CPAP Basics - 20 - Removing the Mask During Sleep

[mollete]

From Mayo

Unintentionally removing the CPAP device during the night

It's normal to sometimes wake up to find you've removed the mask in your sleep. If you move a lot in your sleep, you may find that a full face mask will stay on your face better. You may be pulling off the mask because your nose is congested. If so, ensuring a good mask fit and adding a CPAP-heated humidifier may help. A chin strap also may help keep the device on your face. If this is a consistent problem, consider setting an alarm for sometime in the night, to check whether the device is still on. You could progressively set the alarm for later in the night if you find you're keeping the device on longer.

[mollete]

Additionally, most machines have a disconnect alarm to alert one when mask has been removed, thus minimizing time w/o therapy. For example:

Respironics

Mask alert - You can enable or disable the mask alert setting. If this feature is enabled, the mask alert will appear on the display screen when a significant mask leak is detected, and an audible alert will sound. Refer to the Device Alerts section for more information about the mask alert.

ResMed

Leak alert settings - Leak alert indicates when a high mask leak is present. Scroll to LEAK ALERT and select . Press or to change the option to ON or OFF.