Nose getting plugged by pediatric mask

[sunnyU]

We are trialing CPAP for my son. It seems to me that his nose is getting plugged just from wearing a mask ('seems' because I can't get a straight answer from him). We have a Wisp.
Loosening the mask helped somewhat, but not 100% and also introduced massive leaks. I tried the Pixi tonight but it seems to be causing the same problem
What to do?

[Pugsy]

You might experiment with the humidity setting a bit and see if that helps the congestion.

Your choices for masks that are small enough for the little one is going to be extremely limited.

Sometimes people have issues where pressure from the mask across the bridge of the nose actually causes congestion. I have this myself and that's why I have always eliminated any mask that even touches my nasal bridge area. I simply don't bother with them. Heck, I can get congestion just from wearing sunglasses that are a bit heavy.

There are several masks out there that are nasal masks but seal totally under the nose and never touch the nasal bridge area.
Unfortunately I can't think of any small enough for a 5 year old's nose. I will think on it a bit though once I get some coffee in me and the cobwebs out of my head. Maybe I can come up with something.

[sunnyU]

You might experiment with the humidity setting a bit and see if that helps the congestion.

Your choices for masks that are small enough for the little one is going to be extremely limited.

Sometimes people have issues where pressure from the mask across the bridge of the nose actually causes congestion. I have this myself and that's why I have always eliminated any mask that even touches my nasal bridge area. I simply don't bother with them. Heck, I can get congestion just from wearing sunglasses that are a bit heavy.

There are several masks out there that are nasal masks but seal totally under the nose and never touch the nasal bridge area.
Unfortunately I can't think of any small enough for a 5 year old's nose. I will think on it a bit though once I get some coffee in me and the cobwebs out of my head. Maybe I can come up with something.

I was putting him to bed with the mask on (machine detached), but after 10-15 min he took the mask off and I realized his nose got very stuffed. Same thing happened yesterday.

[Pugsy]

I wonder how he would do using the P10 nasal pillow in the XSmall size.
Nothing touches the nasal bridge area but we would have to modify the headgear for sure.
That would at least either confirm or rule out the pressure on the nasal bridge area as the cause of the congestion.

Just how big is your little guy?

[chunkyfrog]

Most nasal masks tend to put pressure on my nose, triggering nasal congestion.
The funny thing about Wisp is that it comes with one of two different front frames.
The cloth one lets the cushion press on my nose, causing congestion.
The silicone frame is stiffer which holds the cushion up so it does not press hard around my nose.
If you can change to the silicone frame, it might work better.
It was the only Wisp frame that worked for me.

[Pugsy]

If you can change to the silicone frame, it might work better.
It was the only Wisp frame that worked for me.

It might help but it's again one of those YMMV things. I was using the silicone frame when I trialed the Wisp and only lasted 90 minutes with it because of the congestion it caused. Longest 90 minutes of my life.

I was wondering about the SleepWeaver but I don't think they make a mask small enough for a child. Heck, I felt most of them were too big for my nose.

We are dealing with a 5 year old....trying to make adult masks work on a tiny face. I need to go see what might be available in the child size market....haven't looked lately. Almost all of them put pressure on the nasal bridge area as well.

[Pugsy]

SleepWeaver does make a pediatric cpap mask.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/circad ... -cpap-mask

Is the Wisp being tried a Pediatric Wisp?

I just spotted this one...never heard of it but that doesn't mean much.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/sleepn ... k-headgear

As far as I know there aren't any for children that don't touch the nasal bridge area.
Choices are extremely limited for the kids.

[chunkyfrog]

I think they are concerned that nasal pillows might deform growing cartilage in a child's nose.
At least that was the gist of what I heard.

[Pugsy]

I think they are concerned that nasal pillows might deform growing cartilage in a child's nose.
At least that was the gist of what I heard.

That makes sense.

I wish the wee one was a bit older....prime candidate to try the Bleep but I don't know just how feasible it might be to use on such a small child with what is involved with attaching the ports and all.
Plus at this point we aren't for sure that it's simply the pressure on the nasal bridge area that is causing the congestion. It's a reasonable assumption but we don't know for sure.
Since the Bleep doesn't go inside the nostrils....no chance of it enlarging or deforming anything.
I think Stuart is working on a version that is pediatric friendly but that's in the very early stages so not an option at this time.
I think I might contact him and see what he thinks about a 5 year old trying the current Bleep version.

[Pugsy]

Have you considered some sort of home management system? It might help reduce the pressure on the nose from the hose hanging down and causing pressure?

Also...Stuart put the Bleep on his 8 year old son. Has a cute little video of the child with the Bleep on....attached to a machine blowing 7 cm...and the kid says he can breathe easily and actually does a little dance.
Now of course the child isn't sleeping with it....but it's a thought to put on the back burner. No headgear and nothing on the bridge of the nose at all.

[colomom]

Many adults struggle with getting used to CPAP, it’s even tougher for kids. My number one piece of advice to you is give it time.
My son was much older than yours when he started using CPAP, it took him a few months to work up to keeping the mask on all night but eventually he got there.

A few things that might help:
A hose hanger, if your son like many kids is a restless sleeper he’ll end up with the hose stuck and wrapped up around everything, you can get a hose hanger for $10 from Amazon which will help with this.
If your son is sometimes a side sleeper a CPAP pillow might also help. My son started with a Pediatric Wisp mask, it leaked horribly whenever he rolled onto his side, a CPAP pillow helped lesson those leaks.
For nasal congestion a decongestant like Children’s Benadryl before bed may help, nasal rinses, and extra humidity may also help.

[sunnyU]

SleepWeaver does make a pediatric cpap mask.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/circad ... -cpap-mask

It looks interesting! Does it put no pressure on the nose? I couldn't find a pic of how it looks on the side touching the nose.

Is the Wisp being tried a Pediatric Wisp?

Yes

I just spotted this one...never heard of it but that doesn't mean much.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/sleepn ... k-headgear

We have a similar one that LO refused to wear, with a soft triangle at the nose. Do you think it will put less pressure then Wisp? I can try get him to wear for a night.

[sunnyU]

Plus at this point we aren't for sure that it's simply the pressure on the nasal bridge area that is causing the congestion. It's a reasonable assumption but we don't know for sure.

What else might be causing it?

I think I might contact him and see what he thinks about a 5 year old trying the current Bleep version.

The dreamports look amazing!
There's also an issue of the hose wrapping around the neck, as LO turns all over throughout the night. The biggest advantage of Wisp is that the hose can be fixed on the top of the head and keep it away from the neck. I hope with pediatric dreamports will have a similar fixture, otherwise not sure if we'd be able to use it at all.

[sunnyU]

Most nasal masks tend to put pressure on my nose, triggering nasal congestion.
The funny thing about Wisp is that it comes with one of two different front frames.
The cloth one lets the cushion press on my nose, causing congestion.
The silicone frame is stiffer which holds the cushion up so it does not press hard around my nose.
If you can change to the silicone frame, it might work better.
It was the only Wisp frame that worked for me.

The pediatric frame is semi-rigid, possibly its similar to silicone one?

[sunnyU]

The pixi was horrible, the headgear kept slipping of his head and the mask was making a terrible noise, I was up half a night fixing it.
Yesterday I adjusted the Wisp to be as loose as possible, and fixed the hose so it would be pushing the mask away from the face a little. It was better, I think, but not ideal and I still see a forest of FLs on the oscar graph