The VA lists the story of 54-year-old Air Force veteran Ralph Liggins on its website, one of many who live with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Liggins has been coping with the ailment for some 15 years and has it “really bad,” he says.
Frequent mini-breaks in breathing disrupt the body’s autonomic nervous system and force the heart to work harder. With each pause, the sleeper inevitably wakes up to fix the issue and resume breathing, but broken sleep is not restful. This is how sleep apnea can cause a downward spiral in overall health. High blood pressure and other forms of heart disease can worsen. The risk of diabetes and depression go up. And as patients struggle to function on little sleep, they risk making mistakes and causing accidents.
The VA has supplied veterans like Liggins with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines. As Woods and Woods LLC reports,The CPAP machine is one of the most effective treatments for OSA, as well as a variety of other conditions. CPAP users wear a mask while they sleep that gently forces air into the throat. That keeps the airway from collapsing, which is what causes breathing to stop. The device also helps snuff out snoring.
However, millions of of these devices have been recalled after it was discovered that disintegrating polyurethane foam inside the breathing apparatus puts users at risk for serious disease, including asthma, headache, nausea and vomiting, hypersensitivity, respiratory problems, cognitive difficulties, and a number of different cancers, NBC News reports. Foam used to dampen the machines’ sound can degrade and emit small particles that irritate airways. Gases released by the degrading foam may also be toxic.
The implications of this recall are now in tragic clarity for people like U.S. Army Air veteran Alvin Costner, who uses a CPAP machine to help him sleep at night — a machine provided by the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.
“I’m afraid that I’m gonna die in my sleep and on the other hand, I’m also concerned, ‘do I have cancer or not,’” Costner told Fox 19. “From what they’re saying, this causes and they’re not telling us what kind of cancer this is either.”
The veteran hasn’t been using the machine as much since the recall, and even recalls smelling fumes coming from the device during use.
“It’s frightening for me and my family. Like, as I said, my wife stays up to make sure I can continue to breathe overnight and my children are concerned,” Costner said. “So, it’s a lot of stress. It’s quite a bit of stress just not knowing whether I’m going to be able to wake up the next day.”
Philips is one of the largest makers of sleep apnea machines and ventilators in the world, responsible for up to 4 million of the affected devices, Onder Law reports. Recalled Philips sleep and respiration devices contain a patented sound abatement foam called PE-PUR, made from polyester-based polyurethane.
Fire marshals refer to this foam as “solid gasoline,” Sophia Ruan Gushee explains in her book, “A to Z of D-Toxing: The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Our Toxic Exposures.” It is toxic and dangerous, and especially concerning in these machines because they channel carcinogen-tainted air directly into the body.
Scientific studies have exposed the growing link between veterans with OSA and subsequent cancer rates. The risk of cancer is nearly double in patients with an OSA diagnosis, using a CPAP machine, than in those without
Our veterans deserve the best medical care our country can afford. There is no reason their health should be put at risk because of badly designed or malfunctioning equipment.
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