Bleep leaks

[HD4Mark]

I have been using a Bleep Dreamway and ports for over a month now and it has been the best solution for a mask by far. Lately I have been getting leaks through the tape on the ports. It usually blows right up into my eye so it's not fun.

I use witch hazel on a cotton ball to clean off around my nose every night and am clean shaven. Bought some Nexcare absolute waterproof tape that seems to be the same as the tape on the ports and place a small piece on the edges where I think the leak starts. The added tape does help but last night again leaking. I have even pre cut pieces and put them on the night stand so if I wake to a leak I have a patch ready.

I did have the bulb part that attaches to the bottom separate but snugging up the "bikini" velcro stopped that.

Any ideas?

[loggerhead12]

If you have *any* crease or fold at all in the adhesive it will turn into a channel that will leak air, especially right on the edge of the adhesive. You have to figure out a way to get it to lay perfectly smooth on your skin when you're applying it or it will leak. You might also need to shift the positioning so there is more adhesive toward the side that leaks so it can get a better grip there.

[Pugsy]

Use something besides the witch hazel as a skin prep.
I thought witch hazel was a really good product until I read the ingredients which include some oils and when a person already has a tendency to have oily skin the drying properties of witch hazel may not be enough.
Also make sure that whatever you use to wash your face doesn't have extra oils in it. Pretty much anything that "moisturizes" has some sort of oil in it.

khauser had a real problem with skin prep due to his oily skin no matter what he tried. I forget exactly what he ended up getting but I imagine he will be along later and tell you what he did or you could search his posts.

[Miss Emerita]

I use alcohol prep pads, found in the diabetes care area of the drug store. You can also experiment with pushing and pulling your the skin/flesh of your nose and cheeks to get a nice surface to press the adhesive bits down on.

[elsueno]

x

[chunkyfrog]

It would be interesting to observe any correllation between dietary fat and adhesive effectiveness.

[HD4Mark]

The witch hazel I bought is supposed to be natural. The only other ingredient on the label is alcohol. Alcohol is what I was using before. I picked cotton balls just for the reason they are soft. Maybe I should just use old fashion Ivory soap to wash & dry. That is what we both use for showers anyway.

I try to make sure the ports go on smooth because I also suspect a little channel forming that the air can sneak through. I am getting much better with practice at connecting the ports. Actually got them hooked up in the dark without a mirror. I guess a mirror wouldn't help much in the dark anyway.

Kind of off topic but: Finally have a DME that has Bleep and in my insurance. Now they are telling me I need to return my ResMed machine to the old DME and get the same one from them. I do continue burning up the 10 month period. So I ask why. Two different DMEs can't bill your insurance is the answer. So I ask why? That is the way it is. This is the craziest scheme I have ever dealt with. I told them I can shop Kmart and Walmart so why not shop different DMEs. What I really want is to just buy the stuff and get reimbursed. Insurance carrier says they have no way to do that. It gets crazier. Wow.

EDIT: Also I am supposed to bring the machine to them and get the new one same day. That's great except we go somewhere warm 1600 miles away for the winter. So I will just pay for the ports until spring.

[booksfan]

Another thing to remember is that Stuart is an excellent resource for anyone having problems with the Bleep. You can always give him a call. He will be happy to help.

[Dreaming1]

There are topicals for the skin that block oil from coming through. They wipe on, dry fast and clear. Maybe help with skin adherence problems in this thread.

[HD4Mark]

Tried just 99 44/100% pure Ivory last night. Slept great until around 5am then small leak blowing right towards my left eye. Grabbed my handy blowout patch kit and slept until almost 7. Late for me and felt rested so no harm.

I will just keep fiddling around with cleansers and tape until I find the formula. It still is a great improvement from any of the traditional masks I tried.

[khauser]

As pugsy noted, I have had real issues getting a routine that works. Here's what I do:
1) I cut the long ends off the ports and save them.
2) I wash my face, especially around and on the nose, with https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GYYQ5MB/re ... 2CQZ6C61MR. You must use a cleanser that leaves no residue, no oils, no moisturizers.
3) After that dries, I use https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZUHLW8/re ... UTF8&psc=1 (recommended by Stuart). This goes anywhere I'm putting adhesive. Dries quickly.
4) Apply dreamports.
5) Using a cut off portion, I close the space at the top of the nostrils.
6) I use https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009Q2PE4/re ... UTF8&psc=1 (also recommended by Stuart). A small strip under the nose and another on top, then 2 slightly wider strips, one on either side of the nose angling up the crease and ending just under the bridge. This gets buried in to the crease so it adheres well (I also had the leaks you have).

Anything adhesive gets strong pressure to enhance the bond.

Facial hair is not a problem, but I shave the small space under the nostrils to the top of the mustache. Stuart (also has a mustache) passed on this wisdom. For that task it helps to have a razor with a single blade. Some Gillette blades have a single edge trimmer, this works well for me.

So it may seem like a lot but in reality it's not even 5 minutes, and it works perfectly.