Silicone Allergy

[kiteboy]

I read a post that was from 2011 on this subject and have seen little since. I would like to say that for those with glasses like me the silcone alergy is easy to diagnose. My glasses once had silicone nose pads. They were light frames with with nice soft pads, but after wearing them several days my nose felt like someone was driving nails through it. I wanted to toss my expensive glasses. I would put a bandage on my nose and the pain went away. I learned that optomitrists carry hypoalergenic eye pads that are made of hard plastic. When I got my silicone pads replaced with hard pads the problem disappeared completely. I could wear my eyeglasses pain free. When I was first tested for sleep apnea, I told my tester of my allergy. She said not to worry, but to try it. So she told me to put a silicone mask on my face and try it. She returned after 15 minutes and said my face was all red under my mask, which was not too tight. She stopped the study and sent me home, not having any other options at that time.
I learned that there are several options. Fabritc masks, memory foam masks and linners. There may be more options that I do not know about. I tried the fabric mask and I could not get good results from it. I created several braces that helped to improve the seal, but I was never really getting a good seal or performance from that mask. I next tried a silicone mask with a linner. After researching linners I settled on the PAD A CHEEK liners which are in my opinion the best made. They stay in place well, they are very well made and are easy to clean. They also can provide a good seal. The only time they did not work for me was when I tried switching to an Air Fit 20 which has a very flexable seal that kind of blows up to form a great seal without a linner, but the linner does not allow it the flexability to get it's normal seal, at least that was my experience. Next I tried The Air touch which has a memory foam front and a silicone backer. This has worked well for me for several years but has recently started to cause a reation to the bridge of my nose. The silicone behind the memory foam has webs that can touch my skin on my nose now for some reason. I can add a linner to this mask or I can tape my nose or I can switch to another mask with a linner. My solution is not yet picked but temporarily I am using a linner over the air Touch. I do not like this option since the Air Touch tends to wear out faster than my insurance replaces it. The Air Touch can not be washed in water since doing so it becomes saturated and will not dry out. In 25 to 30 days it becomes deformed and needs replacement. The only cleaning you can do is to use special wipes, which don't seem to do much in the way of preservation.
If anyone knows of a better sillicon free option I would appreciate it. If you have a similar allergy, I wish you the best, since it is real and it is recognized as a problem with eye doctors. They have solve the problem well, now we need CPAP manufacturers to offer similar sillicone free options.

[chunkyfrog]

Cloth masks take longer to learn and are trickier to use.
I used the elan for several months, with help from the forum, but was not able to use the anew.
Some people have been able to protect sensitive skin with a film of milk of magnesia.
Messy, but maybe worth trying.

[Chris8243]

I’m sorry you’re having issues with allergies. And sleep apnea, since it seems most masks are made of silicone.

I also used the AirTouch for quite a while. Comfy. My insurance covered one new mask a month. I’d get it, but they lasted longer than a month for me, so I always had a fresh one handy since I didn’t use it right away. One thing I want to tell you is that you can wash them, but only try it if you have a spare. Or if you are starting a new one, experiment with the old one. I just use Dawn dish soap, suds it up and rinse it well. It will take about 3 days to dry! But then looks good as new! The memory foam will not be “repaired” this way, but you may get a little more life out of it. I never tried a liner with it.

Have you heard of the Bleep? I’ve not tried or seen one, but sounds interesting. Many people who are active on the forum use them. My understanding is that you apply a new adhesive pad to the end of your nose each night and the thing (tubing) attaches to that. No straps!

Maybe no silicone either? Bleep users - please advise?

[Pugsy]

Maybe no silicone either? Bleep users - please advise?

No silicone that touches the skin anywhere anyway. There is some silicone in the frame itself and of course the hose but nothing that actually touches the skin like a traditional mask.
See the link in my equipment profile. It is a nasal interface mask though and anyone having trouble keeping the mouth shut could run into trouble if they open their mouth very much.

[chunkyfrog]

Since adhesive does touch the nose, are you sensitive to tape?

[kiteboy]

Thank-you for the comments. All suggestions are appreciated. I had one more air touch cushin that I tried last night. The one causing trouble had been used for less than 2 weeks. Last night I had no allergy problems, knock on wood. I am wondering if the other seal has some defect that is unique to it. Looking at it, I see a crease in the seal at the top of the seal, that I have never seen on any othe seal, new or old. On new seals it should be smooth and on old ones it gets a permanent rounded dent, but no sharp crease. I am hoping that I just got a defective seal.

[khauser]

Thank-you for the comments. All suggestions are appreciated. I had one more air touch cushin that I tried last night. The one causing trouble had been used for less than 2 weeks. Last night I had no allergy problems, knock on wood. I am wondering if the other seal has some defect that is unique to it. Looking at it, I see a crease in the seal at the top of the seal, that I have never seen on any othe seal, new or old. On new seals it should be smooth and on old ones it gets a permanent rounded dent, but no sharp crease. I am hoping that I just got a defective seal.

Are you cleaning the cushion? If so, what are you using? It's interesting that you have this difference over time.

[kiteboy]

I use to clean with wipes, but they seemed to reduce the seal life due to the liquid not drying before reuse. Now I use ozone which connecsts to the tubing. My system only cleans the tubing and mask which you put in a bag. I prefer this to systems that may hurt the gaskets on the machine. I allways air out after cleaning which seems to remove any residual ozone. I clean every 3 to 4 days, but somtimes longer. The ozone system has not affected the seal life as did the wipes.

[khauser]

I use to clean with wipes, but they seemed to reduce the seal life due to the liquid not drying before reuse. Now I use ozone which connecsts to the tubing. My system only cleans the tubing and mask which you put in a bag. I prefer this to systems that may hurt the gaskets on the machine. I allways air out after cleaning which seems to remove any residual ozone. I clean every 3 to 4 days, but somtimes longer. The ozone system has not affected the seal life as did the wipes.

OK, I did not mean to open that can of worms, but here we are.

Silicone is relatively resistant to ozone, but other parts of the system may not be. Further, and this is VERY IMPORTANT, ozone DOES NOT CLEAN, period. It only sanitizes. These are different things. This means your facial oils and such ARE accumulating on the silicone, which does severely shorten life.

I will make this suggestion: find a cleanser that does not have oils in it. Use that to clean the cushion. Rinse well, dry.

Ozone is poisonous ... do NOT use that while you are near by, and use it early so there is plenty of time for it to disperse.

Or, get rid of it. It's not doing you any good.

[Pugsy]

Ozone will degrade foam and cause it to break down prematurely. That's how come people are finding bits of foam in their humidifiers from the insides of the blower and why ResMed has made a public statement if you use an ozone cleaner it will void the machine warranty.
No way would I use ozone on the memory foam mask. It's just asking for early degrading of the foam which is already fragile anyway.

[chunkyfrog]

I wonder if anyone has tried using alcohol, with a spray and blot technique to clean the memory foam.
Best to only try on a sacrificial cushion . . .
Some have extended use of the memory foam cushions by using a pad a cheek mask liner.

[Pugsy]

I wonder if anyone has tried using alcohol, with a spray and blot technique to clean the memory foam.
Best to only try on a sacrificial cushion . . .
Some have extended use of the memory foam cushions by using a pad a cheek mask liner.

Alcohol would be very bad for the memory foam. It would dry it out way too much and too early. Even water is bad.
Just being opened and exposed to air starts the degradation of the foam even if not used the foam will get brittle and be useless.

Mask liners is probably the best solution for prolonging the life of the foam but even that isn't going to add a lot of life just from exposure to the air.

[chunkyfrog]

It is apparent to me that memory foam comes in various formulations;
as some pillows and mattresses can remain usable for months, or even years.
Looks like Resmed found the most fragile product possible.