Mask comfort - is it the key to successful CPAP

[symmit]

I've been on cpap for 3 months now, and in that time I've acquired 5 different masks (3 nasal, 2 full face).

Looking at the stats from the machine my pressure and AHI are lowest with the masks I find most comfortable - I think something that needs to be factored in with the providers should be that an uncomfortable mask will disturb the sleep as much as the OSA will!

[jackyk]

i have tried a couple of different masks and was using quattro full-face till friday.
ive been swapped on to a mirage micro nasal mask and finding it a lot more comfortable, both in fit and sleep so far.
apparantly at my reveiw i was toild my full face was far too loose so not as effective as it could be.
definately think its a comfort thing

[Frank Booth]

Totally agree about the mask being the key to success. Over time your body can get used to the feeling of the air being pumped into you but mask comfort and leaks are the things that effect the amount of quality sleep you get. I came back to CPAP after many years after not getting on with it first time. To be honest it was only once I found the right mask for me (sleepweaver) that I found I could get real benefits and almost enjoy going to sleep.

[Barely Awake]

I generally agree that you have to have the mask that works for you in order to be compliant, so the mask is indeed key, but I do think that the output facilities on a CPAP machine to 'ramp' and 'flex' are equally key for those that need it because of a high output pressure setting.

Personally speaking I never got on with the ramp facility and far preferred to pull a mask on when the output was flat out. The flex though is another matter, attempting to breath out in defiance of a non-flexed gale alternated between stymieing the breathing cycle and causing the mask to lift and leak. My compliance faltered because my machine was inadvertently set up without the flex turned on, but once it was I was gradually able to get enough sleep to be compliant even in an unsuitable mask.

[James @ Intus]

I agree, the mask is probably more important even than the machine. But comfort is of course largely subjective. We can recommend you a mask 100 other people love, and you might hate it. And vice versa. There will always be that element of trial and error. When you settle on a mask, get a spare one of it as masks do go out of fashion and may be not made any more next year.

For CPAP masks, if you define comfort, being leak free often is a great part of being comfortable. This of course, has a direct effect on efficacy, on your AHI, how you feel in the day etc. So it seems logical indeed that CPAP success comes from comfort. Which is why we hunt the globe for CPAP comfort accessories and better masks.

But in the end of the day, there won't ever be one mask that is suitable for everybody. As you know, every face is different. So yo need a lot of different mask designs and sizes to accommodate that.

[Tigers Fan]

C'mon, guys!

'The key' to any project is finding the solution to the problem area/s.

[James @ Intus]

Yes, and the main problem is an infinite variety of facial shapes. And to compound the problem, that shape changes during the night. To compound it further, a stubble may grow during that night.

So a mask that can "morph" during the night, seems to be at least potentially capable of solving the main issue, on paper. That's why so many have good success with the cloth mask and why the FX has potential. These masks are pliable, mouldable, not rigid, fluid if you like.

Other "problem areas" are then accommodating sleeping positions, headgear size etc. The variables quickly add up so you end up with a lot of combinations.

[Fredxx]

I have to say that the face changing shape during the night...the trial mask has shown that up for me big time! It molds lovely to fit your face, but the cushion doesn't have enough play to cope with the different shapes even just rolling to lie on the other side caused

(all going to be in the review James...)

[countyDownMum]

Face changing shape during night

Hi everyone, I am not aware of face changing shape but I can only say a properly adjusted mask works wonders. There is no one who moves about from back sleeping to left and right sides more than me all in my sleep and I found the trial mask and my flexifit 407 coped extremely well with this and did not disturb my sleep. The key to success is the correct fitting of the mask so that the CPAP can work properly. All the best Sheila..

[Barely Awake]

When washing the hose once a week I have the habit, after retrieving it from a day long dangle in the airing cupboard, of whirling it like a propeller to empty as many final drops of water as possible. This leaves a flecked stain of water on the ceiling and a full length mirror in the bedroom, which, I have now learned, irritates my wife. Last night therefore I didn't do my whirling emptying trick and just put the hose on the CPAP machine to blow out any final drops of water.

It didn't work - putting the mask on I was lying there listening to what sounded like chains being dragged up and down a concrete road, as water droplets were dragged up and down the hose by the force of CPAP presuure and my exhalation.

A comfortable good fitting mask may remain a if not the key, but happiness is a dry hose!

[James @ Intus]

This leaves a flecked stain of water on the ceiling and a full length mirror in the bedroom, which, I have now learned, irritates my wife.

*pictures it* LOL!

Last night therefore I didn't do my whirling emptying trick and just put the hose on the CPAP machine to blow out any final drops of water.

It didn't work

How about a tea towel and an elastic band. Then helicopter it around the room.

This, by the way, reminds me of a wholly not-PC joke for which I apologise in advance... Blind person with guide dog enters a shop. Grabs the end of the leash and starts whirling the dog around, above his head like a helicopter. Confused shop assistant asks "What are you doing? Can I help?" - "Just looking around!"

[Berneta]

Helicopter

Hi--the tea towel suggestion is great. I always shake everything including the mask hoses, and have made the cat mad at me a few times, as there are always a few sprinkles left in them. I bet he did "learn" that the wife wasn't happy! JUST looking around? This post made my day! LOL x Berneta

[Barely Awake]

Tea towel (cut into small squares) and an elastic band... utter genius James!

Naturally when my wife's favoured tea towel goes missing I shall indicate your original post... !

What may raise a smile is that unknown to me my wife had been puzzled by the appearance of the spots on the ceiling that appeared to regenerate with regularity and had asked a plumber to have a look at the pipework in case a leak was causing it...

[James @ Intus]

Somebody on this forum had tied a dish cloth/towel to a rope, he dangles the rope through the hose and pulls the lot through it. That way it's dry without needing a 6ft radius + armspan.

With some thought applied, I'm sure we can come up with the ultimate, plumber-bill-avoiding, wife-proof way of drying a hose.

[symmit]

I just blow dry mine with the cpap machine for a few minutes, wrapping a towel over open end under a pillow to fool the pressure sensors.

I've been using milton to disinfect the hose after washing it with water so you can tell from the smell if it's not dried off!