Mouth Breathers

I just posted my intro under Newbie from Indiana's post. I think I've finally got this mess sorted out, and figured out how to get the machine I want cheaper online than my copay was for an old machine they picked for me with no humidification, despite my main comment on waking up was that my throat killed me.

My question is about mouth breathing. At the sleep center I was told it is healthier to switch to nose breathing and given the nose mask with a cold humidifier. It did clear up my usually clogged nose the next day, which was nice, and not having the full face being covered seems nice. However Is what the tech said true? Should I get a mask that works with how I usually breath or try to make the nose thing work.

The other problem was a three day sore throat. Thats why I have chosen to buck the system and pay cash for a Resmed S9 autoset w/the heated humid unit and go for reimbursment through anthem/blue cross.

Should the humidifier take care of the throat, and did the inability to breath through my mouth effect it either?

Thanks so much for this forum and all the info you guys have posted, its been eye opening.

Throughout the sleep study experience I did not get any accurate information or feedback from anybody at the center, just hooked up to a 15 year old machine and basic nose mask. My primary doesn't know any better and was just going along until I got busy on the internet and 8 hours later here I am.

I'm ready to order tomorrow, I did compare to the latest Remstar which I also liked, but add the software fee and its pretty close to the S9.

Thanks to all in this community who have built up this tremendous resource. Its helping me deal with one of the most bizarre aspects I have found in the already surreal medical world.

-Pablo, Arcata, Ca, just diagnosed, 34 yrs old.

Unless you know for sure that you really don't mouth breath once asleep (test by taping for 1-2 nights, or at least try a good chinstrap for improvement if not perfection) then I would go for a full face mask - always handy if you get a cold anyway), just make sure it's the right size and fit.

Please check your private message box.

If you can normally breathe through your nose during the day without any issues like a lot of nasal congestion or badly deviated septum you might be able to do the same at night with a nasal pillow mask. Sometimes mouth breathing at night is just a habit we get from gasping for air due to the apnea.

Dry mouth and sore throat are usually symptoms of mouth breathing. Best treatment for that is to keep mouth shut if possible. Humidifiers are designed to hydrate the nasal passages and even some people who use a full face mask will complain of sore throat because it is drier than the humidifier can fix. If mouth breathing is minimal..the humidifier might help.

If you mouth breath because you simply cannot normally breathe through your nose due to physical reasons that can't be fixed....then you need a full face mask.

i am a mouth breather and use Swift FX. with just the Swift FX i was waking up in the morning with the most incredibly dry mouth...and still waking up at night some due to the "system" not being closed due to open mouth. got chin strap and things were much better. less dry mouth, less waking up. but then i thought maybe i should crank down the tightness on the chin strap some more so mouth was guaranteed to be shut. this resulted in way more sound sleep and way less dry mouth symptoms of any sort.

Hi! I'm totally new here. But I went for my titration visit last night and used a full mask, covering nose and mouth. I asked for it b/c I am a mouth breather and even with using a humidifier in my room have not woken w/o a sore throat in years! I can tell you last night, after using this mask, was the first time that I haven't had a sore throat in the morning since I can remember. Still going to take some time getting used to, but so worth having the full face mask.

I don't mouth-breathe, however my mouth drops open during sleep so that my therapy is going up my nose and out my mouth. IMHO this is different from just mouth-breathing as I still breathe through my nose when doing this.

This is where the desert mouth is the worst as I see it.

cheers,
xena

Chances are you think you are a mouth breather for the same reasons I thought I was a mouth breather.

I used to think that because I would wake up always breathing through my mouth. Well, it is the largest opening in the head to bring in air, and if you suffer from apnea, chances are you may breathe through it to get the most air in after an event and make your brain happy. With the sleep apnea, your body is under the impression that you are simply not getting enough air through your nose, and it compensates by opening your mouth. But is the mouth well suited for breathing, well, except for bringing in large quantities of air in, no.

The nose on the other hand helps filter the air coming into our bodies. What do you think all the “mineral nuggets” are in your nose but filtered particles? The nose also does something else that is very important and that is warm and humidifies the air we breathe. The mouth on the other hand brings in large amounts of cold, unfiltered and dry air when we breathe. As I have said before here, if I could breathe in through my eyeballs and ears I would… we are suffocating, so what do you expect?

One other thing that I have found repeated on the web in various different posts and in talking with medical professionals is that the FFM does the opposite of the mandibular advancement device and pushes the chin and the tongue backwards. This in turn closes the airway and more pressure is needed. Contrasting with this, the nasal mask I find I need to push my tongue forward to help seal the mouth off, and my jaw also does not get forced back. One question I do have though has to do with the chin strap and it effect on the jaw. Although I have never used one, I wonder if it also may have the same effect on the jaw.

As far as a full face mask goes, I started out on one, and my pressure needs to keep my airway open and my AHI below 5 was almost always pegged at 20cm. With the nasal pillows, I have found that I can drop down to about 10cm and maintain an AHI below 5, although I normally use 15cm to keep the AHI a little lower. For me, that’s a 25% - 50% reduction of pressure and makes my night much more enjoyable as I avoid the constant aerophagia that I used to have.

Lastly, I also found a study that noted that the CPAP adherence was higher after 1 year with a nasal vs. full face mask (5.3 ± 0.4 vs. 4.3± 0.5 hours per night, p = 0.01) for OSA patients (see p7 of that cited document).

In some cases, I could see that a FFM is the only option. There may be those who have such a compromised nasal passageway that there is no other alternative to get adequate air into the lungs. Yes, CPAP therapy concentrates the air entering us, but sometimes no matter how much pressure you use, you can’t get the needed air any other way. When I was told that I had a deviated septum and it was no wonder I had sleep apnea I thought there was no way I could use a nasal mask. I tried for about a week to just breathe through my nose with the FFM and I was quite surprised that I was able to comfortably breathe. As others have said, if you can comfortably breath through your nose while sitting, than chances are you can breathe through your nose while sleeping. So my advice for all would be if you can pass this simple test, then try the nasal mask (mask or pillows), if that doesn’t work, try the hybrid, and lastly if that doesn’t work give the FFM a go.

We were all (well, almost all of us) born nose breathers, so give it a try.

John

Perrybucsdad has a really good point--a lot of us think we are mouth breathers because we are gasping for air with apnea. When I started this over a year ago, I KNEW I was a mouth breather and had severe claustrophobia. I had spent my life breathing through my mouth even during the day because my nose was always stuffy and I never felt like I got enough air. With OSA, I had spent years waking up from suffocation nightmares. Dry mouth was a normal state for me. I just KNEW that I'd never learn to breathe through my nose at night and I wasn't even going to try because using a mask was bad enough, no way could I ever breathe through my nose.

Well, what a difference a year makes! Due to a variety of circumstances, I tried a nose pillow mask. The first night was actually good--I discovered that I could breathe very easily when air was being blown into my nose, and my nose actually cleared up. It was the best night I'd had with my cpap since starting to use it (this was about three or four months after starting). It took a couple months to really train myself to keep my mouth closed at night and to keep my tongue positioned behind my front teeth so that it blocks off the air even if my mouth drops during sleep. I taped for a while, and used a small pillow to support my chin for a while. After the first couple months, my leak lines were great and I rarely open my mouth at night now.

I breathe easier now even during the day. I'm a confirmed nose mask user (except when I have a bad cold). Old dogs CAN learn new tricks! After a lifetime of being a mouth breather, I finally joined the ranks of nose breathers.....it's amazing what can happen when apnea is treated and your body has a chance to recover and function more normally.

Weezy