Just decided taping is unsafe

[Bright Choice]

Could someone direct me to a thread or outline some of the best taping options out there? What are people using successfully? I have fairly sensitive skin. Right now I am using a full face mask but I want to wear my Swift FX which is SO much more comfortable. The nights I tried to wear my Swift FX, I could only do so for several hours - air coming out my mouth disrupted my sleep severely. I kept trying to pack my tongue in nicely to prevent mouth leaks but I could never get it to work, especially as my pressures increased. I have been using Mepilex Transfer as a mask shield to prevent skin irritation/breakdown. I tried putting that over my lips but it is porous material so air would still leak out and wake me up. I am considering purchasing Mepilex tape (Mepitac - http://www.molnlycke.com/us/Wound-Care- ... ctiveTab=2) to try but don't want to waste my money if there are other cheaper options I should try first.

I have been happy with "blue painters tape". Be sure to look for the "gentle" kind. Either product # 2080 or 2080EL. I first tried a regular roll left over from a painting job and it was terrible. The tape works great but I still have to use a chin strap as well. I have a homemade one but of the commercial chin straps, the Ruby Puresom adjustable worked best. I have not yet "graduated" to being able to sleep without either item.

I personally don't worry about suffocating with power failure because I would wake up. I once slept a number of hours having forgotten to turn my machine on and this was when I was vacationing at altitude of 9500 ft. I woke up and felt fine.

Good link to the CPAP Powerout though. Looks inexpensive and worth the money. I think I'll buy one of those.

YMMV Good luck!

[SMenasco]

Passiflora, please don't let these fear mongers tell you taping is dangerous. I have been taping for a year or more. My problem is recirculation, where air enters my nose and exits my mouth, causing extremely painful dry mouth. I have tried almost everything, from full face masks, hybrids, Cpapcap and chin straps. None of these things work for me. No one has ever given me a solution for my condition, other than tape. I have tried many types of tapes. Paper medical tape leaves a terrible residue, difficult to remove. J&J Cloth surgical tape works great, leaves no residue, but is expensive for me, since I must use 3 or 4 strips each night. The best I have found is 3M blue painter's tape, No, 2080EL (Edge Lock), available at Wal-Mart for about $10 a roll, which will last at least a year, probably longer. I clean off facial oils with alcohol, put a little lip balm on my lips, use one 2" strip of tape about 6" long. Most of the naysayers on this site swear you're going to throw up and aspirate into your lungs, or die from breathing CO2 if you experience a power outage, neither of which has never been proven and in my opinion is someone's imaginative theory. No one has ever given an example of someone dying from taping. Regarding aspirating vomit into your lungs, I think the force of the material leaving your mouth will cause the tape to unstick. I know from personal experience a sneeze will take it right off. As far as being asphixiated by exhaled air, I don't believe it. I've seen no proof of this ever happening. When my S9 Autoset quits, it is very difficult to breathe through the stopped turbine. In my experience, Inhalation is restricted by 50% or more, so I immediately wake up and remove the nose pillows and/or tape. I learned about taping from Rested Gal. She's been taping for years, as have others. This has been an ongoing debate for as long as I've reading posts on this site. The decision is a personal one. It's easy to argue against something and all these "what ifs" are just hypothetical. Rested Gal is correct. The inside of the mouth will dictate the remedy for dry mouth. I have been using nasal pillows for years and for me, taping has been the only thing that works for me. Most of the naysayers do not tape; they say they just want people to know the risks. I think they just want to control the issue.

[Maxie]

I had to order the power failure alarm from my local Ace Hardware as no one in my area carries them. I was told that we don't have that many power outages. I still ordered it and got it in less than a week. I have found that with tape as long as it is secure on the sides of my mouth so that my lips can not blow out against it, it is fine not sticking to my lips. I think the chapstick helps in that area. I can breathe out through my lips if I try hard and I could not tolerate a full face mask so since things are going well I'm not going to give up taping.

[dtsm]

The best I have found is 3M blue painter's tape, No, 2080EL (Edge Lock), available at Wal-Mart for about $10 a roll, which will last at least a year, probably longer. I clean off facial oils with alcohol, put a little lip balm on my lips, use one 2" strip of tape about 6" long.

8-10 inch long usually gives a better seal...

No one has ever given an example of someone dying from taping. I learned about taping from Rested Gal. She's been taping for years, as have others. This has been an ongoing debate for as long as I've reading posts on this site. The decision is a personal one. Most of the naysayers do not tape; they say they just want people to know the risks. I think they just want to control the issue.

Well said...this debate on been going on forever. I've only been here just under three years and have yet to read or hear of any problems. I used to tap religiously, then switched over to a papcap plus chin-strap. Some folks work ok with a chin-strap, others do better with tape. One should try to see which is best for them.

[Passiflora]

Thanks everyone for all of the helpful info!

[physicsbob]

Another method to consider is buying a computer UPS of at least 500 to 750 watt capacity, they can be bought for about $75 and put it next to your bed. If you get a power outage the UPS will take over and last about 20 minutes, and the alarm on it should wake you up in plenty of time to take you mask, and tape off.
On the other topic here, I have been taping for over two years, with no problems. We get plenty of power outages here and before I installed my battery power supply, I would just wake up and notice that it was harder to breathe, and just take off my mask and tape. I am a very heavy sleeper, the dogs can be barking and a thunder storm going off outside and I will peacefully sleep right through it. Before I would rattle the windows in the whole house with my snoring and I wouldn't wake up.

[SMenasco]

dtsm, my wife said my 6" strip of tape was 8 - 10 inches long.

[dtsm]

dtsm, my wife said my 6" strip of tape was 8 - 10 inches long.

I meant 2 inch wide, and 8-10 inches long, sorry. My bad!

[SMenasco]

Tried to make a funny - failed miserably.

[Pugsy]

Tried to make a funny - failed miserably.

Not entirely.... I had a chuckle. I figured I had a dirty mind

[VikingGnome]

I have NEVER vomited in my sleep. Usually wake up from the intense nausea. If you vomit in your sleep, you can aspirate whether there is tape on your mouth or not. When people have their jaws wired shut for broken jaw, they are given special wire cutters so they can cut the wires if they are going to vomit. A wired jaw cannot open at all which is very different from a chin strap or taped mouth. Just the strength of most peoples jaw muscles, they can break the taped seal on their mouth by just opening mouth.

As far as dying from CO2, I don't think it's possible. It's so hard to breath when machine shuts off, you'll wake up within a few breaths. We have lots of thunderstorms here in the deep south. I've had power go off many times in the 12 years I've been on CPAP. I wake up and just take mask off until power comes back on. I wouldn't bother with a UPS for CPAP. Usually it takes up to an hour or more for power to be restored here so UPS isn't gonna last long enough.

[SMenasco]

Thanks, Pugsy. Your chuckle brought me a chuckle. You're not dirty. Mischevious, maybe.

[archangle]

Passiflora, please don't let these fear mongers tell you taping is dangerous. I have been taping for a year or more.

Summary - I did it, and I'm not dead yet.

Most people probably won't die or get aspiration pneumonia from taping, at least not right away.

However, you'll be taking the risk every night for the rest of your life. You'll be doing it as you get older, as your medications change, etc. What happens if you take a prescription pain killer or sleep aid later in your life? What about various other medications? What if you drink or do illegal drugs? What if you have a seizure or degenerative medical problems?

If one of us who is taping dies quietly in their sleep, there will probably be no investigation other than to determine that it wasn't murder. A tape induced death from O2/CO2 problems in an apneac will probably look no different from the death of an apneac who died in his sleep simply because his CPAP stopped or he didn't use it.

If asphyxiation isn't a risk why does every full face mask have an "anti-asphyxia" valve?

[archangle]

I have NEVER vomited in my sleep. Usually wake up from the intense nausea. If you vomit in your sleep, you can aspirate whether there is tape on your mouth or not. When people have their jaws wired shut for broken jaw, they are given special wire cutters so they can cut the wires if they are going to vomit. A wired jaw cannot open at all which is very different from a chin strap or taped mouth. Just the strength of most peoples jaw muscles, they can break the taped seal on their mouth by just opening mouth.

One person says she has never vomited in her sleep. Does this apply to all people, of different ages, different medical conditions, different infirmaries, different impairments, on medications, after strokes, seizures, etc.?

Some tapes are easier to unstick than others. Not every tape job can be easily forced open by a panicky confused person trying to wake up from sleep.

It is a good idea to be sure you can open your mouth and break the tape seal in an emergency. The risk is that you might never wake up enough to make the effort.

As far as dying from CO2, I don't think it's possible. It's so hard to breath when machine shuts off, you'll wake up within a few breaths. We have lots of thunderstorms here in the deep south. I've had power go off many times in the 12 years I've been on CPAP. I wake up and just take mask off until power comes back on. I wouldn't bother with a UPS for CPAP. Usually it takes up to an hour or more for power to be restored here so UPS isn't gonna last long enough.

One person reports that she woke up when the power went off. Does this prove that everyone will wake up when this happens? Does this prove that it will even work for you for the rest of your life under all conditions? Healthy adults who are fully awake lose consciousness and die from lack of oxygen in industrial accidents situations all the time. Study "confined space training" and you might learn something.

I find it's not really that hard to breathe if my CPAP machine shuts off. The exhaled air goes down the hose and out the filters and the inhaled air follows the same path. The problem is that I'm breathing the same air I exhaled. It's like being sealed in a box with only a few air holes.

As I have said before, it's not wrong to do taping. It's simply wrong to deny there are risks associated with it. If you think the benefits outweigh the risks, I wish you the best.

[Passiflora]

...you'll be taking the risk every night for the rest of your life. You'll be doing it as you get older, as your medications change, etc. What happens if you take a prescription pain killer or sleep aid later in your life? What about various other medications? What if you drink or do illegal drugs? What if you have a seizure or degenerative medical problems?

Archangle makes some very good points. One thing I worried about was swallowing and choking on a piece of tape or other mask barrier.