My Big Red Nose

[JeanBean]

Hi, everyone,

I got my cpap last week, and have been using it succesfully (yay). My problem is with my Quattro full face mask. I had a size medium and traded for a small after three days because of the big red mark on the bridge of my nose. The small is worse than ever! This morning my nose is actually BLEEDING from a broken blister, my eyes are swollen, and I was awake all night fighting air leaks. Any thoughts on how to make it through the weekend until I can contact the DME people? And suggestions to find the right mask? (I like the full face aspect--nothing up my nose and nothing holding my chin tight. Just wish I didn't look like Rudolph)Thanks so much.

[Marietjie]

This morning my nose is actually BLEEDING from a broken blister

JeanBean,I certainly hope you get an answer to your bleeding nose problem very soon from other members.
In the meantime have a look at Nose Bridge protection from Padacheek - http://www.padacheek.com/PAC_Nosebridge.html

[xyz]

That padacheek product looks huge.

I buy a Dr. Scholl's product. I've thrown the box away, but I think that it's a blister protection product. The box is rectangular, around 4x6 approximately. It contains a couple of rectangular sheets. The backs are adhesive and the fronts are padded.

I cut a _strip_ from a sheet, around 3/4" wide and the width of the sheet. From the strip I then cut one piece each night about 1/2" high. I put that strip on the bridge of my nose to protect it from the mask.

Here's a fine point. It's too bad that we have to be so detail oriented to make things work right for us, but it's one of the OSA facts of life.

I found at first that when I pulled off the protective strip in the morning that it felt like it was almost pulling my skin off with it because the adhesive was so strong. The solution was at bedtime to apply the strip to my arm/skin -- and immediately remove it -- several times before putting it on the bridge of my nose. That lessens the adhesive strength. Sometimes I even apply and remove it from my pajamas in order to get it to stick even less.

You also have an additional (hopefully temporary) problem that you pointed out. Your skin has already been damaged by the mask. So even with less adhesive, the Dr. Scholl's product could hurt to pull off. I'm not quite sure what to do about that. I think I would try to cut the strip wider (not taller) than it (eventually) needs to be. Then I would (temporarily) put some gauze (or some sort of protective _fabric_) in the middle of the strip where it would protect the bridge of your nose.

Experiment with that and let us know how it works.

[SleepingUgly]

I'm sorry to say that there is no one right answer to this problem. What works for one person doesn't work for another. However, I am certain of this: You can't put the mask back on the wound or it won't heal and will get worse. If the Medium won't hit you where the Small left a sore, you could use the Medium, but do use something to protect your nose where the Medium hits, such as moleskin. But don't put the moleskin on the open wound because pulling it off will be a problem. You could take the cushion out of the frame and hold it up to your face while looking in the mirror to see if it's going to hit the sore. My guess is that the Medium won't be sufficiently high to be completely off the wound from the Small. In that case, unless you have access to nasal pillows or a Hybrid or Liberty, which would give your nose a break, you'll have to weigh the costs and benefits of not using CPAP for a few days while the sore heals.

[wjp]

Sounds like you're telling my story.

In two years of therapy the only night I missed was with a bleeding blister on my nose from the Quatro. Could not put the mask back on.

Next day got a Liberty on loan from my DME. Spent another six months trying every FF mask on the market. Have used tape, moleskin, special 3M cloth tape, and various pads and bandages. None of them worked. Some would reduce the redness, but then they'd leak like crazy into my eyes.

Finally made an appointment with one of the techs at my sleep clinic. She tried a whole bunch of FF masks and finally just told me that with the shape of my face and nose, none of these were going to work.

I have finally settled in with the Hybrid as my mask of choice, more comfortable for me the the Liberty. Wish I'd made that choice a year earlier, would have saved lots of frustrating nights.

Don't struggle with it too long, and I would strongly suggest giving the Hybrid or Liberty a try so your nose has a chance to heal.

[Junaid]

i use a product called granuflex. its spongy pad with adhesive on it. it disperses the pressure on one's nose and also speeds up heealing so it'll be great for your red nose

[tallcurl]

I have been going through the same problem for the last few months. Last night I tried the same mask, I was using before (Comfort Gel FullFace Medium) but this time I got a large size & someone at Apria finally mentioned that there is a hinge at the top of the mask that pushes outward to angle the top point of the triangle away from your nose!
I wore it last night with virtually no discomfort & just had a small, red mark on the very top of my nose(between my eyebrows). The Medium size was hitting the middle of my nose. Don't let them tell you that Medium is what you need (that is what I was measured for). The large is MUCH better. Give it a try!!