Comfort Lite 2 broken/ leaks?

[jnickellrental]

My comfort lite 2 leaks on the inside angle of the corner/ angle peice of the hose unit above my head. Its the elbow peice that the regular hose connects too. Interestingly this is not the first time it has happened. This is the 2nd unit in 2 weeks that has done this too me. they already gave me one replacement. Is anyone else having this problem. It doesnt leak anymore than a hole by the nose peice for exhaleing. Is it even a problem? I'm afraid to glue it because then it might interfere with it twisting.
Thanks!
Josh

[UCFgrl]

No that is not a problem, it is supposed to do that. I'm surprised that the person or company giving you the mask did not tell you. Most, if not all, masks have that feature that allows the excess air to come out otherwise you would have extra air in there and would be really gassy. The only thing you have to be careful with CL2 is that the attachments to the headpiece are delicate so always remove the mask by pulling up on the head strap.

[jnickellrental]

I know that it is supposed to release air along the tube in front of the nose piece where all the holes are, but is it supposed to leak from the corner tube on top of your head?

[Bob...]

I know that it is supposed to release air along the tube in front of the nose piece where all the holes are, but is it supposed to leak from the corner tube on top of your head?

NO, there should not be air coming from there! If you are sure it is not coming from between the hose and the fitting I would take that one back also.

Bob

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[Ms Piggy]

Hi, I just rigged mine up to make sure, It does NOT leak in the area you mention, - at the moveable elbow the large hose attaches to. sounds like you have a problem.

[dsm]

I agree, it should not leak there - interestingly I tried a CL the night before last & a CL2 last night.

The CL had pillows & the CL2 had prongs. At 2am I removed the CL2 as these prongs were hurting my nares. The unit is very light. The older CL is incredibly fragile & will easily break if not handled carefully.

In looking at the 'double swivel joints' where the main hose connects, there should be no appreciable leak occuring there.

These are not the most robust masks I have seen.

Cheers

DSM

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[NyNurse33]

I have the CL2 and it does not leak at the top. Are you sure it is and that you are just not feeling air from the interface or exhale port blowing up towards the top?

CL2 had prongs

I think I have the pillows, what do the prongs look like (curious) ?

[rested gal]

I think I have the pillows, what do the prongs look like (curious) ?

Both the original ComfortLite and the improved ComfortLite 2 have nasal pillows...not nasal prongs. The other options for the CL2 are:
"simple cushion" - covers the end of the nose like a tiny traditional nasal mask.
"direct seal" - seems to be more like raised nubs that sit against the outside of the nostrils.

A person can choose two of the three options for the CL2. All three sizes of two options come with the mask.

Generally "pillows" create their seal more on the outside of the nostrils with just a slight bit of the open tips actually inside the nostrils.

Nasal "prongs", on the other hand, are designed to be pushed into the nostrils, mainly using the rims of the nostrils to hold them in place.

Usually "prongs" interfaces have very minimal headgear since they rely on the nostrils to hold them in place.

Nasal pillows interfaces usually have more elaborate headgear designed to hold the pillows against the nares (nostril openings) without having to cram the pillows into the nostrils.

Some examples of popular nasal pillows interfaces:
Breeze
ComfortLite and ComfortLite 2
Aeiomed "Headrest" (formerly the Aura)
Swift

The Hybrid full face mask also uses nasal pillows, plus a mouth covering cushion.

Some examples of nasal prongs interfaces:
NasalAire and NasalAire II
Snapp
Lyra
Infinity

Some companies refer to their nasal "prongs" as "cannulas", but whatever you call them, they need a very snug fit inside the nostrils, so there's considerably more inside the nostrils than with nasal pillows.

If you go to this page on cpap.com, you can follow links there to see "Nasal Pillow Mask Systems" and "Nasal Prongs Mask Systems" :

https://www.cpap.com/simple-find-cpap-p ... /cpap-mask

[dsm]

Thanks Rested Gal for clarifying the prongs/pillows issue.

The CL I have has 'pillows' that are different from the CL2 'pillows' and I was calling the latter prongs on the assumption that 'prongs' covered any nasal fittings that even partly go into the nostrils vs the older CL 'pillows' that appear to not fit inside the nostrils, but on closer inspection even the CL parts look like they are intented to go in.

The SNAPP sure do have elongated 'prongs' & better fit that description.

The Tiara mask's 'pillows' are the same as the CL2's pillows'.

So much to learn

DSM

[byront]

I use the CL2 and have also encountered the leaky elbow. It has only occur once though, in the middle of the night. I reached up and fiddled with it for just a little bit and it stopped. I haven't run across it since and my pillows seam to maintain a good seal most of the time, but my leak rate seems to go up and down quite a bit throughout the nights - I'm now wondering if this might be the cause. Could this also throw off the validity of my readouts. --- BT

[jnickellrental]

Thanks for the replies. It is definitely the elbow. I can take the nose piece off and just plug the main hole with my finger and it blows right out of the seam where the two halves of the elbow join together. I will try to return it on monday.
Thanks!
Josh