Tincture of Benzoine adhesive

[Tn-Ken]

As per a suggestion that I got from a thread on this list, I ordered a bottle of Tincture of Benzoin from my local Walgreens ($5.00). Looks like a single bottle of this will last well over a month.

Last night was my first night using it with my CL2 mask (nose pillows) and I struggled with it for about an hour and finally got it sealing the way I thought it should (gotta use more than I thought and let it dry a bit). I actually had to readjust the angle of my CL2 a bit to get it to seal but once it did - wow, it stayed there.

This morning I was thinking that it was just too much hassle (more about that later) but then I read my stats from last night and while it may have been coincidence I had an AHI of 2.0, NO snoring, total apnea time of 43 seconds. These are incredibly low numbers for me and I'm wondering if the seal was the key.

Ok - the hassle. This stuff is liquid out of the bottle. I used a q-tip to apply it to areas of my nose that the pillows would contact as well as the pillows themselves. It doesn't adhere well to the pillow so found out that I had to put more on the schnoz. Once there I continued to have significant problems with leaks on the face end of the nose - adjusted the angle of the mask by releasing the straps a bit and pushing the mask closer to the face and VOILA! - everything setup like concrete.

One has to wash this stuff off in the morning but warm water does the trick and very quickly too.

As an aside.... this stuff is part of what baseball players use to keep their hands on their bats.... just a bit of trivia for all you baseball nuts.

So - given the low readings off the software and the fact that I feel pretty chipper today I'm going to give this stuff another try tonight. We'll see....

For those of you so inclined here are a couple of links to resources on this product.

http://www.meridianinstitute.com/echerb ... nzoin.html
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/benzoi31.html
National Institute of Health

Happy Hosing,
Ken

[meister]

I am going to try some tonight. The scary part is that the humidity
can build up in the mask and the water could mix with it, and it
could end up in my eyes (I use a FF mask). It will burn like crazy,
I am sure. The pharmacist was clueless as to what the stuff was
sold for, or how to use it. I asked her how much I should drink
a day (just for fun!). It looks like to me that it is basically alcohol,
so I would think that just buying alcohol would do the trick. I
really think it is going to eat the heck out of the mask over time,
so I am starting with an old mask. It is really crazy what we are
forced to do, just to get some relief.

[krousseau]

If this doesn't end up woking or if you like to experiment there are a lot of products made for people with colostomies urostomies etc intended to increase the adhesion of their external collection bags or to fill in/caulk where there are skin crevices . Look at a good medical supply place. I looked at several online sites. They are set up for people who know what they want-lots of price lists & not very helpful unless you know the products.

[Sleepless on LI]

Tn-Ken,

Well, I shared Moogy's problem with my Marine Glue. After going to try it again for a second night, it was empty. Now I know why my bag that it came in was greasy, too.

So a warning to anyone who is going to order it from 123Scuba, it melts on route and you can pay $12 for nothing, like Moogy and I did.

[Tn-Ken]

Second night of use last night and the results were again amazing. I've had absolutely NO flow limitations for the past two nights and my AHI is below 2.5 both nights. There's nothing else to attribute this to other than a really tight seal to the mask.

Cleanup is no problem - just a bit of warm water takes care of it. It seems that there's no need to put this on the mask - just on the skin to get it tacky. I put it on about 1/2 hour before going to sleep and last night was able to get the mask situated very quickly and comfortably.

This is a much better solution than the Marine face mask glue and is more readily available as well.

Thanks SO much to those on the list who suggested this.

Ken

[Guest]

Anyone have any idea where to pick this stuff up at a store, as opposed to buying online?

[Tn-Ken]

As per a suggestion that I got from a thread on this list, I ordered a bottle of Tincture of Benzoin from my local Walgreens ($5.00). Looks like a single bottle of this will last well over a month.

one other note - the cleanup this morning wasn't that easy. Lots of hot water and rubbing with cloth and soap. BUT - a good night's sleep is worth it.

[meister]

First tried the SCUBA Mask Seal. That didn't get rid of my leaks.
Maybe I put too much on as my mask slid around on my face.

[krousseau]

You may have to go to the pharmacy window at the drugstore to get the tincture of benzoin. It is usually in a 1-2 oz brown bottle-in an inconspicuous place where you would least expect to find it (given that it is usually used on the skin). Sometimes it is beside the adhesive tapes as it increases the ability of the adhesive to skick to skin. Tapers don't be tempted to use it unless you have oily skin or sweat a lot. It can make the tape very difficult to remove. In California Long's drugstores carry it. Med supply places that carry ostomy supplies usually have it.

[brasshopper]

In the Navy, in boot camp, we would paint tincture of benzoin on places where we were about to blister to toughen the skin. This is, in particular, on the feet - we rarely got blisters anywhere else.

Some people painted it on open blisters - it burned like heck.

Were I looking for a skin glue, I might consider the sort of liquid latex that is used in makeup to make facial appliances, old person wrinkled skin, and the like. I'd check it on an old ratty mask to make sure that it would not rot it.

[Snoredog]

Ah man this stickum stuff reminds me of that Raiders football player that used to put that stuff on his lower leg, looked like he was running a wheel bearing grease business and used his leg as a grease rag

Wasn't that Lester Hayes of the Raiders?

[sleepless_in_ny]

This stuff sounds like an interesting fix. Does anyone know if it is silicon friendly or would it shorten the life?

[krousseau]

The bottle I have is 79% alcohol-which supposedly degrades silicone but if you are applying to your skin as described in another post the alcohol will evaporate-what the benzoin does I don't know. I don't use it for CPAP. Do you have an old mask you can try it with first?