CPAP Versus Motorcycle Rides
Saw a really kind patient today that is a Harley rider, complete with the leather vest and boots and all. He’s a big guy, obese, and has obstructive sleep apnea (he stops breathing when he sleeps because there’s lots of fat around his airway). The usual treatment for sleep apnea is a CPAP machine (continue positive airway pressure. You wear this mask at night that’s hooked up to a machine that blows air into you so your airway stays open).
He hated the mask–felt claustrophobic with it on–so now he just goes out and rides his Harley down the highway, and tilts his head up a bit so his nostrils hit the air stream. Similar effect, and works well for him, he reports.