Mirage Quattro Problems....again...

[Sheriff Buford]

Ok... please bear with me... I wore the Mirage Quattro for almost three weeks. In the second week, the bridge of my nose started getting sore (to the touch), but I figured that would go away soon. In the third week, it broke the skin, and in a few days, a nasty sore broke out. I went back to my Fitlife Total mask until the sore healed.

Last night I started the Quattro again. Yesterday, I did a search and I noticed that Sir Noddin Off suggested the porous 3M tape for the nose. I have the silicon nose pads, but they move around at night and I can't keep them in one place. The tape seems to work great (thanks Sir Noddin'!). But I found that when I went back to the Fitlife, I did not re-assemble the cushion on the Mirage correctly after washing and soaking it. Last night, I donned the mask and received an enormous leak around the cushion. I took the mask off, re-assembled the cushion correctly, and went to bed. I woke up around 1 am with a ferocious leak. I could not locate it so I wore the Fitlife the rest of the night.

Now the question: when you folks wash/soak the Mirage, do you completely dis-assemble the mask, or wash/soak in one piece? I will try a new cushion tonight to see if I messed the old one up when I washed the mask. The wife wants me to wear the Mirage because the Fitlife leaves red marks on my cheeks. I almost got the mask whipped, but problems keep cropping up. I'm about to drop-kick this mask, but I want to tell the wife I tried. What we guys do for our womenzes...

Sheriff

[Bama Rambler]

I use the Simplus now, but when I used the MQ I completely disassembled it, cushion and all.

[Denial Dave]

I got the sore when I started with the Quattro... I used a small round bandage until it healed.

I wash my quattro cushion separately every saturday.... the rest of the time, the assembly gets a wipe.

One curious thing is that after 3 months of use with a cushion, I get redness on the bridge of my nose again. As near as I can tell that after 3 months that section develops a crease in it that irriates my nose.

Check to see if there might be a crease in your cushion near the bridge of your nose

Dave

[Sheriff Buford]

thanks, Dave... I will. Also thanks for your help you have given me with this dang mask... it is a nice mask, though, if you can tame that sucker...

[chunkyfrog]

Sheriff, how often are you changing the cushion?
Insurance usually lets you have a new one every 30 days.
I suspect you generally wait longer with the FitLife,
but it is a bit heavier silicone than the ResMed product.
--and your nice man-scent product might affect cushion longevity.

[Janknitz]

I dissasemble the Quattro cushion from the frame to wash it, otherwise it's hard to fully dry it. I find that after I wash it it's more difficult to get it to work well. It's such a PITA dealing with Crapria that I go a long time between cushion changes.

The Padacheek mask liner helps. I tend to wash that more often than the darn mask. I have two liners, so one can dry while I wash the other.

I tend to tighten up the lower straps on the chin and leave the upper part of the mask as loose as possible. Dial the nose piece out, so there's very little pressure on the bridge of the nose, just enough to stop leaks. You want the air pressure in the mask to hug the nose, the looser it is at the top, the more that this will work for you. But you have to have it fairly tight around the chin--this is causing me some dental problems and I'm trying to find a better mask.

[Sclark08]

I switched to the Ultra Mirage and never had another problem. It has an adjustable forehead support which makes a big difference.

[Sir NoddinOff]

Hi Sheriff,

I think the plastic NextCare 3M multipore tape I recommended last year may be part of the problem with your leaks. A nasty residue can get left behind on whatever it touches. Try the same method of taping on the sore area, however try using 3M paper tape instead. Some people note that it is hard to get 3M paper tape off ones skin the next morning, which is true. To remove, I use a Chapstick type product to rub around where the tape is applied and then pull the tape back upon itself, all the while rubbing the Chapstick into the gummy junction while I pull the tape... that takes literally 45 seconds; GO SLOW otherwise ouch followed by a spot of blood.

Here's some other stuff I experienced:
As mentioned above: The NextCare 3M multipore tape may be part of the leak problem - I've noted it a few times myself. The tape can leave a sticky residue which will ooze out of the hundreds of holes in the tape's surface, especially if you are settings on your humidifier provide lots of warmth and moisture (something I do when the weather gets cold in Callie).

As a side note: When I was using the Padacheek liners, I would notice after a week, a gummy residue anywhere there was tape on my face or mask (I use a lot of tape, BTW, it's too long a story to tell here ) This residue can definitely cause leaks. Anyway, getting the tape residue off the mask, liner or your skin can be tough. I bought some Goof Off/Goop Off solvent at the hardware store and spread that all around the area where's there is a residue buildup on the mask liner (but don't apply Goof Off directly to your skin!) Just to be cautious, I also don't put it on the bare cushion cuz it might break down the silicone (I use Simple Green on the cushion). I do use the Goof Off on my Padacheek liner. I let it sit ten minutes till the glue gets broken down, rubbing it occasionally, then rinse, then wash the liner TWICE in fresh hot water and soap. I let the liner dry where some air can move around and by bedtime it almost always smells okay... if it still has a faint smell of solvent, I will wash it again then let it air out for 24hrs. I know, a BIG PITA

Eventually I got tired of the hassle of washing the Padacheek once a week with solvent and soap etc. I therefore switched to Remzzz liners and have had good luck stopping the leaks with them. I reuse one liner for about 4-5 days and the gluey residue never builds up enough to cause leaks. So, that's where I'm at now and it's all working pretty decently. Search my recent posts for more info on Remzzz liners.
Hope that helps. SNO

[Britishbulldog]

I have used all the Quattro range of masks currently using Quattro Air , this is the best mask i have used in 8 years of therapy.
If the mask broke the skin on your nose then its obvious that its too tight why not loosen it a tad it will help.
Here in the UK we have something called fleece-tape it sticks onto the seal for a few days until the soreness goes away .
I would recommend a cream called Bepanthen cream (maybe a different name in usa) its good and will cure the soreness.

Regards,

[old dude]

I have used all the Quattro range of masks currently using Quattro Air , this is the best mask i have used in 8 years of therapy.
If the mask broke the skin on your nose then its obvious that its too tight why not loosen it a tad it will help.
Here in the UK we have something called fleece-tape it sticks onto the seal for a few days until the soreness goes away .
I would recommend a cream called Bepanthen cream (maybe a different name in usa) its good and will cure the soreness.

Regards,

I totally agree on the Quattro Air. I used the Mirage Quattro for about 8 months, during which time I came to think of it as a medieval torture device. Much well intended advice to the contrary, the only way I could EVER get it to diminish the leaks was to tighten it down-which instantly resulted in Hamburger Nose Syndrome. I still have the scars today and doubt they will ever go away.

I tried all the nose condoms you mentioned without good results, but I now use a single regular band aid and have found that it works very well.

Good luck, and consider getting a Quattro Air. By the way, they run about one size smaller than the regular Quattro, again regardless of what you may hear.

[jencat824]

Sheriff,

Have you considered trying the new AirFit F10? My hubby has nose sores/marks with all his other masks (he must use FFM, can't breathe thru nose) but the F10 seals great for him with no nose marks or soreness.

You may not want to invest in another mask & I totally get that, my hubby thinks insurance bought his but I got it from cpap.com & I knew they had the 30 day trial. Best purchase I ever made cause its made him so happy & comfortable.

Jen

[DoninOrlando]

I have been using the original Quattro almost 5 years. I had nose sores in the beginning. I was using the tape they talk about for a few months until my nose got used to it. I also use a PadACheek liner and they have an added cushion on the nose of the Quattor liner. As for washing I wash it about every 3-5 days and never disassemble it. On average I get a year out of a cushion. That's the only time I remove a cushion is to replace it. I don't even remove the PadaCheek liner 1/2 the time. I wash and dry it with the liner attached. I just remove the head gear.

[Sheriff Buford]

Have you considered trying the new AirFit F10?

Jen: thank you for the recogmendation. I went on-line to cpap.com and looked at the AirFit. Looks interesting. Ask the hubby why he thinks this mask does not make his nose sore or prevents red marks. What the difference between the AirFit and the Quattro? I may go by cpap.com and get the mask. If I'm transporting a prisoner, and I'm out that way... I'll stop by (without the prisoner, of course... I guess they'll freak out if I bring a shackled man into the store... and I can't leave him in the car... ).

Sheriff

[Sheriff Buford]

Update: It was the cushion. I replaced it last night and slept like a baby... suckin' his thumb... I'll get with Crapria... er... Apria and see if they will send me extra cushions instead of a complete mask. I will also try out the AirFit Jen's hubby uses.

Sir Noddin': I used the tape again, and it worked great! I didn't notice any residue you were referring to. I got a wakeup call real early this morning and patrol - two counties away - had picked up a man I had been lookin' for, so I hastily left. I didn't realize I had the tape on until I saw in the car's rear-view mirror. But again, I didn't see any residue. I'll be on the look out for it. I am retiring at the end of this month... I'm done... can't keep up with the young cops... me and the wife (Ms. Buford) have a bucket list we'll work on. Yippee!!

Sheriff

[jencat824]

Have you considered trying the new AirFit F10?

Jen: thank you for the recogmendation. I went on-line to cpap.com and looked at the AirFit. Looks interesting. Ask the hubby why he thinks this mask does not make his nose sore or prevents red marks. What the difference between the AirFit and the Quattro? I may go by cpap.com and get the mask. If I'm transporting a prisoner, and I'm out that way... I'll stop by (without the prisoner, of course... I guess they'll freak out if I bring a shackled man into the store... and I can't leave him in the car... ).

Sheriff

Hubby says it doesn't leave a mark because it fits him, like none of the other masks did. It does 'float' on his face & barely touches his nose. Now that said, everyone's face is different, as you well know, but he has had 'nose spot'' troubles since starting CPAP in Dec 2011. I'm really glad he found a mask that doesn't require Gecko, bandaids (not very helpful at all, pulls skin) flannel (from Pad A Cheek), silk (from an old nightgown of mine) moleskin and many other creative ideas. This mask is kind of 'minimalistic' as much as a FFM can be. His leakline looks great with this mask, I can post a few to show you, but he is experiencing virtually no leaks - I'm jealous, my leakline is good now, but not a good as his.

His original DME said he needed a LARGE, but I measured him with the FullLife from PR & he measures a MEDUM & the FullLife fit him well with no leaks, but he still needed the Gecko & had nose sores. He used the Gecko because I had a huge backstock of those from a previous mask I used (the IQ), at that time Nationwide was my DME & they send lots of those each time they send supplies. One lasted me a long time, so thankfully I had extras when he went on CPAP. Now my hubby is a big guy so I can see why DME (and me) thought he would be a size large, but I measured the area from his nose to chin & looked carefully & his area from nose, mouth, chin etc. & these are definitely smaller than you would think on such a large man, so he does great with that medium. I've seen you post here as wearing the FitLife, so I wonder if someone could have measured your face wrong? You have certainly been around this forum longer than I have, and have tried a lot of masks, but its just a thought.

I ordered him the F10 because I loved my P10 & I was hopeful it might work after I looked over the pictures on cpap.com several times. Its a great design, as I said, its very minimalistic, but I think that's what makes it so great. Let me know if you want to see some leak lines.

Jen