wearing nasal mask with a headcold

[Guest]

Hi...I'm getting a headcold....what do you do when you're congested? Still try and wear it or chuck it till you can breathe again? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Lynda

[Kiralynx]

Nasal masks with a cold or other respiratory issues doesn't work very well. Get a full face mask for times like this.

I found the Zzz-mask, from CPAP.COM was a (relatively) inexpensive mask which worked well for me the week or so that I needed it -- and then again when allergy season was in full bloom.

[GumbyCT]

Hi...I'm getting a headcold....what do you do when you're congested? Still try and wear it or chuck it till you can breathe again? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Lynda

Turn UP the pressure
gotta get thru the Thick Stuff
<joking>
lmao

My doc recommended Claritin -d
so I just added some Sudafed, yea it was old but did the job <had to turn the pressure back down, tho >

Found some Vicks in the medicine cabinet too. Then read on hear some using Vapo-Steam in the humidifier.

Don't forget to make a final pressure adj.

[Muse-Inc]

I opt for Afrin for a few nights; worked with my beloved OptiLife pillow mask and now with my Hybrid mask (also has pillows).

[blakepro]

I get this problem every now and again and its been my experience that when I have a sinus infection, my cpap machine blows the crud down into my lungs and then I get a chest cold on top of everything else.

I recently purchased an oral mask from cpap.com. Its a mouth only mask and bypasses your sinuses. I tried using it a few nights ago (I have a fairly recent thread about it) but didint have a great experience the first night. Seems that you need a fairly low pressure and high humidity for it to be really comforatable. I still think the oral mask is the best way to go when you have a sinus cold, but its going to take me some time to figure out how to make it work well without drying my throat out too much.

Afrin works great if you are desperate for a night, but I would really caution against using it very often because the rebound is often worse than the original problem (at least for me) It sure does work great for a night when you have just had it and you need something to open your sinuses quick so you can manage to grab some sleep before the night is over.

One thing I would also suggest is if you do use a nasal mask with a sinus cold, the more humidity the better, so crank up your humidity as high as you can stand it because that will help your body move that crud around and get things cleaned up faster.

[TXLadybug]

Altoid peppermints help open the sinuses and also Halls cough drops. You can also use Earl Grey hot tea, as there is something aromatic in the tea that opens the sinuses and soothes the throat.

Personally, I am now trying to find the right full face to use as I had my annual allergy induced sinus infection. I am trying out the Liberty right now and it really helped. I've ordered the fit life or full life ( I can never remember which is which) the one that seals around the perimeter of the face and doesn't touch the nose, etc.

[Muse-Inc]

...Earl Grey hot tea...

If I remember correctly, I read cautions about the bergamot in the Earl Grey tea when you have apnea. Can't find a link, so I might not have saved one. Worth investigating; I stopped drinking Earl Grey because the article was convincing.

[pagebypage]

Everyone here has given good suggestions. The biggy I see missing is a humidifier. If you don't have one, you might want to consider it.
Ayr gel is also another option. It is a greaseless gel you smear inside your nostrils. It may or may not help.
If you are otherwise OK with your nasal mask, a full face may work for you. If you get the digging into the bridge of the nose, a hybrid may be the answer.

[Hawthorne]

I've been on cpap for 7+ years and have had several colds during that time.

I have a full face mask as a backup but don't like it and have never used it. I just have a lot of trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep with a full face mask.I use nasal pillows almost all the time now but, with a cold, I use a nasal mask (pillows can irritate a red sore nose! )

With the humidity turned up just a bit more, I actually feel better when I am hooked up to the machine during a cold. The warm air seems to clear things out quite well and lets me sleep a lot better than I did when I had colds before cpap!

That's just my experience but thought it was worth sharing.