Should a mask have a valve to let air out?

[jsmit86]

If this is in fact an AirFIT F30, the elbow contains the vent. It's basically identical to the elbow used on the AirFit F20 and AirTouch F20 masks.
The AirFIT F30 is technically a full face mask, but the mask does not go above the nose at all. In that sense it's similar to nasal pillow masks.

I have been trying this mask for a couple of weeks. It has pros and cons. The best part is you can watch TV, wear your glasses etc.
The challenge, is that it does require some skill to adjust it properly. You need to make sure the properly align the nasal holes in the cushion with your nostrils.
It's also important to adjust the mask straps properly in the correct order. Once you have that done, the mask will generally only require a small alignment once you put it on, in order to make sure that you are getting air.

It's likely that the OP's issue had nothing to do with the vent, but possibly requires better alignment and/or sizing.

Note that the AirFIT F30 only comes in Small and Medium.
I originally got one of these in a Medium, and gave up after 2 nights of massive leaks.
I read some reviews after that, that said you need to determine size for this specific mask, and not just go with a Medium because of what you wear in another mask.

After checking all of that out, I stopped by my DME, and he said that he was selling Smalls to most folks who had previously used a medium. I switched to the Small, and it's much better.

[Legrunt]

WRONG !!! When you exhale nothing goes back into the tube...the constant pressure stops it. There is an exhaust vent that takes the CO2 out of the mask. If you put your hand in front of the mask you will feel the exhaust. The suffocation feeling may be because your pressure is set too low.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think a lot of the exhaled air does go back up the hose, but the constant venting/constant pressure will flush that out the vents by the time the user is ready to take another breath. (use a feather or some other very light object, held in front of your intake port on your machine. When you exhale, some air does in fact, come out that port. That air is most likely not your newly exhaled air, but some of the air column just pulled in by the machine, right as you stopped inhaling and start exhaling, so I wouldn't say that the machine vents out the intake port at all.)
And I also believe that the venting rate is calculated/optimized for a restful pace of breathing. Hence, a user who is suffering from anxiety, or someone who has just run up the stairs to the bedroom, or just done something that raises his breath rate at all, might be breathing a little bit harder/faster than what the vent rate is optimized for, and hence, some rebreathing occurs.

I have a little baby sleeping in the same bed with me and my wife, and just before sleep, I need to raise a large baby fence up my side of the bed so the little devil doesn't roll off the bed at night. The fence is a finnicky thing, and sometimes has me expend some effort right before bed time. In fact, sometimes I have the lights off, mask on just before raising the fence, and once I'm done and plop my head down on the pillow, I'm breathing a little faster than the usual resting rate. I find I have to poke a hole between the seal and my face to really vent off a lot during each exhale for about 5-10 breaths before my breathing slows down to my normal resting rate, and only then does it feel comfortable.

If I don't, my breathing takes a lot longer to return to resting rate. Leading me to believe I am rebreathing a lot. Not enough to cause hypoxia by any means, the venting is enough to slowly catch up... But yeah. Slowly.

[Okie bipap]

It sounds like your starting pressure is low. Are you using the ramp feature? If so, what is the starting pressure for the ramp? I have set my ramp to start at 12 cm and go up from there. My IPAP stays between 18 and 20 once I complete the ramp period.

[palerider]

Leading me to believe I am rebreathing a lot.

Easy way to tell... feel the temp of the vented air, if it's still exhaled air, it's warmer than fresh air. YMMV if you've got a heated hose cranked up though.

[Airehead]

So this mask does NOT have a vent and I was given the wrong tube for the mask-I should have been given a tube that had a vent on the tube so i WAS SUFFOCATING! I have a new mask/tube and am doing OK. So note to all, sometimes it IS the equipment!

[Dog Slobber]

So this mask does NOT have a vent and I was given the wrong tube for the mask-I should have been given a tube that had a vent on the tube so i WAS SUFFOCATING! I have a new mask/tube and am doing OK. So note to all, sometimes it IS the equipment!

Yes sometimes it could be the equipment. But when you have a newby who is unfamiliar with the equipment, so much that they describe their mask as the AirFit 30, and then completely ignore all the followup discussion and questions as you did in your topic.

There's a pretty good chance it's not the equipment.

[Jas_williams]

So this mask does NOT have a vent and I was given the wrong tube for the mask-I should have been given a tube that had a vent on the tube so i WAS SUFFOCATING! I have a new mask/tube and am doing OK. So note to all, sometimes it IS the equipment!

All Cpap masks have a vent somehere unless you’ve been given completely the wrong gear

[rdalby69]

I'm new to CPAP. The mask I was given to trial was the AirFit F30. After a week I had to return it and swap it for a different model. I suffered increasingly excruciating nasal pain like I had been punched in the nose - not an uncommon reaction from my research. There were times I did get that feeling of suffocation too. I don't think my nostrils matched up with the holes. Despite multiple adjustments to the straps nothing improved. The hybrid designs works for some people it appears but not for all.

The new mask I got was the AirFit F20 and it's been a perfect mask the two nights I've had it. (I'm a mouth-breathing side-sleeper.)

[Legrunt]

So this mask does NOT have a vent and I was given the wrong tube for the mask-I should have been given a tube that had a vent on the tube so i WAS SUFFOCATING! I have a new mask/tube and am doing OK. So note to all, sometimes it IS the equipment!

Yes sometimes it could be the equipment. But when you have a newby who is unfamiliar with the equipment, so much that they describe their mask as the AirFit 30, and then completely ignore all the followup discussion and questions as you did in your topic.

There's a pretty good chance it's not the equipment.

I'm still skeptical that it was the equipment. Assuming it is any form of the airfit series, no hose goes direct to the mask. It requires an elbow. Any other elbow would not fit into the mask except for the ones that are made for it. And those have vents. Even the one for the Airmini.