Do nasal pillows masks dry nose out more?

[DJL]

Hi,
A few years ago I had my most of nasal turbinates removed and so I cannot produce nasal moisture. I do use a humidifier, but my question is: do nasal pillow mask dry your nose out more because the air is being blasted into your nose directly.
The reason that I would like to use a nasal pillow mask, is that the pressure that full face masks and nasal mask apply to my face during the night slowly starts causing sinus and teeth pain due to the surgery. I have been told that my sinus area will always be sensitive.

Thanks Dave

[mgaggie]

Hi DJL,

I have only ever used a nasal pillow, so I can't tell you for sure if pillows do dry out the nose more or not. I have my humidity set at 4 and it was only for about a week at the start that my nose felt a bit dry. I used a product called Nozoil which specifically mentions its suitable for Cpap users, and that helped me.

[caffeinatedcfo]

I use humidity setting 3 and just the opposite my nasal passages are doing much better.

[locust78]

Although I've never used anything but nasal pillows, it would seem to me that the concentrated blow shooting right up your sinuses would be more drying than a mask. I have some deviation in my septum so I have to be careful regarding my pillow placement. Early on, before I was using humidity, I had times when this focused air blast really inflamed my sinus. I've come to realize that I need a healthy amount of humidity year-round.

[Not Fade]

Sorry about your problems with dry nose but I do want to comment on the following part of your post.

A few years ago I had my most of nasal turbinates removed and so I cannot produce nasal moisture.
The reason that I would like to use a nasal pillow mask, is that the pressure that full face masks and nasal mask apply to my face during the night slowly starts causing sinus and teeth pain due to the surgery. I have been told that my sinus area will always be sensitive.

Resectioning and reduction in size of nasal turbinates is a common surgery. When done properly, and it usually is, the nose will continue to produce moisture and after healing there will be no ongoing pain or sensitivity of any kind.

I had this surgery about ten years ago and it did wonders for me. After a few days of not-too-painful healing my nose was much better than new. It was a great surgery and I am very glad I had it done. My breathing is greatly improved, I very rarely have congestion and even when I occasionally have a cold my nasal passages do not get clogged badly.

Are you sure your dryness and sensitivity is due to the surgery?

If you do not mouth breathe, don't be afraid to try nasal pillows. Contrary to what is commonly posted here, CPAP does not cause air to flow through any of the passages at a rate greater than in a normal person not using CPAP. CPAP only creates a higher pressure not a higher air flow.

I will add the caveat that this is true when the mask is working properly and there are not major air leaks or mouthbreathing with a nasal interface.

Good luck to you,

[RandyJ]

You won't know unless you try, but air going into your nose should be moist if humidity is set sufficiently high. You might need to disable any anti-rainout setting (Auto Climate Control on S9, System One Humidity Control on the PRS1) to get more moisture. Rainout might be an issue, but that would be another bridge to cross.

[Janknitz]

I don't think it's drying if the humidity is set properly. Hydrating YOURSELF by drinking sufficient water during the day, and perhaps using a saline nasal spray before he'd will help.

[Crazy Eddie]

I use a saline spray and an aloe based moisturizer. It does dry me out, but its bearable and its better than being plugged.

Lately it's not been bad at all, but the current air humidity level here is above 80%. Muggy as hell. My hydro tank hasn't needed additional water in a week.

[Sheriff Buford]

Wherever the air is blowin' in has a tendency to be dry. That's where the humidifier comes in. The pillows are less intrusive than nasal and full face masks... so if you can make it work for you, you will probably be better off in the long run.

Sheriff

[John from Brookston]

I use pillows, and some nights I can run my humidifier in cold pass-over mode, which I think puts the least amount of moisture in the air next to running with the tank dry. The rest of the time i run the humidifier full with the hose heat at its minimum setting. In the winter I have to crank it up a lot or I get nosebleeds, and being on blood thinners now those are no fun. $300 trip to the ER to get a nosebleed stopped? Nuts!

[JohnO]

My first month of treatment I used a TrueBlue Nasal Mask. Since that time (about 9 months) I've used an Aloha nasal pillow. The first few days I definitely felt the difference of direct airflow in my nose as I started up the machine, but due to the humidifier, I never felt the air was dryer than when using the nasal mask.

Give it a try, but I'd recommend giving it a full week before making a decision.

John