WHICH IS MOST COMFORTABLE NASAL MASK

Im haveing trouble with the mask they gave me , My tech just said it was a comfort gel . But it keeps digging into my face and my nose leaveing painful red marks . Buy 4-5 AM my face usually is hurting to much to put mask back on i tryed loosening in but then i have leaks , Is there better quality nasal mask that any one can say is comfortable as far as not digging into your face , THANKS ,

Depends on who you ask.

I am happy with the ResMed Mirage Activa mask.

activa, activa, love that soft, squooshy silicone and bouncing mask bubble. truism around here that with exceptions for particular people, don't trust anything with comfort in the name. this wisdom was passed onto me without the exception for particular people--i've just seen some noted exceptions. but do the research--activa gets a lot of votes.

chadster wrote:Im haveing trouble with the mask they gave me , My tech just said it was a comfort gel . But it keeps digging into my face and my nose leaveing painful red marks . Buy 4-5 AM my face usually is hurting to much to put mask back on i tryed loosening in but then i have leaks

Three masks made by Respironics are probably the most widely dispensed "first masks" given out by DME's:

Comfort Gel
Comfort Classic
Profile Lite

If I had a dime for every post I've seen that spoke of one of those particular masks digging into the face and leaving painful red marks on the nose, even making open sores on the bridge of the nose, I could buy another Aura. It should almost be considered malpractice for those masks to be strapped onto the faces of trusting new users who are depending on the medical "professionals" to set them up with equipment they can actually use.

What a shame when people who are desperately trying to do this kind of inherently uncomfortable treatment are expected to "get used to" a mask practically guaranteed to hurt their face and leak. Not to mention causing them to drop out of treatment -- unless they are lucky enough to find a message board like this.

chadster, the ResMed Mirage Activa that several people have mentioned is a wonderful mask for most who try it. If "Standard" is the size the DME says will fit you, go ahead and try the Standard size; but ALSO make them let you try the "Shallow" size in the Activa.

Another very good nasal mask (covers the nose) imho, is Puritan Bennett's DreamFit (not their DreamSeal for the Breeze.)

The ResMed Ultra Mirage is another good nasal mask.

It's good to have several different masks to rotate on different nights. Keeps any one mask from always being on exactly the same area of the face and nose.

You might also want to try some of the nasal pillows masks. Aeiomed's "Headrest" (used to be called the "Aura"), ResMed's Swift, Respironics' ComfortLite 2 (be sure it's the newly released "2" -- not the original ComfortLite with no number in its name), and Puritan Bennett's Breeze with nasal pillows (if you sleep on your back a lot, skip the Breeze.)

A good mask that suits you is the key to this treatment! Good luck.

I also like the Activa. I tried the Swift first, and it was ok, maybe even good, but not perfect.

My otherwise-great-DME didn't offer to let me try the Activa, even tho I mentioned that I wanted to try it. By the end of the tryout period, I thought the Swift was going to be fine, so I didn't press the issue.

RestedGal, I didn't see your advice to try the shallow Activa in time, and so I ordered the Regular when I bought mine from cpap.com. I have to tighten the straps more than most users seem to in order to avoid leaks. Top strap tightening stops the eye leaks, and lower straps can be a little looser, but still not "falling off" loose like others describe. I wonder if I have the wrong size. Can you describe the difference? Is the pillowy thing just more shallow, or is it shaped differently?

Moogy