Quatro Air fitting question

My husband has been using the Resmed Quatro Air mask size medium since he got diagnosed with OSA a year ago. It fits him well,for the most part, only gets leaks when he's really relaxed and his lower lip drops down below the cushion. I'm wondering if he might be better suited for a size large. Could someone who has used this mask & have tried different sizes please tell me where the difference of size is between the medium & large? This is the only mask he's used & is very happy with it, in spite of me waking him to tell him to quit sucking on his mask!

GayleM wrote:My husband has been using the Resmed Quatro Air mask size medium since he got diagnosed with OSA a year ago. It fits him well,for the most part, only gets leaks when he's really relaxed and his lower lip drops down below the cushion. I'm wondering if he might be better suited for a size large. Could someone who has used this mask & have tried different sizes please tell me where the difference of size is between the medium & large? This is the only mask he's used & is very happy with it, in spite of me waking him to tell him to quit sucking on his mask!

I had the same exact problem.

Be aware that the Quattro Air does run small, so if you think a medium might be too small it probably is! I normally take a large in other FFMs and really need an XL in the Air, but of course it isn't made.

Other suggestions: The mask is designed to be worn a bit lower on the nose than most FFMs, so if you lower it a bit then the bottom of the mask will ride a little further under his lower lip. Also, in order to get the proper amount of "sticktion" so as to not slide, my Quattro Air demands to have the seal washed in warn water and baby shampoo daily after use to remove facial oils. Likewise, I have to wash my face every night before bed.

Try these things and you may find they make the mask much easier to use as I have.

Good luck!

Here is a link to the sizing guide for a quattro Fx. Simply download the file, print it, and cut out the guide. Be sure to check the scale with a ruler to verify that it has printed to scale.

If this is not the right mask, do a google search for (the mask name) sizing guide. Hopefully there will be one available for your particular mask.

Hope this helps.


http://www.cpapplus.com/sizing-template ... mplate.pdf

Here is the template for quattro air.
https://www.easybreathe.com/secure/file ... 0Guide.pdf

I started cpap on a medium Quattro Air, and after a few days I thought it might be too big, so tried a small, and that one ended up in my mouth at some time during the night... so I went back to the medium and stayed with it... so maybe he does need a large. If he can get a trial one from the DME, or else go to cpap.com and order one, with return insurance in case it doesn't fit, that would be a way to find out.

old dude wrote:
I had the same exact problem.

Be aware that the Quattro Air does run small, so if you think a medium might be too small it probably is! I normally take a large in other FFMs and really need an XL in the Air, but of course it isn't made.

Other suggestions: The mask is designed to be worn a bit lower on the nose than most FFMs, so if you lower it a bit then the bottom of the mask will ride a little further under his lower lip. Also, in order to get the proper amount of "sticktion" so as to not slide, my Quattro Air demands to have the seal washed in warn water and baby shampoo daily after use to remove facial oils. Likewise, I have to wash my face every night before bed.

Try these things and you may find they make the mask much easier to use as I have.

Good luck!

I will definitely try lowering it a bit and see if that helps.

Unfortunately with no insurance at the moment & limited funds (he was out of work 4 months but working now, I've been out of work 3 months and still looking) I can't get him a full mask right now. I did just buy him a new cushion since his was past worn out & recently got a tear in it, so hopefully that will hold him out for a while. But once we get back on our feet will definitely get him a new one in size large!

Thanks everyone for your responses!!

GayleM wrote:
Unfortunately with no insurance at the moment & limited funds (he was out of work 4 months but working now, I've been out of work 3 months and still looking) I can't get him a full mask right now. I did just buy him a new cushion since his was past worn out & recently got a tear in it, so hopefully that will hold him out for a while. But once we get back on our feet will definitely get him a new one in size large!

Thanks everyone for your responses!!

You can use a large cushion in the mask frame he has now. The cushions can be found for 20-30 dolars on ebay.

Gary

some folks take a strap of some sort and thread it through the lower mask straps, and under the chin, this helps encourage his mouth to stay shut, and keeps the mask from riding up.

I got an Quattro Air M but it is too small and switched to L but it was too big and would leak But you can use the same framework to L & M
Kjell

I use this mask in medium. Would not use anything else. I tried a large first but it leaked at the nose bridge. The bottom of the mask should rest in the depression between the lower lip and the chin. Have him cinch the lower strap a little tighter. He will get used to it. I have the same problem with jaw drop. The Quattro Air is lightweight. The mask is awesome in my opinion.

The mask works pretty well for me in large. The difference between the large and the medium is simply the size of the cushion; the frame is the same size.

The problem may not be the size of the mask but the fact that your husband's mouth opens and his jaw drops when he relaxes into sleep. Even when I wear the large that causes problems; the mouth area is still inside the mask, but the change in the face means the seal no longer works for the new configuration and there are leasks.

Does your husband sleep primarily through his nose? In other words, can he sleep at least initially with his mouth closed?

If so, one solution I use for the mouth drop situation -- which sounds harsher than it is -- is to use a 2" wide piece of silk surgical tape (you can buy rolls on Amazon) that I place just under my nose and extend to just underneath my chin with my mouth closed. The tape helps keep my mouth from dropping at night. I've gotten used to it and it's easier for me than a chin strap; and I learned early on that in fact I can breath through the surgical tape itself if need be (which helped eliminate the initial anxiety in going with this solution). But now with the tape and a tightening of the lower straps, as well as making sure the mask is not placed too high up my nose, the problem is virtually eliminated. Plus I get whatever benefits there seem to be from sleeping through my nose....

I was fitted by my RT for the F10 as needing a medium. I know that I have jaw drop when asleep and suspected that I would need a large. He let me take both cushions. I started with the medium. It hit my face just like the fitting directions say it should. Unfortunately, the changes in my face when asleep caused the cushion to hit me in just the wrong places to maintain a seal. The next night, I tried the large. It was just a little bit bigger and circumvented the low parts of my sleeping facial structure. The large cushion hits me lower on the chin, so when my jaw drops, my mouth doesn't fall out. I also use a cushion liner that really helps. I also tighten the lower strap more so that the the nose part of the cushion can inflate more, thus creating a more forgiving seal at the bridge of the nose. As was stated earlier, your frame can accommodate both the medium and large cushion, so you can experiment with each size more minimal cost.

A larger size mask might work, but if it doesn't here's what I did to keep my FFM mask from riding up... it's a bike cuff strap that happens to fit me, however one can use a old set of headgear cut to make the under-chin fit. It simply loops around the lower straps. One bonus is that it helps keep my jaw in place like a chin strap, only lighter and more comfortable:

Sir NoddinOff wrote:A larger size mask might work, but if it doesn't here's what I did to keep my FFM mask from riding up... it's a bike cuff strap that happens to fit me, however one can use a old set of headgear cut to make the under-chin fit. It simply loops around the lower straps. One bonus is that it helps keep my jaw in place like a chin strap, only lighter and more comfortable:

Thanks so much for all of the wonderful suggestions!

I'm definitely going to adjust the straps on his headgear. I've noticed that the mask does sit really high on his nose. And I love the idea of the homemade chin strap, I'm going to see what I have to make one with. And I didn't know that the medium and the large cushion would fit the same frame! That's great to know!

Sir NoddinOff, where did you get the mask liner? I could also use a cushion pad for the back of my neck. Any good internet stores that carry these accessories? Thanks

coolbranch wrote:Sir NoddinOff, where did you get the mask liner? I could also use a cushion pad for the back of my neck. Any good internet stores that carry these accessories? Thanks

As you can see by my avatar, I'm not Sir Noddinoff, but I can answer your question. The liner he is using is Pad-A-Cheek, go here: http://www.padacheek.com. There are also various strap pads and hose cozies on the site, you could ask if she has a pad for your neck. If you go to our forum sponsor's website (https://www.cpap.com), they have another liner, RemZzzs, which are also available from many DMEs, and I think I've seen them at places like Amazon and eBay. Cpap.com does have a few of the pad-a-cheek products, but I don't think I've ever seen the liners there. Noddinoff says the RemZzzs are too putzy for his liking, but many here do use them, myself included. I initially tried the pad-a-cheeks, but have found that RemZzzs are more to my liking. YMMV.