mask leaking

[Tigers Fan]

'Tis a thought, James! I'm fairly sure wet suits don't like boil washing and so I'll leave high temp washing of headgear until I need a last resort. Cropping and self-adhesive Velcro are in order before heated washing, methinks!

At £30 a go, anyway!

TF

[James @ Intus]

OK I didn't quite mean boiling, but say 50C at first and then up until it settles. Like clothes and shoes, I suppose it's quite hard to make something new flexible which behaves the exact same over time. Which makes me wonder, why would it have to be stretchy? Only to accommodate various end users? Or to actually benefit the actual end-user?

If the former, then stretchy headgear is an economic consideration, one set of headgear fitting a large group of people but not serving the actual end-user. In this case, based on one's head measurements, I wonder whether largely non-stretchy headgear, individually measured, would somehow work. It would probably still need to be part-stretchy to accommodate movement, but why couldn't it be like those straps you use to fix something to your car roof racks?

If the latter, in that the full stretchiness is designed to assist the end-user, then perhaps the question is whether it should have less stretchy parts.

Baseball caps never were stretchy and could be comfortable all day, so really, why do does CPAP mask headgear need to be stretchy?

[Grumpy]

why stretchy?

My guess is that it accomodates the twists and turns of ones body during sleep.
A little bit of 'give' will stop the mask from being ripped off or the feeling that your head is!

[silvercarper]

Silly thought but ______-

Is it worth rotating the use of the mask or headgear to give the material time to rest

[Tigers Fan]

Getting technical

Elastic means a material will return to its original form after being subjected to a tensile deformation. Stretchy suggests the material can be deformed a lot and return to it's original. These headgears stretch beyond their elastic limit - so they don't return to original form - and stay permanently deformed.

In trying to cut costs and make a light-weight mask, Resmed have used a material for the headgears that is not quite robust enough to do the job. The long term solution would be to 'beef up' the headgear - a thicker material. The short-term solution is to crop ther straps of the headgear - cut 'em back to size - and afix self-adhesive Velcro.

Presumably, the headgear will reach a limit of stretch when all the elasticity is gone and then we'll find out if 'no stretch' works or not.

Just before that point on at least one headgear, I shall wash it at 50C and see if it stabilizes. I think it will deform into amusisng, if expensive, useless shapes.

Another question for me is, "WIll Resmed keep exchanging old for new?"

Don't forget, theere is an issue with curling fasteners rubbing open, too!

TF

[alibongo]

changing masks

I have to go to the clinic each time ..i have been given a new mask just today so i'm hoping it doesn't leak this time .. however because i've been a patient for about a year now they will post me the next time i need something which will help a lot as its cost quite a bit in parking fees and of course in time!

i'm off to bed now to see if can finally get some decent sleep!

[James @ Intus]

The suspense is killing us alibongo, how did you get on with the new mask?

[alibongo]

Hi the new mask doesn't leak so getting some zzzz again still wake up with red mark across my nose I have loosened it a bit maybe try bit more tonite I do have sensitive skin which marks easily so think this is just side effect of having cpap I just have to accept ! A

[Tigers Fan]

Hope2sleep sell a cushion thingy - T shaped, soft gell - that is designed to overcome red nose pressure points.

TF