Blue Tape

[Sheffey]

Hello. Newly registered member but a longtime CPAP user and longtime familiar with this forum to some degree.

What has worked well for years is suddenly not working well. My AHI has gone from 2 or 3 to 8 most nights. At 8 I don't feel well -sleepiness, fatigue, irritability.

I noticed concurrent with my AHI going up I am mouthbreathing more. Taping sounds horrible but I am going to try it due to being desperate. Will use it underneath my FFM.

Two questions on the tape. I just picked up a roll (3M brand blue painters) this afternoon and I chose the size .94 inches. What size do you use?

Second question, when I opened the package the tape smells very bad. Is this noticeable when you put it on with the mask?

Thanks for any kind responses,

T. Sheffey

[jwerley]

Hi there and welcome to the forum. Your story is similar to mine as far as AHI numbers going up and having to resort to tape. I use the painters tape as well, however I put two layers of Nexcare Gentle paper tape under it. I do this because sometimes it gets wet and comes off easy, so the painters tape holds down the paper tape. I don't like the smell either, but I have convinced myself that there is not anything harmful in it because people do half to handle it with their hands, thus coming in contact with the skin. I don't think I would put the painters tape directly on my mouth....I have sometimes put a cotton cosmetic face wipe over my lips too. I am like you...... I am desperate to keep my mouth closed!!!

Take care, Janice

[Drowsy Dancer]

I use 2" EL (Edge Lock). I use two pieces in a big "X" over my mouth.

I've never noticed any smell.

*I originally said 1.5", but then I measured the stuff. It's 2".

[Sir NoddinOff]

Here's an interesting thread about tape from the bygone days: viewtopic/t87410/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=83 ... pe#p757831

[G'night Gracie]

I noticed concurrent with my AHI going up I am mouthbreathing more. Taping sounds horrible but I am going to try it due to being desperate. Will use it underneath my FFM.

Hi, I'm very new to CPAP, and trying to come up to speed quickly. I thought that taping might only be needed when using a nasal, or pillow type mask, but that using a FFM would eliminate the need to worry about mouth-breathing. You mention using tape along with a FFM, so now I'm confused. Thanks for any more info or explanation, and best of luck to you in solving this issue.

[Pugsy]

Taping is not a critical need when someone is using a full face mask.
The reason it is done when using nasal (over the nose) or nasal pillow masks is to prevent excessive air from exiting the mouth and lower the effectiveness of the pressure in the airway. If too much is lost the optimal amount of pressure can't be maintained in the airway below the oral interface and thus apnea events cannot be prevented effectively.

Some people don't want to use a full face mask for whatever reason and they feel that they have excessive amounts of air exiting the mouth.
If a full face mask is used and a good seal is maintained there is no need to tape because if the pressure does try to exit the mouth it isn't wasted and the pressure in the airway is still maintained.

What has worked well for years is suddenly not working well. My AHI has gone from 2 or 3 to 8 most nights. At 8 I don't feel well -sleepiness, fatigue, irritability.

I would be looking at the software reports to see if anything stands out there before resorting to tape if I were already wearing a full face mask and up till now things were going along okay. If the full face mask is itself leaking...taping won't help.

[Sheffey]

Here's an interesting thread about tape from the bygone days: viewtopic/t87410/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=83 ... pe#p757831

Thank you. That thread is only six months old.

I thought blue painter's tape was the standard around here but that thread does not confirm. Maybe I bought the wrong tape.

I may try it tonight anyway. Wondering about how to apply it. Will it pull the skin off my lips if not careful?

[chunkyfrog]

My lower lip sneaks out from under some brands of full face mask.
I use J&J 1" cloth tape in a 3" strip straight down the middle with my Elan.
The blue tape worked fine for a long while, until I discovered the cloth tape is more flexible and sticks better.
Skin varies a lot; not everyone has skin as tough as mine.

[Sheffey]

Hi, I'm very new to CPAP, and trying to come up to speed quickly. I thought that taping might only be needed when using a nasal, or pillow type mask, but that using a FFM would eliminate the need to worry about mouth-breathing. You mention using tape along with a FFM, so now I'm confused. Thanks for any more info or explanation, and best of luck to you in solving this issue.

Gracie, I agree. My case is one of desperation. My therapy was doing the trick for a very long time at pressure 10 - 14 cm. Now it is running as high as 18 and my AHI has gone from about 3 to 8 or so. Concurrent with this I notice a lot of mouthbreathing and before there was only a little.

So I am wondering if the open mouth is causing a need for the higher pressure.

18 cm is pretty tough pressure and something is waking me up and I am dreaming when awakened.

I suspect REM causes maximum muscle relaxation causes pressure needs to go up and then the apneas are not treated quickly enough and they awaken me.

Of course I don't know, just speculation. In any case, even with a FFM it is good to breathe only through your nose and like I said I mostly breathed like this before something went wrong some weeks back.

Leak line looks good.

[Pugsy]

I used the blue painters tape back when I first started therapy and it worked just fine.
I am concerned about using it with a FFM and what you are hoping to accomplish. The reason we wear a FFM is so we don't have to tape.

[Sir NoddinOff]

My only problem with blue tape, duct tape etc. is that is is not produced in a medical specific environment. I used to work in commercial, medical and food production environments as a design engineer for over thirty years and know that not much care is taken with cross-contamination, if not specifically demanded by (QS) Federal Regulation/Medical Goods Manufacturing Practices Standards. What's that mean? Put simply, I don't trust blue tape et al to to be free of contaminates, therefore I don't want them anywhere near my mouth or stuck to my face. I could tell you industrial process horror stories from my bygone days in the industry, however most people in my profession believe in the code of "Don't kiss and tell". Nuff said.

[jweeks]

I thought blue painter's tape was the standard around here but that thread does not confirm.

Hi,

I would not use that tape. I suggest the 2 inch wide 3M micropore tape. It is a little expensive, but if you use a short piece, maybe 3 or 4 inches, a roll should last a month or two. This stuff is really sticky, and it will make a mess of your lips. As a result, put something on your lips that will not stick to the tape. Chap stick might work. I use Vaseline (and not gasoline as the spell checker substituted the last time I posted this suggestion).

-john-

[chunkyfrog]

It's possible to turn off autocorrect.
Unfortunately, it keeps resetting back.

[Jay Aitchsee]

I am concerned about using it with a FFM and what you are hoping to accomplish. The reason we wear a FFM is so we don't have to tape.

Excessive mouth breathing may occur, resulting in dry mouth and disturbed sleep, even with a FFM. Though, theoretically, therapy should not be affected.

[salton]

I use 3/4 inch 3m micropore paper tape. It hold good and is not so hard to get off. I use my tongue to wet it from the inside so I don't end up waxing my lip! It does not take much to keep my lips closed, as I use a chin strap too. I am still trying to figure this out. 25 days into therapy.