Newbie needs mask help

Hello all. Thank you in advance for your advice and help. I'm a small woman - 4'9", about 115 pounds. I've been diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, but it seems to have a an abnormally large impact on my quality of sleep. I've gotten used to sleeping with a CPAP nose mask, and the first few nights the mask seemed to fit well, but now the leaks around my nose are getting quite bad. I'm wearing the ResMed AirFit N10 for her, small. It's too wide around the bridge of my nose. I've tried the boomerang nose gell pad to pad my nose. It's too big. I've tried stuffing cotton balls and tissues in the gaps, and that doesn't work. I've ordered two new masks:
Mirage Kidsta Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear and
Eson 2 Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear - Small

Both masks should arrive via FedEx on Monday, but I'm not optimistic that either will work. I wish there were a store where I could try on all of the masks in one place! In the meantime, I'm worried that I'm going to spend a fortune trying new masks

I'm seeking any advice in finding a mask that would be a good fit. Short of that, I'm looking for advice in helping with leaks around my nose.

Thanks again,
jenny

bluemoves wrote:Hello all. Thank you in advance for your advice and help. I'm a small woman - 4'9", about 115 pounds. I've been diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, but it seems to have a an abnormally large impact on my quality of sleep. I've gotten used to sleeping with a CPAP nose mask, and the first few nights the mask seemed to fit well, but now the leaks around my nose are getting quite bad. I'm wearing the ResMed AirFit N10 for her, small. It's too wide around the bridge of my nose. I've tried the boomerang nose gell pad to pad my nose.

Hit up padacheek.com, I bet Karen can fix you up with something that'll help, and she's a super nice lady.

Reduce the surface area contact between your skin and the mask interface to mitigate potential leakage .... ergo, try the nasal pillow type masks. ResMed makes several good models but there are other brands too.

Unfortunately, I can't wear the nasal pillows. I tried several and they all hurt badly.

I'll contact padacheek. Thank you!

I found it really frustrating to try to get a seal on a nasal mask because I'm also a small person & don't have much extra padding on my face. That space between the nose and cheekbone would always leak.

When you say the nasal pillows hurt badly, what kind of pain were you getting? These are the most comfortable masks I've tried but the shapes are really individual and if one doesn't seal against your nostril shape you can end up overtightening it to try to make up for it and that can sure cause some pain. Have you tried the Swift FX or the Airfit P10? I currently love the Airfit P10 but I had to get the headgear stretched out because at first it pulled the nasal pillow against my nose too hard. They don't need to be tight at all, just basically set against your nose.

Nasal pillow masks that are properly sized and correctly fitted don't/won't cause pain.

Have you looked at the Swift FX Nano?
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... dgear.html
I am about your size in height with small facial features...the Nano was the best of several nasal cushion masks that I tried.

If these masks fail you look at a resmed Activa nasal mask. I had the large for a lot of years. Its disadvantage is that it is a larger old school mask but it has a large seal that floats on your face and sits lightly. When properly adjusted you are able to press it down onto your face quite a ways before the straps would be tight without any air pressure. I think the right size mask would conform to your face extremely well.

Be sure to find the sizing guide.

Thank you for the replies. To answer your question regarding nasal masks --- (sorry about getting graphic about this I get cold sores on my nose if I have any type of friction on my nose. Even wiping my nose a few times in a row will cause my nose to flare up with cold sores. Oddly enough, I don't get them on my mouth -- only on and in my nose. They hurt like crazy. So having something pressed against my nostrils each night would be a no-no. I tried one nasal mask and I could feel my nose start to hurt, similar to how it hurts before I break out with cold sores.

At your suggestion, I just ordered the Swift FX Nano For Her Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear - Small. Luckily it has free return insurance. I hope it works!

I understand.
You know your body better than anyone else.

I hope you have good luck with the Nano. You just won't know unless you try it.
Of all the nasal cushion type of masks out there it was the only one that I had good success with...which of course doesn't guarantee that you will have success with it but it's small and it might just work for your small features.