What is That CPAP Thing Called?
Do you call it “soda” or do you call it “pop”; or maybe you call it “soda pop”? Whatever you call it, it’s always weird or awkward to hear it called by something else yet you know what that person is referring to when they say it. We encounter this everyday at 1800CPAP.com when customers call in and try to describe the CPAP part they are looking for so this blog is going to be dedicated to the "slang" terms used in CPAP therapy.
CPAP
Just the general term that is an acronym for continuous positive airway pressure gets mangled from: CRAP, yeah I get that when people see my shirt and ask me what is 1800CRAP.com or Cpack, Cpat, Sleep Pack, ZPack (go figure that one), Cpac (kinda like Tupac?) and don’t get me started on the term BiPAP.
CPAP Machine
See previous expressions for the word CPAP and add machine to the end of it. Also known as Sleep Machine, Snore Machine, Oxygen Machine (sorry people but these are not oxygen machines, you have to create that yourself).
CPAP Water Chamber
You know, the thingy that you put in your humidifier. How about CPAP Water Tub, CPAP Water Tank, CPAP Water Reservoir, CPAP Water Canister.
CPAP Tubing
The part that connects your CPAP mask to your CPAP machine or as some people like to call it; CPAP Tube, CPAP Pipe, CPAP Hose.
CPAP Mask
Sleep mask, Breathing mask, Apnea mask, Nose mask, Face mask -15 yard penalty; first down (sorry, it’s football season)or fill in one of the many variations of the word CPAP and just add mask to the end of it.
The Manufacturers
Philips Respironics, or as many refer to them prior to the Philips acquisition, “Respironics” has a long history of being the market leader when it comes to sleep apnea therapy but when it comes to the name of their therapy devices they could not make it any more confusing. Everyone that calls in or emails say they have a REMstar machine and the truth is they do BUT is it a Legacy Series REMstar, a M-Series REMstar or a System One REMstar or the even newer 60 Series System One REMstar? That is always the million dollar question.
The product names keep getting longer too; what’s up with that Respironics? Say this in one breath, Philips Respironics System One REMstar Auto 60 Series with A-Flex and Heated Tube Humidifier. Oh, and let’s not forget the people that call them Respitronics, Responics, Resparonics, Restironics, Resimetronics, and Resmedonics (I guess that’s a combo of ResMed and Respironics).