Are nasel pillows for low pressure treatment only?

[Controlshift]

Hi

I'm still on the hunt for the right mask and I'm interested in nasel pillows but a sleep tech told me my pressure 12 is too high for pillows.
Is this your experience? Any more information would be great

[Julie]

Don't listen to techs.

There are probably some pillows that work better than others at very high pressures, but most are not a problem - you have to try things out for yourself though and decide when it comes to any specific pair.

[49er]

Totally agree with Julie.

By the way, I would love to know why techs are wrongly telling people they can't use nasal pillows above a pressure of 12. This isn't the first time we have heard this and I am curious as to where this information is coming from.

49er

[Julie]

Empty brain syndrome...

[49er]

Empty brain syndrome...

[moonslice]

I just did a sleep study where the tech used a nasal pillow and said I needed high pressure with it.

[Pugsy]

That is an old wives tale started by someone so long ago that no one knows who started it.
Probably someone who hadn't even used them.

Nasal pillows can be used quite successfully even with fixed pressures over 20 cm.
Sometimes leaks can be a challenge at higher pressures but it's not like the other options are less challenging. In fact I would think that nasal pillows are less challenging due to the fact less surface area needs to be kept sealed.

I see pressures exceeding 20 almost every night and up around 18 quite often during the night. I never know those pressures happen until I see the software reports. Lots and lots of people use nasal pillows at pressures higher than what I use.

So it can be done and it's fairly common and not rare at all.

[Cavalier]

My pressures average a little over 12 and I use pillows quite successfully. I have found what works best for me is the Nuance Pro. I had too many leaks with some other pillows. I guess it has more to do with how well the mask fits your face. I couldn't use the P10 at all because of the leaks. The Swift FX and LT were ok but not a comfortable for me as the Nuance Pro.

[Aclyesia]

My pressure is 6-14 with an average at 12 and I don't have issues with my nasal pillows. My leak rate is less with the pillows than with my previous nose mask.

[palerider]

Hi

I'm still on the hunt for the right mask and I'm interested in nasel pillows but a sleep tech told me my pressure 12 is too high for pillows.

spread that tech over your garden, you'll be amazed at how much better your plants will grow with that much fertilizer.

I use pillows, top pressure 18+

[K8TEK]

I used to use the comfortgel blue nasal mask. I switched to the P10 and I don't look back.

[chunkyfrog]

That is an old wives tale . . .

Somebody needs to round up all these old wives and push them off a bridge.

[sleepy42]

I can't imagine how a rumor like that would even start. I've personally used nasal pillows since the start of my CPAP treatment , some 12 years ago. While I did briefly try other options, for me the nasal pillow is by far the most comfortable, particularlly with the most recent designs...

Meanwhile... I can't imagine how or why high pressures would be a problem with a nasal pillow... unless somehow the pressure is so high that it blows out blood vessels in your nose, or blows your nose up like a balloon... By my way of thinking, the nasal pillow is probably the best suited for high pressure CPAP applications. The way it works, it's compact size, should limit the potential areas for leaks, more so then any other mask type.


Anyway... I wouldn't trust a sleep tech to tell me what mask to wear regardless. You use the one that works, end of story. They should be bending over backward to let you try any mask you ask to try.

[Ladyflower]

Yea, I was told the same thing and that I would need a full face mask. I said there was no way I was using a full face mask. Asked for the AirFit p10 nasal pillow mask and have been using it with no issues. I have an ASV so my pressures vary and at times do go above 20 with very rare minimal leaks.

[Okie bipap]

Last year, when the mask I was using caused a large, open sore on my nose, my RT recommended nasal pillows. My pressure starts at 20 and often goes higher.