Continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) is the treatment often given to sleep apnoea sufferers, but a question as to its effectiveness has arisen. Wearing a mask throughout the night is part of the treatment and many wearers complain that it is uncomfortable. James LeFanu, writing for the Daily Telegraph, explained that a number of patients have complained that having their sleep apnoea treated with CPAP was very uncomfortable. Peter Gotzsche, a Danish medical researcher and also a patient, told the British Medical Council that since he had started being treated with CPAP, the volume of his snoring had considerably increased. He added that when he started using the CPAP machine it blew him up like a balloon, was very unpleasant and caused his throat to dry out. He decided that the benefits of the uncomfortable mask were not enough for him to keep using it, even the risk of dying.
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