Sore nose

[Peterfa]

I just got my respire its APAP a few days ago. The nasal mask is making the end of my nose red raw. I can only tolerate it about half the night and I'm not sleeping until I take the mask off. Do I have it on too tight? If Inloosen it up, it feels like it's leaking air. Should I switch to the face mask? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[letsride]

The same happened to me when I first started using a nasal pillows.
I guess my nose finally toughened up.
The nasal mask is the most comfortable I have ever used.

[Peterfa]

Thanks. I will persevere. I can tell it is working because I am breathing so much better but my nose looks like I have heavy cold.

[OkyDoky]

Is this soreness on the outside top or between the lip and nose? One of the things I had with my N10 nasal mask was irritation on both sides of my nose and this was healed with use of liners, Remzzz or PadACheek. if you are using a nasal mask and not nasal pillows I would check on them. After that was healed the edge of the flap inside the mask rubbed a sore area in between my nares which turned out to be a whitehead that healed.

I now use a P10 pillow mask and at first it made my nares sore. It has gotten much better but I still alternate with my N10 to give my nares a break if they get sore.

[RicaLynn]

Hang in there Peter! I had the same issue with my P10 pillow mask the first couple weeks, but thankfully I was warned by my DME that it might happen and given a couple possible solutions. Much like when one begins a new hobby and the fingers need to develop callouses, the tender skin on the nose and face may take some time to adjust and toughen up. You've already got the right idea, loose but not too loose, and you've gotten some great suggestions already. Welcome to the forum!

[surf_rower]

If you are getting chafing around the nostril edges from nasal pillows, try a tiny bit of Lansinoh (lanolin) - buy it in the baby aisle - works great. I also started using it on my lips and inside the lower lip to combat dryness and stinging from the Tap Pap mask.

[VictorC]

You already have some good suggestions, but also check to see if your pillows are the correct size. I know my nose was quite painful when I used the medium sized pillows on my P10, but chaffing was greatly reduced by moving to the large sized ones. The pain should eventually go away. I think mine lasted a week or two.

[TyroneShoes]

My experience was similar to Victors.

I had the Swift FX, and I discovered that the inner core was closer to the outer "balloon" part on the medium pillows than on the larger pillows. OK, makes sense, but it was also further away on the smaller pillows! Since I could not get enough air through the smaller, I went to the larger. But the core being closer (on the medium only) means that there is not as much margin for error in the mask tightness. Your mask should be adjusted for tightness with the blower on, as the balloons inflate against your nose making the mask tighter.

Of course it would have helped if the DME tech let me know there were two other sizes hiding right there in my kit, which I only found when I was packing it up to exchange for a replacement mask (and then did not need to).