Itchiness

Hi there! I'm recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. I've been using my cpap for about 2 weeks now. Its definitely an adjustment period, and I've already got some good tips from other posts- so thank you! I have a resmed for her machine, with a full face mask. I'm having some trouble with my face mask, so I've requested to try another mask that's supposed to be "for her" to see if that helps. (If the supplier will ever return my phone calls...) I'm also struggling with the bloating and stomach and chest pains from the air pockets. I feel like a balloon. But I've already been reading previous posts about that (again, hoping my doctor will call me back to adjust the pressure...) Anyways, I'm also struggling with waking up in the middle of the night with itchiness on my face underneath the mask. Sometimes it's itchiness on my nose, other times it's on other parts of the face. Has anyone else had this issue? Does it ever go away? I feel like the face mak is so much of a contraption and it takes so long for me to get the seal just right, I don't want to take it off and put it back on multiple times a night to scratch. But then if I stick my hand underneath the mask it breaks the seal and starts to leak. Any suggestions? Thank you!

ZumbaQueen wrote:Anyways, I'm also struggling with waking up in the middle of the night with itchiness on my face underneath the mask. Sometimes it's itchiness on my nose, other times it's on other parts of the face. Has anyone else had this issue?

trim your nose hair.

the air movement in a FFM (sometimes in a nasal mask) blows them around, and your animal brain thinks "there's a bug there, I'll make it itch so it gets scratched to dislodge the bug".

aggressive nose hair trimming has worked for MANY people with itchy nose/face syndrome while wearing a FFM.

note, it never feels like it's itching INSIDE the nostrils... funny the way things are wired.

Go to a place where they sell knitting and crochet supplies. Ask for a crochet hook 5 inches long and very thin (like a ramen noodle). If you use that under the edge of a mask it doesn't really break the seal but does a good job of scratching (though won't actually 'scratch' you as it's a smooth finish).

Can't delete this note for some reason...

palerider wrote:

ZumbaQueen wrote:Anyways, I'm also struggling with waking up in the middle of the night with itchiness on my face underneath the mask. Sometimes it's itchiness on my nose, other times it's on other parts of the face. Has anyone else had this issue?

trim your nose hair.

the air movement in a FFM (sometimes in a nasal mask) blows them around, and your animal brain thinks "there's a bug there, I'll make it itch so it gets scratched to dislodge the bug".

aggressive nose hair trimming has worked for MANY people with itchy nose/face syndrome while wearing a FFM.

note, it never feels like it's itching INSIDE the nostrils... funny the way things are wired.

And I thought this is one of the grate side effects of CPAP ! Perfect control that nose picking, scratching and ... is just not needed. Since I am almost able to control it at night I can control it when I eat, when I drive, in almost any situation. No more sticky key bord