I velcroed up last night!!

Oh . . my. . . GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I owe someone a hug THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I slept through my alarm this morning with my mask intact for the first time years.

I use the same mask. Please share what you did!
Thanks!

Actually, I changed to a Swift FX about a month ago. I can't find where to change it in my profile!!!!! My strap was riding up in the back, so I put a piece of the loopy, stiff velcro along it at the suggestion of someone on this site. I cannot believe what a difference it made. No leaks, didn't ride up, stayed put . . . ahhhhhhhh.

The original idea came from UFO 13 and is in the "lab rat fixes" thread on this site.

Here's a photo with the velcro on the Swift LT, but it works the same for the FX:

Velcro is magic.
I put some if the loopy 'rough' side of the velcro on the back straps of my F & P Opus and no more slipping and sliding around.
My mask stays in place all night, and I don't keep waking up to adjust those straps - and no leaks.

Thanks to all those who post these simple and quick fixes for annoying problems.

I have been intermittently using a velcro loop on my masks (all) ... it is like having a finger pushing gently on the nose of the mask and it maintains a perfect seal no matter what. So if I am not getting a perfect seal? Velcro up. It is cheap, cheap cheap.... get it at your local dollar store or for sure at your local computer emporium. It works phenomenonally.

Hi torontoCPAPguy, what do you do with the velcro? where do you put it on the Quattro?
Thanks
Sue

The Velcro mod is very effective in my experience. I am lazy and just superglued it in (used medium viscosity superglue). The bond is very strong and will easily outlast the headgear. Thank you to the person who discovered this.

My only reservation regarding the Swift FX (and nasal pillows, in general) is that your nostrils may become much larger. Some people with narrow nostrils may not mind this, but I have a family member using a Swift who now has very large nostrils. It's a bit disturbing to see (I find myself staring sometimes). And no, I have not said anything about it (would be rude, and the damage has been done). I try to switch to my nasal mask every other night to prevent this, though I don't know if it will prevent the "mega nares".

[quote="helpful1"]...My only reservation regarding the Swift FX (and nasal pillows, in general) is that your nostrils may become much larger. Some people with narrow nostrils may not mind this,...

As long as I feel as good as I have 2 of the last 3 days, I am not going to worry about that.

My only reservation regarding the Swift FX (and nasal pillows, in general) is that your nostrils may become much larger.

I have NO clue why your nostrils would become larger. The Swift FX is meant to sit lightly against your nose, NOT in it. If there is enough pressure to make you feel like your nostrils are enlarging, it's TOO TIGHT!

Either that, or it's a conspiracy by Miss Piggy to set a new beauty standard.

I use a full face mask because anthing less makes no sense while sleeping. One would think the nasal pillow, even if fitted correctly, would tend to expand the nasal passages, from the pressurized CPAP air. I'm not a vain person but would be concerned using a mask that allows me to moutbreathe, and then find my face disfigured when I finally overcame that obstacle.

This is a picture of lady who required plastic surgery to fix her enlarged nares.

I confirmed my suspicion. Several people on this board have noted an enlargement of their nares with chronic nasal pillow usage:

viewtopic.php?t=49174&f=1

Postby floboots on Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:28 pm
This may just be my overactive imagination, but I swear that after having used the Swift LT exclusively for the past 6 months, my nostrils look bigger to me when I look in the mirror. Does anyone else sense that their nostrils are being stretched?

When I turn on the CPAP (14 cm), I definitely feel the nasal pillows inflating and pressing outward to make their seal. Is it possible that they could stretch the skin over a long period of time?

Perhaps I'm imagining this, but my nostrils were not small to begin with, and I hate to think how big they could be 20 years from now (well, perhaps then I could just forgo the mask and insert the hose directly into my nose).

Does anyone else have this suspicion/experience?

Postby Scarlet834 on Thu Feb 11, 2010 11:06 pm
You know, I don't rule your theory out, esp. since I believe the nose continues to grow as we age. Plus we have sometimes nice new creases in the face. The trade-off is fine with me, though. I pick this over zombie-dom.

Postby kteague on Fri Feb 12, 2010 1:10 am
Well, I'm hoping you are right. I've always had slotted nares, and envied those who could flare their nostrils. (Did Hollywood give me the notion that's sensual?) But seriously, for a while in the mornings the opening is rounder. Just looked in the mirror and they are almost slits again, but not quite. I've been using nasal pillows for about 4 years with barely discernable difference. I do remember thinking that was more pronounced early on when I used the Swift. It must not have been the right size because it had to be pushed upgainst my nose so hard to get a good seal that in the morning I looked like Miss Piggy. Now, if I'd continued that for 4 years, maybe I could get a good flare going.

Postby scrapper on Fri Feb 12, 2010 8:50 am
See this link for prior discussion:

viewtopic/t49174/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42 ... ed#p371552

Postby floboots on Fri Feb 12, 2010 1:31 pm
Thanks for the link. Perhaps I am not as crazy as I thought--others have apparently had their nostrils stretched as well. On the bright side, it is a bit easier to breath during the day.

This is a picture of lady who required plastic surgery to fix her enlarged nares.

How do we know that this lady's nares were "remodeled" by a cpap nasal pillow in the first place? Where is the peer reviewed literature supporting your assertion???

In fact, the article you "plucked" this photo from is here: http://archfaci.ama-assn.org/content/9/ ... dce8bac624
and it has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with nasal enlargement due to use of CPAP pillows. It's just someone who didn't like her nose and got plastic surgery for it.

I can post a million pictures of people with enlarged nares. It doesn't mean any of them are caused by a CPAP nasal pillow.

A few self-observing anecdotes are not going to scare me away from using the best and most comfortable mask to ensure my ability to use CPAP.

So does this mean the velcro sticks to your hair and keeps the mask from slipping? I use the FX and a chin strap and I have slippage problems with both.

yes Jillian... that's what the velcro's doing