Barrel cozy for Swift FX causing leaks

[JointPain]

The last few nights I have tried using Padacheek's barrel cozy for the Swift FX pillows mask, because the silicone of my Swift FX pillows has been resting on my upper lip and that was a little uncomfortable.

Although they felt much nicer, the pillows didn't seal properly with the barrel cozy on. I tried shifting them, adjusting the tightness of straps etc. and the only way to get a good seal was to tighten them so much that I had a sore nose in the morning. I backed off the tension one notch last night and slept really badly because of leaks, and towards morning got up and took the cozy off. The pillows seal wonderfully again.

I thought I'd ask if anyone else has experienced something similar and whether there are any tricks for getting a good seal with the cozy on. No big deal if they won't work for me.

Also, I noticed with the cozy on that the air felt like a cold wind on the inside of my nares. I have never experienced anything similar without the cozy.

Thanks,
JP.

[apneawho]

The last few nights I have tried using Padacheek's barrel cozy for the Swift FX pillows mask, because the silicone of my Swift FX pillows has been resting on my upper lip and that was a little uncomfortable.

Although they felt much nicer, the pillows didn't seal properly with the barrel cozy on. JP.

Ditto to this JP. I bought the barrel cozy for Swift FX because of the feeling of pillow resting on my upper lip. I experienced leak and stopped using the cozy. In the meantime, I have become so accustomed to the feeling of the nasal pillow that sometimes I wake up and think my mask is off when it is indeed still on, so I never went back to try to barrel cozy again.

[squid13]

I've had the same problem with the barrel cozy. Tried to use it a few times but causes leaks, take it off and everything is fine. Some people have no problems with it and some do so I just put it in the drawer and forgot about it.

[Janknitz]

The barrel cozy shouldn't interfere with the seal because it does not come between your nostrils and the pillow. Are you sure that you pulled the cozy down below the neck of each pillow???

The headgear needed a slight loosening with the barrel cozy--very slight--but it did not interfere with the seal in my case.

The other possibility is that the slight increase in weight may pull the pillows away?? Do you use a hose hangar? That prevents the weight of the gear from pulling the pillows away.

[xenablue]

I have no issues with the barrel cosy - and I use it with both my LT and FX. One thing I do differently, is turn the cosy so the smooth side is against my skin - don't like that fuzzy against my skin - it makes me itch.

On thinking about this, I'm surprised the cosy would cause leaks - if the pillows are seating correctly just inside your nostrils and the cosy isn't involved in any of the sealing, then maybe the cosy isn't place correctly? JM2CW.

If I was having problems, I'd contact Karen at PadaCheek - I'm sure she would have some ideas.

Cheers,
xena

[Pugsy]

Ditto to what Janknitz and xenablue have said. Unless the slickness of the material is encouraging pillow movement in general, I can't see how the barrel cozy can cause an increase leak. It was not designed to be a leak stopping agent though. It was designed to prevent rain out. I have minimal leaks using it but then I had minimal leaks before I started using it. I use it for comfort (so soft against skin) and to prevent rain out.

Of course it can be like everything else with any CPAP equipment..YMMV as we are all highly individualized.

[xenablue]

Hmmm, I agree Janknitz - I'm thinking if people are having leaks, they're not pullling the cosy down below the actual pillows so the pillows are completely free.

If you no longer have your instructions, you should be able to see exactly how they're positioned on the PadaCheek website.

Cheers,
xena

[SleepingUgly]

I am having more leaks lately and am cinching them too tight and then my nose hurts. Maybe I should try without the cozy barrel, even though I was not under the impression it was making leaks worse.

[welki]

I don't like the feeling of silicone on my upper lip, so ordered and just received my barrel cozy and pad-a-cheek covers for the sidepieces (because they seemed like a good idea) of my FX Swift for Her and have experienced the same things ... leakage and the sensation of cold air entering my nose. I knew that, just because of the thickness of these items that I'd have to adjust my headgear slightly to allow for the size differences and I did (without the cozy and side pieces, my Swift is loose - with them, I had to tighten up to keep the leaks down). I even increased the temp of my climate line gradually over several days, but that didn't help with that (real or perceived) icy air feeling.

There's not much that can go wrong in putting the barrel cozy on - the nose pieces are either through the holes in the material or they're not. They felt fine at first, but during the night, I was woken up by leaks and that pesky cold air and, by the morning, my nose was sore from tightening the straps and, for the first time in six or seven months, I had noticeable and long lasting strap marks on my face. (They were probably from my chin strap being cinched tighter and tighter against my face as I tightened the headgear.)

I like the idea of the smooth side of the fabric against my skin and will try that. And maybe I'll order a hose hanger. Maybe we just need to find our "sweet spots." Still think the products are a great idea and that, given the human condition, we may just need to finesse our technique to adjust to our own physiology.

welki

[SleepingUgly]

I always thought the smooth side of the cozy barrel fabric WAS supposed to be against the skin.

[Pugsy]

I always thought the smooth side of the cozy barrel fabric WAS supposed to be against the skin.

Yeah, me too. I have always put the soft smooth side against the skin.

[JointPain]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It looks like the cozy either works or doesn't depending on how lucky you are.

The barrel cozy shouldn't interfere with the seal because it does not come between your nostrils and the pillow.

That's what I thought would have been the case.

Are you sure that you pulled the cozy down below the neck of each pillow???

Yes, very sure.

The headgear needed a slight loosening with the barrel cozy--very slight--but it did not interfere with the seal in my case. The other possibility is that the slight increase in weight may pull the pillows away?? Do you use a hose hangar? That prevents the weight of the gear from pulling the pillows away.

I don't use a "hangar", but I tuck a loop of hose under the elastic in my shorts so that the hose runs up my stomach and chest. There's no tension from the hose on my mask. (I don't move far when asleep. Basically I just alternate between my back and my left side.)

It seems to me that the cozy makes the pillows less conformable to my nose shape, so that they just don't adapt as well to the shape I need. I can get a seal if I work at it, but when my head is on the bed pillow the mask pillows will pull out just enough to break the seal. (Apologies for using "pillow" with two completely different meanings. Why did the mask makers choose such a lame name for them?)

It took me quite a bit of trial and error to find a way of wearing the mask that works for me. Perhaps I have a facial structure that is only borderline compatible with this mask, and the slight difference the cozy makes is enough to push it over the edge.

Thanks again.

[Pad A Cheek]

Hello All,
I am sorry the PAD A CHEEK Swift FX Barrel Cozy is causing leaks. There are a couple things I can suggest that may help. JP if you look at the pillows on your Swift FX before the barrel cozy is applied, and compare the position of the nasal pillows after you have applied the barrel cozy you may be able to remedy the issue. If the barrel cozy makes the nasal pillows push out from each other or pull in together, you can take the barrel cozy and make the little holes larger so they do not interfere with the position of the nasal pillows.

If the barrel cozy does not change the position of the nasal pillows, the outside edges of the barrel cozy may be changing the way the Swift FX fits your head. You can certainly trim on either or both edges of the barrel cozy to make it more narrow over all.

I would be very interested to hear if you try either one of these fixes. We are always wanting to improve our products and your feedback is crucial. If you cannot get it to work for you, please let me know. We do not want you to pay for something that does not work.

I hope you can get it to work and it helps you.
Karen

[JointPain]

Thanks Karen. I'll try trimming the cozy a little and see if that helps.

[JointPain]

Well, I finally tried enlarging the holes in the cozy last night. (I wasn't ready for a potential sleepless night until now). I hacked off (I tried trimming, but couldn't come close to the neatness of the original) about 1-2 mm of material from around each of the pillow holes.

The barrel cozy was much easier to put on that before, didn't seem to alter the shape of the pillows, and didn't need any adjustments to my headgear to use.

As far as I can tell I didn't have any leaks because of the barrel cozy and slept right through last night with no issues.

Thanks a lot.

In case it's relevant, I use the large size pillows.