomfortable with saying I can't know that this is safe."
Image source: Sydney Morning Herald. 'Braun Mennusko has lost more than 20 kilograms after being treated for sleep apnoea.'
In other words, CPAP users apparently have a ‘choice’ of using a machine that the company says could actually hurt their health, or they can go without, which means they won't get a decent night's sleep, which according to research also leads to poor health and risking their own lives. It is important to note that at the time of reporting no deaths have been reported in connection with the recalled devices.
It has been disclosed that those using the CPAC devices should talk to their doctor before discontinuing their use and for more information, you can read the official Philips statement here.
*Statistics found at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5103243/
Research conducting using the following articles assistance:
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...and-it-s-also-killing-us-20190410-p51ct2.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cpap-machine-recall-sleep-apnea/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/philips-cpap-machine-recall-ventilators/
And finally, a big thank you to member Betty B. for bringing this recall to our attention.
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