Sleep and Health Journal

By Louis G. Keith, MD, PhD, ScD (Hon)

As our regular readers know, your writer travels extensively. At least half of my efforts have had a starting point with some trip. The present edition is no exception, as I was in Europe when the Managing Editor’s monthly reminder stating that columns were due shortly appeared on my email screen.

By Louis Keith MD, PhD

Recently I had a medical experience that directly relates to sleep and thought that readers might find it interesting, because it illustrates some of the differing perceptions that are held by the medical as well as the lay community regarding sleep and rest.

ALTERNATIVES TO CPAP
IMPROVE TRAVEL: ORAL APPLIANCES THAT FIT IN SHIRT POCKET

By Ira Shapira, DDS

Sleep apnea is a commonly diagnosed but life threatening disorder that usually is treated with CPAP or BiPAP machines. The disorder should be treated on a nightly basis.

CPAP is considered the gold standard of treatment, but traveling with it is not always easy. Fortunately, newer units are smaller, lighter and much easier to take on trips in carry-on luggage. This latter necessity may present problems going thru airline screening. Many times the unit is taken out and plugged in to assure it is a working medical unit, thus slowing airport lines. Business travelers who usually prefer not to check luggage find that between CPAP machines and laptops they are pressed to carry everything they need onto the plane with them. As an alternative to carrying it on, CPAP machines packed in luggage that is lost can be catastrophic for a business or pleasure trip.

Natasha Rotstein

Truck drivers using their placards to convey jokes or other unnecessary information may find themselves paying a hefty fine in the upcoming months. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that it is going to enforce a requirement prohibiting motor carriers from placing extraneous information on placards and in placard holders. According to Dave Longo, the FMCSA spokesperson, the rule was imposed two years ago, but the effective date was postponed. "Now we are letting truckers know we're enforcing it (the rule)," he said.

Alexander Golbin, M.D., Ph.D.

Many of us love vacations in the mountains. Clean air, nature, exercise, what could be better? But you have to prepare yourself for such a trip; otherwise you might face the "other side of the mountain," altitude sickness.