Traveling With Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Airport Friendly

SomnoMed oral devices provide the ideal experience for patients to “grab and go,” while still being able to sleep comfortably with sleep apnea. TSA-friendly and taking up just as much space as a cup of coffee, patients never have to worry about power cables, missing parts, or extra bags with a SomnoMed oral appliance. On the contrary, a SomnoMed oral device will fit easily into a patient’s carry-on bag. Simply place the device in your travel container, pack it with you, and you’re ready to go!

Plane Friendly

For those who use a CPAP machine, extended plane rides can pose several problems. For one, CPAP users may experience issues with current or compatible plugs available on the plane for their equipment. Though several CPAP machines are now available with batteries, these increase weight dramatically, and patients may not be allowed to use them during their flight. Access to clean water on a plane for humidifiers or facilities to properly clean machines on a daily basis can also pose a problem for CPAP users, as this isn’t always an option during foreign travel.

With a SomnoMed oral device, none of these aforementioned issues will arise. Simply locate the case containing your oral appliance, remove your device from its case, and pop it in your mouth when you’re ready to sleep during your flight. You will both effectively treat your mild to moderate OSA this way and prevent disturbing other passengers on the plane with your snoring.

Hotel Friendly

Sharing rooms with romantic partners, family, and/or friends can be a major issue if you don’t bring along your CPAP machine or oral device when you travel to treat your sleep apnea. Snoring often leads to tense situations during what is supposed to be an enjoyable and relaxing vacation, as it usually disturbs the sleep of your travel partner(s). Booking a hotel room can be an expensive and/or uncomfortable situation for those who don’t bring their treatment device with them when they travel. Many patients have reported having to book two hotel rooms at great expense, and some have even gone so far as to book a lower-end vacation resort simply to ensure inexpensive double rooms. 

Happily, since SomnoMed oral devices tend to be more travel-friendly than packing a CPAP machine, the likelihood of a patient continuing treatment for their mild to moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea during travel increases dramatically with an oral appliance. All the stress and tense snoring situations that could arise effectively disappear.

Another difficulty patients are often presented with when staying at a hotel is using a CPAP machine in their hotel room. A patient may not be able to find a 200m extension cord, and traveling overseas is reportedly even more of an electrical gamble. However, as a SomnoMed patient once told us, the option of not having to make sure he had a source of power available meant he could go camping again. This is true for any traveler in any setting who uses a SomnoMed oral device to treat mild to moderate OSA.

Bottom Line 

SomnoMed oral devices are easy to travel with, can be discreetly worn while sleeping on a plane or in a hotel room, and can be cleaned with far less difficulty than a CPAP machine. Traveling with sleep apnea is easier now than ever before!

Learn more about traveling with a SomnoMed oral device here.