Some questions about nasal pillows?

[beyondtired]

I began CPAP last week, and the first mask I started with was the Resmed Mirage Softgel. It was putting some sores on my face, so I thought I'd try a nasal pillow mask, which was the Swift FX. The first two nights with the Nasal pillow went well. It definitely felt more comfortable for me to have less on my face. Though, the blue back strap seemed to move around some while I was sleeping, and I was afraid that it might loosen the pillows enough to let some leaks come through. So last night I tightened the back strap, and also the top buckle by just one notch. I must have tightened the back strap too much though, as I started to feel a piercing pain at my nostrils while I was trying to sleep. I eventually loosened the back strap some, but my nose continued to hurt for the rest of the night. When I got up, it kinda felt like I had been hit in the nose. So I was wondering if it's normal for the back strap to fit a little loose? Has anybody else tightened their mask too much before, and had that sort of pain?

Another thing is that I've been cleaning the pillows part of the Swift FX after each use. I use a mild hand soap to clean it, and I dry it a little, and then I let it air dry for a while. Though, I've noticed that some of the water that I rinsed with seems to be left behind in the inside of the pillows. Cause when I put my mask on for the night, I get some water that flutters into my nose, but it's tough for me to get into that area of the mask to dry it. Any suggestions on what to do?

Also, when taking the mask apart, is it possible to disconnect the elbow from the short tube? I'm referring to the elbow that has the vent and swivel ring as part of it.

[LarryD]

The straps on the headgear should be tight enough to allow the nose pillows to inflate against your nostrils without leaking. Loosen things up. It shouldn't be that uncomfortable.

If you have more than one nose pillow, try alternating them so you don't have to use the one you just washed. Giving the nose pillow a vigorous shake after rinsing may help too.

Hope this helps.

Larry

[xenablue]

I place my nasal pillows, with the pillow side facing down as there's a second 'layer' that will hold water if they're the other side down. Give them a good shake to get as much water out as possible, and even run the CPAP for a couple of minutes to blow out any excess water. I do this with the SD card removed so it doesn't mess with my stats.

The headgear shouldn't be so tight as to cause pain, however I do find I need to have it 'snug' as I change positions a lot so this prevents leaks, but it's never tight enough to cause even a little discomfort.

Cheers,
xena

[radaddict]

Here's a link to some good info about the Swift FX (blog by member janknitz):
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/swift- ... ing-guide/

[LinkC]

If anything hurts, it's too tight. Generally speaking, the pillows need some room to inflate/expand against your nares (nostrils). That's how they seal.

[mayondair]

To keep the fx headgear from slipping sew a piece of Velcro, the hook part, to the inside of the blue strap, it will grip your hair, (won't hurt): try loosening the straps , hold the pillows to your nose, turn on the machine and tighten only enough to stop leaks. It should be pretty loose, only against your nares , only the tip of the cone in your nose

[PtownKev]

I started out with CPAP using the FX and liked the feel of it but couldn't get it to work for me. I just had too many leaks no matter how much I adjusted and tweaked the fitting. As others have noted, though, you don't want the pillows to fit tight against your nose--they should just sit at the edge of your nares. Using the right pillow size is also important. Initially I thought the small was the right size and possibly even too large, but then tried the mediums and found that they fit much better. When in doubt, try the next size up--it may make a big difference in keeping the pillows on your nose.

As for removing the elbow, it does come apart from the pillow. There is a flat disk that is at the end of the joint that fits under a silicone lip on the pillow assembly. It just pulls out for cleaning. It's a little tricky to get it back together--you have to stretch the silicone "hole" over the rim of the disk. I think there is a video on the RedMed website that shows how the mask comes apart and is put back together.

As for getting the water out of the pillows, I had a hard time with that too. As others have noted, it's a good idea to shake the water out and then let air dry, turning the assembly over a couple of times to dry in different positions. After reassembling the mask and reconnecting the hose, I would let the machine run for a few minutes to blow any remaining air out of the mask. It definitely is annoying to feel/hear the water in there or to have it end up in your nose.

[HoseCrusher]

To remove moisture from the pillows, turn the machine on and flick the pillows with your finger tip. Keep flicking until you don't feel any more moisture coming out of the pillows. After that you can let the machine run for a few minutes and you will end up with a dry pillow.

I also like the idea of swapping out pillows each night and alternating between a couple or a few.

The hose unsnaps from the elbow fitting. Take care when doing so because the hose can be damaged easily. Also the fitting unsnaps from the ring that goes into the mask. This fitting is tighter than the hose connection so you will have to be determined to get it to come loose.

To adjust the mask, put it on loosely. You want just enough tension to hold it in place. When you turn the machine on, the pillows will inflate and form a seal. When you roll over, expect a leak to happen, but it is easily eliminated by "snuggling" your face into the mask. Its kind of like snuggling up to your sleeping partner. Except the hose is too skinny to snuggle to, and instead of a nice kiss the mask just keeps blowing air up your nose.

Adjusting the mask too tight can put enough pressure on your nose to cause soreness. The key is a loose fit and then snuggling as you roll over.

[kf10]

I wash my Swift-FX every morning. After shaking off excess water, I then reconnect it back to the blower and turn on 'Mask-fit' for a few seconds to blow out more water and then use Q-tips to reach in and take out the remaining water. Works just fine.

[Starlette]

I have shoulder length hair. So what I do to keep the back strap in place is put my hair in a low ponytail which will anchor the blue strap.
It's not too tight for me. Till you get used to pillow may I suggest lanolish (or lanolin - you'll find at Walmart in infants used for nursing mothers' nipples. Keeps them from getting chapped. You'll be looking for a purple tube in a purple box). I just put a very thin layer around each nostril which I've read will help with the seal. I think I've got mine fitted well enough that I may not be using the lanolish much longer.

Starlette

[beyondtired]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I can try the velcro idea, though I would need to wait a little on that. Cause I'm currently trying on different masks from my DME during the 30 day period. I'm also going to look for that nursing mother's cream for my sore nose.

On Friday night, I loosened the blue back strap some more on my Swift FX, and my nose didn't hurt quite as much as before during the night, but it was still sore some the next day. So for Saturday night, I decided to wear the Mirage Softgel again, which is the first mask that I had tried. That way my nostril area would get a little breather(sort of). I loosened the top straps on my Mirage Softgel. After doing that, it seemed more comfortable than when I had first used it. Though, I still got a bad sore on my forehead area. I don't know why, but the sore seems to get a lot worse on one side of the forehead support pad area, than the other, even though the back straps look even. Maybe cause I sleep more on that side than the other, and it presses against the pillow more? I thought about getting a mask liner or a padacheek?

Concerning there being some water still on the nasal pillows after cleaning them, I'll turn on the mask fit feature like was suggested, and flick some of the water off. On my S9 Autoset, I think the mask fit feature stays on for about three minutes, and then goes right into treatment mode if you don't turn it off during that time period. I was wondering if there is an option somewhere in the Clinician menu or elsewhere, to change the amount of time that the mask fit feature runs for?

I'm currently using my S9 in CPAP mode at a pressure of 8. If I have the ramp feature turned on, and I let the mask fit option on for three minutes, when treatment starts it seems to skip the ramp up feature, and goes right to my prescribed pressure of 8? I was wondering why it does that? Sorry that I kinda went off topic there by the way.

[Breathe Jimbo]

My nasal pillows have two layers at the "cones" that touch the nostril openings. After I wash and dry the pillows as much as I can with a clean dish towel or paper towel, I push directly into the cones. It may take a few tries, but I make the inner layers collapse inward away from the outer layers. That creates a substantial separation between the two layers and allows the area between them to dry out. When I am ready to reattach the pillows to the mask, I push the inner layers from the inside toward the outer layers.

[Twentysix]

I may be a bit of a neanderthaler, but I just blow into the pillows after washing and put them upside down to dry. I do that in the morning, and they are fine in the evening.

[Janknitz]

I try to treat my nasal pillows as gently as possible. I used to very aggressively dry all the inner surfaces, but the pillows seemed to deteriorate faster when I did that.

After I've washed them in the morning, I shake them out and then lay them, cone side down, on an absorbent microfiber cloth to "wick" the excess moisture out of the cones. This seems to work, they are dry as a bone by nighttime.

[Drowsy Dancer]

Till you get used to pillow may I suggest lanolish (or lanolin - you'll find at Walmart in infants used for nursing mothers' nipples. Keeps them from getting chapped. You'll be looking for a purple tube in a purple box).

In some markets I believe this is called Lansinoh.

DD