Those who make your own mask liners

[Sir NoddinOff]

Cotton is way too stretchy over a few days time (even old worn in cotton)... use thin micro-fleece (or is it micro-fiber, I forget). Anyway it sez on the Padacheek website. That's why Karen at Padacheek uses it and it keeps its shape for six months or more. I know because that is how long my Padacheek liner has lasted .

[Janknitz]

Yeah, I knew that. Which is why I was so frustrated that it only stops leaking when I do that, and wanted to get a liner to help with leaks (so I could loosen it a bit). I put it on, very loosely. Air blowing everywhere, lol. Turned off the cpap, did a teeny adjustment to the straps. Turned it back on. Air blowing everywhere still. Turned it off, lather rinse repeat, little by little, until it finally stopped blowing air in my eyes. That's the one place it leaks, always. My nasal bridge is narrow, and ALL the ffm my RT tried on me blew air in my eyes. This one just blew the least, it seemed, because of the adjustment at the forehead to change the angle of the mask. It's the only one that got the bridge portion of the mask even close to settling on my nasal bridge.

Try this instead:
Put on the mask very loosely, LYING DOWN, with the machine on. (don't turn the machine off during the entire fitting!)
Push down LIGHTLY in the center of the mask, just enough to stop the leaking. While holding that gentle pressure with your hand, adjust the straps accordingly. You may have to fiddle with the forehead dial a little, but not too much. Think loose on top.

BTW, the forehead piece should be dialed out so that the angle of the mask to your face looks like this \{ not this /{

Take your hand off the mask. Adjust for any leaks by tightening the BOTTOM straps, NOT the top ones unless you can't stop the leaking any other way. And if you do tighten the top straps at all, tighten them just the tiniest bit needed to stop the leaking.

Now, move into your usual sleeping position, adjusting the mask accordingly. Again, err on the side of tightening the lower straps, not the top. That allows the air cushion to fill up as much as possible to hug the bridge of your nose. I have a very narrow bridge, too, and it helps.

[library lady]

Cotton is way too stretchy over a few days time (even old worn in cotton)... use thin micro-fleece (or is it micro-fiber, I forget). Anyway it sez on the Padacheek website. That's why Karen at Padacheek uses it and it keeps its shape for six months or more. I know because that is how long my Padacheek liner has lasted .

My cotton liners last quite a long time; I wear each only once before washing; when they come out of the washing machine they are curled up into a ball. I pull them flat, lay them on a towel to dry, then iron them. Ironing is what helps them retain their shape (also gets out the wrinkles from being balled up). I think if I were to use one for several nights before washing, they would stretch out enough so as to be unusable. With care, knit cotton can be very serviceable, it's more work than I'd like it to be because of the ironing, but the fabric is more comfortable on my face than the micro-fiber on Karen's, so I'm willing to do the extra work. I've not had to throw any away yet. To each his own, right?

[teachcsg]

I agree with all previous post but wanted to add 1 more I encountered while working with pts. I had an older gentleman come in one day for a download. He had a cpap on pretty high pressures (18cwp I believe) and he was using a full face mask. I thought the download would show a lot of leakage (high pressure + full face mask + elderly gentleman=not a good combination/high leaks). I was quite surprised when I did the download to see very good 'numbers' low i.e low leakage, low AHI etc.. I commented to the pt how good the download looked and he went to tell me how he had trouble at first with leaks and he tried making some mask liners out of cotton but they did not work all the time so then he said he made a mask liner out of blue jean material. He said he cut it and had a seamstress sow the edges and that it worked great and lasted a long time. And from his download numbers I couldn't argue with him. So, if all else fails try Blue Jean material!

[palerider]

... I commented to the pt how good the download looked and he went to tell me how he had trouble at first with leaks and he tried making some mask liners out of cotton but they did not work all the time so then he said he made a mask liner out of blue jean material. He said he cut it and had a seamstress sow the edges and that it worked great and lasted a long time. And from his download numbers I couldn't argue with him. So, if all else fails try Blue Jean material!

nice idea thanks!

[Sir NoddinOff]

I pull them flat, lay them on a towel to dry, then iron them. Ironing is what helps them retain their shape (also gets out the wrinkles from being balled up).

Ironing Pray tell, what is this 'ironing' you speak of Joking aside, why fool around with cotton when micro-fiber will do the same job better and longer with no ironing? If there was a big demand for cotton (vegans, lay line buffs etc?) Karen would be all over it like kids on a jungle gym. However, library lady, I do respect your work ethic... you seem to be doing a lot of it with your mask liners.

[library lady]

I think you know what it is!

[purple]

Might a bit of Moleskin be helpful to some? Moleskin, if you are not familiar with it, is a totally synthetic product sold in the foot care sections of pharmacies and grocery stores, which has a soft furry side and a peel off back which has a and tape like adhesive. Comes in sheets and is cut to size with scissors as you want. I used to use it on the bridge of my nose to help the mask fit, and keep a sore from developing as well.

[library lady]

Sir Noddinoff: I agree with you, why mess around with the cotton if something else is easier? The Pad-a-cheek liners were the first ones I tried, but for some reason, I think the fabric, they bothered my face and I couldn't use them. RemZzzzs felt better, and I use them the same way I use my homemade liners. If I'm going to wash and iron RemZzzzs, I might as well make my own out of a $3 t-shirt from goodwill.

[Janknitz]

I buy two Padacheek liners at a time, wash one, wear the other. That way I always have a clean, dry liner (and no, I don't wash daily).

[JustTia]

I agree with all previous post but wanted to add 1 more I encountered while working with pts. I had an older gentleman come in one day for a download. He had a cpap on pretty high pressures (18cwp I believe) and he was using a full face mask. I thought the download would show a lot of leakage (high pressure + full face mask + elderly gentleman=not a good combination/high leaks). I was quite surprised when I did the download to see very good 'numbers' low i.e low leakage, low AHI etc.. I commented to the pt how good the download looked and he went to tell me how he had trouble at first with leaks and he tried making some mask liners out of cotton but they did not work all the time so then he said he made a mask liner out of blue jean material. He said he cut it and had a seamstress sow the edges and that it worked great and lasted a long time. And from his download numbers I couldn't argue with him. So, if all else fails try Blue Jean material!

Thanks for the tip! My serger would make short work of any raveling edges, easy as could be. If I need to, I can bump it up to denim.

[library lady]

That's what's nice about the Padacheek liners, you don't have to wash them every day. I wish I could use them for that reason.

[Sleeping McSleepface]

I would like to give a huge "Thank You" to those who provided the guidance in this thread. I've been lurking in this forum since I started therapy (7 months ago). I've had my share of ups and downs. My biggest issue was mask leaks causing arousals when pressure had increased - very counter productive. I came across this discussion and then made a liner from thinner material sweatpants using the pdf template. I could not believe how hard it was to get the mask to leak. And, it was comfortable. After a few good nights, I decided to get a PadACheek liner. The homemade liner was very good, but I find it more convenient to have a liner that is attached to the mask so I can just slip the mask on when I'm ready to go to sleep. I would recommend using a mask liner to everyone. I wish my sleep doctor had mentioned it.

[chunkyfrog]

Probably because it never came up.
Insurance generally does not cover liners, so DME's do not usually sell them.
No profit--it slips under the radar.

[QueSera]

I got an extra-large glasses-cleaning cloth at the dollar store, and got 3 liners for my Dreamwear out of it. The edges don't ravel, and it's super-soft against my upper lip. When I tried an old t-shirt, it was too stretchy for me, and I could feel the grain of the cloth on my skin. The glasses cloth is microfiber and feels nice. Also easy to hand wash in 2 minutes and hang to dry, then smoothes right out.