Hematoma around eye from cpap

[raggedykat]

Jan - I saw a women in a store the other day who had the saddlebags and I almost asked her if she was using cpap therapy.

[raggedykat]

Katherine - I actually have an appointment with my family doctor this afternoon for something else I had scheduled. I will talk with her and go from there. I have not been to an eye doctor in this area so I will ask her for a referral. Thanks for the help!

[TWW]

I would add that whenever you see "eye doctor" you should see the word "ophthalmologist." Optometrists deal primarily with measuring lenses.

[SaltLakeJan]

hi raggedykat,
keeping a prayer going that your doctor will be able to help you, and that all will be well.

Jan

[raggedykat]

Okay, went to my family doctor yesterday just because I already had an appointment with her for something else. She says my black eye is from coughing or sneezing real hard. That it doesn't look like anything dangerous but if it keeps getting bigger to call because that means it hasn't stopped bleeding.

I asked her about the saddlebags and she thinks they are caused from fluid retention. She said that your face normally gets extra fluid in it at night while you sleep and the mask is just stopping it from distributing around my whole face so it is staying in one place. I told her I was going to try some nasal pillows and she said I couldn't change my mask without a new sleep study because there are different masks used for different forms of sleep apnea. I just said "Oh really" and changed the subject. She would be mortified if she knew how much tweeking I have done to the machine. Anyway she said I should elevate my head while I sleep. I slept on two pillows last night (really big ones) and now I have saddlebags and a stiff neck. Guess I will call my ENT now.

[Muse-Inc]

...she said I couldn't change my mask without a new sleep study because there are different masks used for different forms of sleep apnea...

Oh my! Clueless...she'd be truly horrified that you are managing your own therapy!

[SaltLakeJan]

Jan - I saw a women in a store the other day who had the saddlebags and I almost asked her if she was using cpap therapy.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry . . . guess I'll laugh, I get a red nose when I cry.

Glad your Dr said, "not to worry." Let us know what the ENT tell you. I have an appointment with my ENT 12-7-.

Jan

[WearyOne]

This fall, I responded to a a thread about air leaking from the mask into their eyes. I can't find any trace of an air leak close to my eyes. But in the mornings, my eyes are so dry and sore, I feel as though I had been hiking across a hot barren deseret for days. The dryness and pain persists for a couple of hours.

I asked my Sleep Doctor and my opthomologist about the problem with my eyes. Both thought I had a dry eye condition, that had nothing to do with cpap use. They suggested I use an eye lubricant & an eye shield. I was using an eye shield, and eye drops, & they weren't helping. I told both doctors I came to them to find a solution for a problem that was getting worse. They acted like I brought up a rare condition that they had never heard mentioned before. I have also had conjunctivitis because of apnea treatment.

Jan

Jan, my problems exactly! My eyes feel so much worse in the morning, even with using a nighttime gel in my eyes, AND wearing foam eye goggles made for people with dry eyes! Still the problem exists. I just went to my ophthalmologist Wednesday, and although they thought the cpap could be an issue, they didn't have any suggestions other than what I'm already doing. I have some other health issues that I was afraid might have started causing eye problems, but no, just a change in eyeglass prescription, and no other suggestions for the chronic dry eyes.

I also have punctal plugs in the lower duct of each eye, so there's not much else to do. The plugs help keep more of the tears in your eyes instead of draining out, so I'd hate to know what they'd feel like without them! I never heard about air coming OUT your tear ducts from cpap, but I guess with two of the four ducts plugged up for almost two years, that can't be but so much of a possible issue for me.

Pam

[SaltLakeJan]

Pam
It is interesting so many of us have similar problems. I wouldn't like to preserve my health by using cpap, and lose my eye sight . . . scary thought

Jan

[Guest]

CPAP can blow air through some peoples tear ducts and dry out the eyes, especially pillow type masks

[ozij]

Note to all:
This is a thread started, and finished in 2009. I have no idea what in the world made an anonymous person revive it.

That said, I am responding, specifically to "Guest's" statement:

Dry eyes can be caused by any type of CPAP mask - and the problem can come from any (or all ) of the following:

• Seal leaks because your mask doesn't fit well around the bridge of your nose
• Air entering your eyes through the tear ducts (maybe some sleep doctors don't remember enough anatomy to realize there's a duct connecting eye and nose)
• The vent air deflected from your bedclothes in the direction of your eyes

Both my eye doctor and the ENT I talked nodded with understanding when I mentioned my dry eyes. With CPAP being the reason, the solution is whatever gel or drops work for humidifying your eyes.

I, a female side sleeper - not very thin, not very fat either -- found that these eye shields were a total waste of money. You can't resize the bridge part, sleeping on my side made the bottom edge pop away from my face letting air and light at the very place they were supposed to be kept out, and, adding insult to injury, despite not doing their job of protecting my eyes, they left ugly indentations around the sides of my eye sockets. It may be different if you sleep on your back, or have a larger face - I know that at least one forum member (male, and obese at the time) is (or was then) very happy with them.

I do find a cloth eye mask helpful.

[chunkyfrog]

for the dry eye: Swim goggles. Cheaper, too. Way cheaper. (just NOT the kind that cover your nose-- )
I'm planning to replace the regular strap on mine with a piece of stretchy fabric
(--like they use on the onyix and quartz eye shields.)
I may lab rat the quartz eye shield if I can't return it.
--Addressing the hematoma--I would try loosening the headgear and applying a cool cloth to the bruised area.

[Paula J]

Just curious......I use a nasal mask and also get the "saddlebags" under my eyes. Do those of you who use a nasal pillow get those, too?

[chunkyfrog]

I've noticed less of the saddlebag effect since I've been drinking more water/lost weight.
My ankles and feet no longer swell as well. It might be related.
The doc gave my MIL a pill for it.

[catwoman]

This is an old thread but the problem is new to me. Got a CPAP a few years ago, tried several masks for months, none fit properly, eventually gave up. Used it a couple of times since, like during the week after deviated septum surgery (required for surgery). Then a couple of nights ago had a lengthy episode of disordered breathing so I used the machine the next night. Second night, last night, was very disrupted from the mask always needing to be adjusted. This morning the white of my left eye from iris toward nose is bloody but not painful. Swelling of tissue under the skin around the eye has always been a problem for me with CPAP, but not this. Don't know if it is from mask pressure or direct air, but in any case it confirms my great disappointment with this technology and with the prescribers' limited knowledge. No one mentioned eye issues to me. From looking online now, it seems that even if one uses gel drops before bed, if the air is coming up through the tear duct, not from a leak in the mask, it's a more complicate problem than I thought. For those of us whose mouths open during sleep, the smaller mask and pillows options don't work. I've also tried chin strap and mouthpiece but they didn't work. I am a slender fit woman age 60, and I know we are a somewhat ignored subgroup--we aren't helped by the typical advice to lose weight or change diet. I've looked up the Winx device, which looks interesting, but is only for those who don't open their mouths. I have seasonal allergies year round, so although the symptoms are managed fairly well with OTC meds, I live with chronic congestion. Breath right strips and the new internal nasal breathing devices sold in the same area are helpful for nasal breathing, but they don't address the underlying apnea. That sensation of not being able to draw in air, and of losing the autonomic ability to breathe in--of having to make an effort to draw breath-- is disturbing. (I've not been tested for asthma; I don't wheeze or have chest tightness).