F & P Flexifit 407

[DNAClone]

Hi
I settled on the Flexifit 407 for my nasal mask and have noticed that the silicon seal seems to stretch out & loosen up which I believe may make me tighten straps in more in to keep the leak rate low.
I have only used the mask for 1 month.
Do any users of this mask find it necessary to replace the foam & silicone seal kit this often?
If I need frequent replacements I don't mind since I qualify for monthly cushions.

For my Full Face, I have selected the Forma which is identical to the HC 432. These masks have an identical foam and seal as the Flexifit Nasal Masks.

[twokatmew]

Interesting. I've been having to tighten the head gear on my FlexiFit 406, which is the petite version of the 407. I've been using the mask for almost three months while trying a number of other masks, so it hasn't had a tremendous amount of wear. I bought a replacement foam cushion and seal. The older foam cushion doesn't seem to have broken down, but the new seal is much "stickier" than the original one. Interestingly enough, I just picked up a new 406 from cpapauction (for ~$8.00!), and the seal on the new mask doesn't appear much (if any) different than the seal on my original mask. What I do notice is that my original head gear is stretched out and a whole lot floppier than the new, unused head gear.

I use citrus wipes on the seal daily and wash my face with either Dr. Bronner's or liquid Ivory before I mask up. Once a week I soak the mask and seal in warm water and either of the aforementioned soaps, rinse and let air dry. (I also never soak more than 10 mins per the instructions.) Sometimes I let the head gear go an extra few days or a week before I wash it, but it never gets grungy. Before I got the replacement seal kit and new mask, I wondered if perhaps a "soap build-up" had lessened the stickiness of the seal, so I dipped it in boiling water for about five minutes. It seemed a bit better, but it made no difference as far as leaks go. ... And neither has the replacement seal. I wonder if the new head gear will make a difference? I'll probably try it tomorrow after it dries, as I washed it a bit ago.

BTW, the Zest is the newer version of the 407 (as well as the 406 now that it comes in petite too). The head gear on that mask does not have the lighter weight gray stretchy piece on the lower back strap. Instead, it's the thicker black elastic all the way around. I do notice that the gray part on my original head gear seems to have stretched quite a bit. Cpap.Com sells the headgear for the Zest separately, but not for the Zest petite.

Anyway, I thought head gear was supposed to last at least six months. I've adjusted and adjusted it, but I'm not sure I'll get another three months wear out of the original head gear ... unless it's stretched out all it will stretch.

I've been wondering if there's a better way to keep the mask seal clean and sealing well for longer than the short time I've had it. If I remember correctly I noticed seal problems after I'd been wearing the mask for a bit over a month.

BTW I qualify for monthly cushions too, but my DME tells me they bill the same as a mask, so I can only have one every three months! They also insist I can only have one disposable filter per six months, when I can actually have two per month. As a result, I just bought the replacement seal kit and a bunch of filters out of pocket. Grrrr. I intend to mention my dissatisfaction to my doc when I see him tomorrow for my first follow up.

I hope this helps and sorry for rambling....

[araminta]

I've been using an F&P 407 since the beginning - about 6 months ago. And only a few weeks ago, I replaced it with a one -- but only because there was a weird problem with the plastic that guides the wire.

I wipe it nitely with pure witch hazel, and wash weekly with Dr. Bronner's.

Maybe your pressure is higher than mine? So it puts more strain on the material? Just a wild guess.

[DNAClone]

Besides the foam and silicon being easier to clip on, are there any additional advantages of the Zest over the 407? I have loaded up on inexpensive foam and seal kits for my 407. I didn't realize that the Zest was an enhanced version of the 407

[twokatmew]

I tried the Zest petite and liked it quite a bit except that the exhaust is noisy compared to the quiet 406. The exhaust was moved from the elbow to the mask frame and sits above the elbow now. The noise from the Zest was particularly bothersome because it wasn't just a matter of hearing myself inhale and exhale. I could hear the "inhale" start before I was finished exhaling, and it threw off the rhythm of my breathing, no matter how much I tried to ignore it. I even tested it with EPR off (normally only set to 1), with no improvement. I haven't been really sensitive to mask noise except for this phenomenon.

The other thing is that to accommodate the exhaust on the mask frame, they made the elbow smaller where it joins the mask frame. I found that it was surprisingly stiff when I moved the hose (and tended to unseat the mask), unlike my 406 which swivels easily. Because the intake elbow is smaller at the mask frame, air coming into the mask blew directly on my nose -- not the end of the world, but a little disconcerting.

The foam insert seems to be exactly the same (Zest and 406/7), although the part numbers are different. Because the silicone clicks into place on the mask frame, the mask looks a little smaller, because it doesn't require all that silicone to hold the seal on the mask.

Vent rates for the Zest are a little lower than the 406/7 at lower pressures, the same at middle pressures and higher at higher pressures.

I really wanted to like the Zest and perhaps will try it again later on. I just didn't feel I wanted to spend ~$80 for a mask I wasn't sure about.