Canadians with sleep apnea frustrated over CPAP machine recall
An estimated two million Canadians suffer from sleep apnea and those who use a Philips brand machine to help them sleep are frustrated that they could have to wait up to a year for repairs or replacement.
“I was scared and I’m still scared using it,” Terry Stanford, of Ennismore, Ont. told CTV News Toronto.
Philips issued a voluntary recall this past June citing a concern that a foam used in their machines could be toxic and break down into small particles and be breathed in by the user.
Some of the possible health risks include headache, irritation, inflammation, respiratory issues and possible toxic and carcinogenic effects.
“I was scared and I quit using it immediately and I had some rough nights — five in a row," Stanford said.
Sleep apnea is when your breathing starts and stops throughout the night, sometimes hundreds of times, which is hard on your lungs and heart and can lead to health problems.
A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device provides a steady flow of air to help users get a good night's sleep.
There are four million Philips CPAP machines, as well BiLevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiLevel Pap) devices and Mechanical Ventilators, worldwide, so Philips said it could take up to a year to repair or replace them all.
Stanford has been using her CPAP machine for almost four years.
“My husband complained that I was snoring all the time so I went to the doctor and went and got the sleep study done," she said, added that “it helps [her] sleep better. I don't wake up tired. I don't want to sleep during the day."
The recall has put many users in a difficult position, as some may decide to stop using the device because of the recall or continue to use it and wait for a replacement which could take up to a year.
In a statement on its website, Philips said, “We fully understand and regret the impact that this is having on patients” and added, “our priority is to replace the foam in all the affected devices either by repair or replacement with like devices with the new foam.”
Stanford is hoping she can get her replacement before a year is up.
“It's not just for me, it's for everybody. It's life-threatening and it's got cancer possibilities, so it's not just me — everyone should have it replaced immediately, not in 12 months’ time."
Users are advised to go to the Philips website for more information.
Philips continues to recommend that affected patients follow the advice of their physicians, as they are most familiar with a patient’s medical history. To aid the clinician in the consultation with the patient, Philips has made clinical information available.
Philips added it is producing repair kits and replacement devices in large quantities and has increased the production capacity of repair kits and replacement devices in the third quarter of 2021 to 55,000 per week, aiming to further increase that capacity to 80,000 units per week in the fourth quarter of 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.