irritation in upper lip

[jonesy73]

can anyone give me an idea on what i can do about discomfort in my upper lip while wearing the mask? it wakes me up about an hour after going to sleep it seems to gradually get worse and i have put paper tape followed by a bandaide as barrier between lip and mask so i dont think its irritating it must be a pressure thing. Any ideas?

[DreamOn]

I have a similar problem, jonesy73. Even when I wear the straps very loose with my ResMed Activa LT nasal mask, the pressure on my upper lip makes it very uncomfortable. In my case, it seems to be because I have an overbite, so the mask is putting pressure on my teeth there.

Unfortunately, I haven't found a solution to the problem, so I am now using nasal pillows masks that don't put any pressure on the upper lip. My favorite nasal pillows masks (so far) are the AEIOMed Headrest and Fisher & Paykel Opus 360.

I'd love to hear if anyone does have a solution to your problem! The only thing I can think of is to wear the bottom straps as loose as possible. Other than that, you may want to try a nasal pillows or full-face mask that doesn't put pressure on the upper lip. I hope you find something that works for you.

~ DreamOn

[GumbyCT]

can anyone give me an idea on what i can do about discomfort in my upper lip while wearing the mask? it wakes me up about an hour after going to sleep it seems to gradually get worse and i have put paper tape followed by a bandaide as barrier between lip and mask so i dont think its irritating it must be a pressure thing. Any ideas?

It would help to know which mask??

Can also try searching for the mask name to find more ideas. The name will be on a label on the back of the headgear usu. Or look on the box or pamphlet that came with the mask.

Use "Advanced Search" found at the top of each forum page under the 'Home' icon. I'm sure wiki would have some things to try also.

Good Luck

[DreamOn]

I just read Gumby's post. Yes, it would help to know which mask you are using, jonesy73. I had assumed that you're using a nasal mask, but I know (from experience!) that some of the nasal pillows masks also put pressure on the upper lip.

You may want to take a look at these links to Lab Rat fixes, compiled by Rested Gal: viewtopic.php?t=15104. Scroll down to the mask that you use. There may be some suggestions there that'll help. And if you let us know which mask you're using, maybe we'll have some other ideas.

[dave21]

What I find wearing the Activa (I have an L), that the M was just a little too small and that the cushion rested more on the top of the upper lip. The L is a little larger and the active cushion I find rests more on the bottom part of the lip which is less sensitive and more moist and that doesn't irritate it for me.

I also have the straps tightened (I know the manual says have the straps loose) but I find that I get too many mask leaks and that might be what you're seeing is the mask is moving around a lot or you're getting cold air onto your lip possibly.

[sleepyjan]

i'm using a softgel nasal mask and have the dame problem........called DSM and they're ordering a full face mask for me to try.......nasal mask makes a sandwich between mask lip and dentures for me ........good luck to us all.(I've been on CPAP 2 whole weeks now!)