DRY MOUTH

[MissPM]

I use a humidifier, but my mouth still gets horribly dry. what do i do

[Perrybucsdad]

I'm a little new to all this, but if I see correctly, you are using a nasal mask, correct? Are you opening your mouth and mouth breathing and that is causing your dry mouth? I would think the humidification would not reach the mouth as you have a nasal mask.

[Firehope]

Seems like you're opening your mouth while you sleep, and the air is escaping out the mouth, so you're not getting your therapy at all, pretty much.

Get a chin strap to force your mouth closed, or get a full-face (nose+mouth) mask. Or, if you are a mouthbreather, get a mouth-only mask.

[ArizonaGUy]

Sorry to thread-jack, but I hate the dry mouth problem and I use a full mask. Doesn't seem to change regardless of humidity level.

Off-topic, I need to figure out what specialist to go see about my sinuses. I always have some level of blockage, day or night. Worse at night - tried a nasal mask in the sleep study and that lasted all of 2 minutes before I had to say that won't work at all.

[ameriken]

Sorry to thread-jack, but I hate the dry mouth problem and I use a full mask. Doesn't seem to change regardless of humidity level.

Off-topic, I need to figure out what specialist to go see about my sinuses. I always have some level of blockage, day or night. Worse at night - tried a nasal mask in the sleep study and that lasted all of 2 minutes before I had to say that won't work at all.

You can probably talk to your regular doc about sinus issues, but if you do need a specialist, you need an ENT: Ears, nose, throat doctor.

[ameriken]

I use a humidifier, but my mouth still gets horribly dry. what do i do

You definitely need a full face mask (FFM). That doesn't necessarily cure the cottonmouth problem, but if you are getting dry mouth with a nasal device, that means you are mouth breathing and as has been said earlier, that means you are getting little or no therapy at all.

[glasscutter]

My dental hygienist recommended Biotene. Its a protein-enzyme mouth spray found in the mouth wash isle. It's working pretty well for me.

[TalonNYC]

The Biotene didn't do much for me, I still wake up with a bone-dry mouth =(

[ultimatestrap]

It definitely sounds like you are breathing with your mouth open at night. You probably need a chin strap. You should not have dry mouth in fact it should be moist. The Ultimate Chin Strap is the best. I've tried so many from inexpensive to very expensive. Good Luck...this all takes time to adjust. Its a personal journey.

[DadscreepyCPAPmask]

The Ultimate Chinstrap http://sleepapneasolutionsinc.com/. You can say by by to a dry mouth.

[nanwilson]

Guys...he/she is using a ffm ...take a look at the equipment...Quattro FX full face mask. When you use a ffm, it is for mouth and nose breathing. My mouth get dry sometimes with my ffm too, I just do a big swallow, swish around my tongue and go back to sleep.

[Pugsy]

I have read where a few FF mask users do use a chin strap to help minimize the mouth breathing in an effort to limit mouth dryness. Even with full face mask if a person does a lot of mouth breathing the added moisture from the humidifier is not enough to prevent excess mouth dryness. Some people just have more dryness than others.
Obviously if a serious mouth breather they must use the full face mask. Using a chin strap might help with some of the mouth opening and reduce the dryness a bit. Chin strap doesn't always stop the serious mouth breather but it might lessen the amount of mouth breathing. An option if they prefer full face mask and experience extreme dry mouth.
It doesn't always have to be used only by those who want to use a nasal interface only mask.

[ElGordo]

I am pretty new to CPAP, and I am using a nasal mask. However I have through my last non-CPAP years always woken with a dry mouth. Since going on the hose I have been totally dependent of a rigorous nose rinse with salt water before going to bed to avoid mouth breathing. Ginger tea with lemon or lime also seems to clean up the nose. I guess anything that opens the nose will reduce your mouth breathing.