Newbie with a sensitive nose :(

Hello all! New to life with CPAP, but not new CPAP in general - not only does my father use one, I work in home health and have seen more than a few (dilapidated) ones in my time I just found this forum about an hour ago, so forgive me if I haven't had opportunity to research this question further:

Tonight will be my third night with my shiny new ResMed S9 and AirFit P10, and my nose is NOT HAPPY!!! I have no less that FOUR tiny pimples on my nares, right where the mask will be contacting them, and they hurt! I will not be giving up the rest I get with my CPAP but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a wee bit apprehensive about strapping it on this evening. Have you any suggestions as to how to make it more comfortable???

RicaLynn wrote:Hello all! New to life with CPAP, but not new CPAP in general - not only does my father use one, I work in home health and have seen more than a few (dilapidated) ones in my time I just found this forum about an hour ago, so forgive me if I haven't had opportunity to research this question further:

Tonight will be my third night with my shiny new ResMed S9 and AirFit P10, and my nose is NOT HAPPY!!! I have no less that FOUR tiny pimples on my nares, right where the mask will be contacting them, and they hurt! I will not be giving up the rest I get with my CPAP but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a wee bit apprehensive about strapping it on this evening. Have you any suggestions as to how to make it more comfortable???

Welcome to hosedom.

There are a couple of products that might help. The first is Lansinoh, which is a salve used by nursing moms to help with chapped nipples. You only need a little dab on the edges of your nostrils. It also tends to help with leaks. You can find it in any drugstore. Comes in a purple tube. The other product is Ayr Gel, which is an aloe-based lubricant. It can be pretty soothing, and is also available at drugstores.

The only other thing I'd suggest is to acquire a full-face mask for when you can't breathe well through your nose. Breathing nasally, sometimes the pressure of the machine can help to blow out (no pun intended) any congestion you're experiencing; but it's wise to have a backup full-face, just in case.

Stick around and read as much as you can. I wish you well!

Welcome to the forum. A very, very thin application of Lansinoh (pure grade lanolin, found in the baby supplies aisle) on the affected skin can help, and doesn't hurt the silicone mask. During the day some people find that a bit of 99% or 100% pure aloe vera gel helps the skin heal.

Over time most people find that they no longer need to use anything on their skin.

RicaLynn wrote:Tonight will be my third night with my shiny new ResMed S9 and AirFit P10, and my nose is NOT HAPPY!!!

nip on down to the store/pharmacy and get some nipple cream... lansinoh lanolin is the one I've used and seen most recommended, but I imagine any good one will do. I'd get the smallest tube you can find, a tiny bit goes a long way.

in the meantime, fill out your equipment section in your profile and tell us which s9 you have, there's like 13 basic models.

look for the REF number on the bottom left of the sticker, or depending on the model, the name up above the power button.

edited for thingss bleepin beauty didn't seem to approve of

palerider wrote:nip on down to the store/pharmacy and get some titty cream...

Yes, be sure to ask the pharmacist about Lansinoh using exactly that terminology. /sarcasm

BleepingBeauty wrote:

palerider wrote:nip on down to the store/pharmacy and get some titty cream...

Yes, be sure to ask the pharmacist about Lansinoh using exactly that terminology. /sarcasm

party pooper, fine *nursing mother cream" better?

Lol palerider, you and I are gonna get along JUST fine bleepingbeauty, I'm not easily offended but thank you for looking after others' delicate sensibilities

I was a wee bit concerned that the lanolin would exacerbate the breakout? I have some good quality organic beeswax based lip balm, would that do in a pinch? I've been slathering emu oil on periodically, for the anti inflammatory properties, but I fear that's a bit thin for anti chafe this evening

I thought I had put my equipment in my profile?

RicaLynn wrote:Lol palerider, you and I are gonna get along JUST fine bleepingbeauty, I'm not easily offended but thank you for looking after others' delicate sensibilities

I was a wee bit concerned that the lanolin would exacerbate the breakout? I have some good quality organic beeswax based lip balm, would that do in a pinch? I've been slathering emu oil on periodically, for the anti inflammatory properties, but I fear that's a bit thin for anti chafe this evening

I thought I had put my equipment in my profile?

Honestly, I don't know about beeswax (organic or otherwise). There are very few products out there that won't do harm to the silicone of the mask. For just a few nights, I would think it wouldn't be a big deal; over the long haul, I'd go with Lansinoh.

Slather away during the day with whatever makes it feel better.

Yes, your equipment is in your profile... in lieu of a full face mask, you could also switch to a nasal mask from your pillows... surrounds the nose, but doesn't touch the nares. It has a smaller footprint on the face. If that mask bothers your skin, you could then purchase mask liners to protect your face - liners can also be used with a full face mask.

RicaLynn wrote:Lol palerider, you and I are gonna get along JUST fine bleepingbeauty, I'm not easily offended but thank you for looking after others' delicate sensibilities

I was a wee bit concerned that the lanolin would exacerbate the breakout? I have some good quality organic beeswax based lip balm, would that do in a pinch? I've been slathering emu oil on periodically, for the anti inflammatory properties, but I fear that's a bit thin for anti chafe this evening

I thought I had put my equipment in my profile?

your eq is showing up now.

I'd read about the lanolin cream before I tried a nasal mask, and it hurt my nose (which, I suppose means I've got a delicate snozz) following the advice I'd read from others here, I got some of that, and noticed immediate improvement, slather on a bb sized amount at night, and things felt much better, and after a few days it wasn't bothering me anymore.

I second LL's mention of mask liners for nasal and full face masks... they make the difference between (further) insanity on my part and being able to sleep pretty well when I'm using my full face mask.

When a new nasal pillows mask had caused a very tender sore in my nose, I did a couple things to try to mitigate the pressing against the sore spot. For one, the mask came with other size pillows, and I switched to a different size for a while so it would hit in a different spot. Also, I fidgeted with the angle the pillows were sat at. Wasn't my ideal fit, but tolerable for a few nights.

Unfortunately the RT didn't give me the other pillows, I only have the one, and I'm pretty sure all the fiddling I did last night is what did me nose in :-\

While you are busy lathering your self up with various creams...

I will point out that sometimes irritation is caused by a mask being too tight on your face. You may want to double check the fit, and then loosen it up just a little and see if that helps.

My Air Fit has no buckle adjustments, so perhapsi just need to reposition the straps?

RicaLynn wrote: My Air Fit has no buckle adjustments, so perhapsi just need to reposition the straps?

you can adjust the split in the straps to adjust (somewhat) the tension, you can also stretch the strap some ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MylY6a6KXMY