all of a sudden my mouth is open!

[SuzieQ]

I have never been one to sleep with my mouth open unless I have a seriously stuffy nose. I don't have a stuffy nose right now, but this morning I woke up with my mouth open and a very dry throat and mouth.

Can CPAP use cause one to sleep with their mouth open? I have read on here about people sleeping with tape on their mouths and such, but I thought these were people who were already mouth breathers.

I am guessing CPAP therapy isn't effective if I am breathing through my mouth, right?

Thanks for the help.

[gasp]

I wonder if the water in your mask temporarily plugged your nose and so you opened your mouth?

[Claire]

Hi, I've never been a mouth breather but when I first started sleep apnea, I would find myself with my mouth open and the insides like flannel. My RT guy said that this could be a sign of air hunger...not getting enough through my nose so I switched to a different mask.

However, I did find that occasionally my mouth does come open, but it is easily discouraged by tying a leg of pantyhose around my head...a trick I learned on this forum.

Hope this helps.

[SuzieQ]

gasp, you could be right. I woke in the wee hours of the morning with the nose cover of the CL2 full of water. I cleaned it out with a tissue. I had the hose covered with a blanket, so there was no condensation in the hose itself. I keep the house on 70 degrees and the humidifier on 1. I can't figure out how to keep condensation from forming in the nose cover. Any ideas are appreciated!

[skantner]

I am guessing CPAP therapy isn't effective if I am breathing through my mouth, right?

Right. I have chronic nasal congestion due to the infamous dust mite/mold allergy where the experts basically say "Good luck with that", and that turned me into a mouth breather. If you're using a nasal mask and your mouth is open, you effectively have a big leak - the pressure needed to open your airway is not sufficient because it's escaping through your mouth. In my case the solution was a full face mask (FFM). Other solutions are chin straps, if you can get one that works.

//Scott

[gasp]

gasp, you could be right. I woke in the wee hours of the morning with the nose cover of the CL2 full of water. I cleaned it out with a tissue. I had the hose covered with a blanket, so there was no condensation in the hose itself. I keep the house on 70 degrees and the humidifier on 1. I can't figure out how to keep condensation from forming in the nose cover. Any ideas are appreciated!

It seems that inverting the nasal piece works. If you continue to use a tissue, make certain there are no little pieces that you could then inhale.

I've been thinking about making a little microfleece sock for the nasal piece. OK, I'm leaving to find a piece of microfleece and do it!

[gasp]

SusieQ, I did it! Check out my post Little Jacket for CL2 Nasal Piece : ))) Hope it works.