Mouth Taping Discussed with Physician???

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 8:23 pm

I'm still at a loss as to why it works for so many people & here's why;

If my mouth drops open- my tongue has also dropped.
The air rushes out of my mouth.
If I tape my lips shut-my tongue still drops.
The air rushes into my mouth.
My lips are taped.
The air goes into my cheeks and I turn into a blowfish.

So-how do you tapirs (remember I'm a blowfish) stop this from happening?

The chinstrap I devised goes under my chin and over the top of my head so that the pressure supports the base of my tongue. The Tiara chin strap I had worked pretty well but allowed occasional mouth openings. I have not awakened blowing air or with a dry mouth since starting to use my homemade one.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 8:25 pm

no doctor in their right mind would recommend taping of the mouth. doing so opens them up to all kinds of liability problems, their malpractice carrier would probably drop them.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 8:37 pm

krousseau wrote:I'm still at a loss as to why it works for so many people & here's why;

If my mouth drops open- my tongue has also dropped.
The air rushes out of my mouth.
If I tape my lips shut-my tongue still drops.
The air rushes into my mouth.
My lips are taped.
The air goes into my cheeks and I turn into a blowfish.

So-how do you tapirs (remember I'm a blowfish) stop this from happening?

The chinstrap I devised goes under my chin and over the top of my head so that the pressure supports the base of my tongue. The Tiara chin strap I had worked pretty well but allowed occasional mouth openings. I have not awakened blowing air or with a dry mouth since starting to use my homemade one.

you have to train yourself to keep your tongue planted into the hard palate in order to maintain the seal. Some people try putting polygrip in the palate and holding the tongue there.

Taping works for most because just keeping the lips together can prevent the mandible from dropping. If your lips part just 1/8" it can start the process to mouth breathing. If you don't keep your tongue planted in the palate it drops, relaxes falls back into the back of the throat creating an obstruction.

Dental devices work by moving your mandible down and forward. this opens up the airway. Use of some chinstraps it can perform the opposite action of the dental device by pulling the mandible up and back making your OSA worse. Some cpap masks tightened too much accomplish basically the same thing. This is why the chinstraps don't work for most.

I see some here taping their mouth completely shut and end up like a blowfish as you mention. You have to train yourself to keep the tongue in the palate to assist making the seal or that will happen. I only use a single 1" wide piece of tape horizontally and it doesn't even cover from corner to corner of my mouth.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:07 pm

josh wrote:What does everyone mean my taping?

Links to: Mouth leaks - Air Leaks - Tape - DIY Guard

REMmaster · Post by **REMmaster** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:29 am

The fact that there are doctors out there who would endorse this is sad.

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:47 am

RemMaster - Their are several sleep doctors 'out there' who are not in a vacuum. They are focused on one thing: Compliance. If taping works for some people, so what. I think most docs are simply worried about the drunk who's family might sue them if they show support publicly.

Have you tried it?

Lyza · Post by **Lyza** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:34 pm

I thought of this post yesterday when I had an appt with my regular Dr. i've been on cpap for only about 3 weeks now and she was asking how its going, etc. I told her it seem to take take care of my daily headaches that i was having before cpap, except yesteday i woke with one, cuz I didn't take the time to tape my mouth properly. She giggled and said what?? I explained to her that the chinstrap they gave me was useless and after these forums and whatnot, I've resorted to taping my mouth shut. She laughed so hard, it was hilarious... Then she thought about it and was like hmmm what kind of tape, etc.. In the end She just giggled about it and said do whatever works for you. She did admit to having no real knowledge of cpap therapy and had never tried a mask on with all this air gushing at your nose...

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:01 pm

Lyza, gotta love your doc! She is a thinker.

I also love the ones who say, "Just a few moments--I want to go check on something." They are not the self-important demi-gods some docs can be. There is just too much medical knowledge to know it all.

I am taping, but only the center 1-1/2 inches of the mouth. I had a Nissen Fundiplication performed to fix a hiatal hernia and GERD. That is wrapping a portion of the stomach around the end of the esophagus to create a sphincter. It is now physically impossible for me to vomit....

While I wouldn't recommend this to all xPAPers, it does alleviate the problem for me of asphyxiating from aspirated vomit. I am, however, still at risk for drowning in saliva. .

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 12:08 pm

So my before bed ritual can include a sit and stay command session with my tongue? The poligrip to the palate-with the partial strip of tape-sounds like an OK method. The real truth of the matter is that my "Inner Nurse" gets in the way of taping my mouth. But as I said my homemade chinstrap works great for me.

Mouth Taping Discussed with Physician???

Docs and Taping