Zzz Full Face mask

[Hawthorne]

I bought one of these on cpapauction.com.

I just wanted something besides my Hybrid as a full face mask in case my nose shoud become too sore with a cold that I can't tolerate the nasal pillows of the Hybrid.

I like the Zzz full face because I don't like masks with forehead pieces.

Can anyone give me ideas on wearing this mask. I guessed at my size and have tried it a couple of times for a nap. It will feel good and then, after a few minutes leak at the sides.

How high should it sit at the nose bridge? Where should it be on your chin? These questions assume I got the right size for me. I guessed and it cost very little.

Any tips from others who have this mask?

[CRS]

Hawthorne,

FWIW I wear mine "shifted downward" so that the top of the mask rests about halfway down my nose. It's the way I was told to wear it by the RT; definitely not what's shown in the pictures on CPAP.com, but it works. I seem to get a better seal this way and it provides for some extra room in the mouth area.

[Hawthorne]

CRS - Where does the bottom of the mask sit on your face when you wear it halfway down your nose?

Thanks.

[CRS]

It sits slightly more than halfway between my lower lip and the tip of my chin. Hope that helps....

[Hawthorne]

Thanks. Good thing I got is for very little money at auction. I think I need a size small. The one I bought is a medium.

[KengEsq]

I love my Zzz-Mask (full face) but the straps are the pits and I had to remove them to wash the mask and re-attach them and re-adjust them every night when I put the mask back on. I bought a medium and it worked great using the straps that came with my ResMed Quattro mask (much better than the Zzz straps). Because the tip of my nose hits the medium mask if the mask rides up to the bridge of my nose I try to keep the mask down a little on my nose so the bottom of the mask is in the crease between the bottom of my chin and my lower lip. With the Quattro straps that works great with very few leaks. I also have tried a large Zzz-Mask to see if that worked as well as the medium but gave more room for my nose. The large also works well for me although it does sit on the bridge of my nose and has a few more leaks than the medium. I have also tried wearing the medium Zzz-Mask using the Hybrid straps - don't try it because no matter how I adjusted the Hybrid straps the Zzz-Mask leaks.

My latest experiment with my medium Zzz-Mask is to use the mask clips from a Fisher & Paykel Oracle 452 mask in combination with the straps from the Quattro so I could leave the straps adjusted correctly and still remove them to wash the mask. That combination has worked great so far. As you can tell I have tried a number of masks mostly to avoid the sores on the bridge of my nose caused by the Quattro and the leaks I was getting from the ResMed Liberty, the Quattro and the Hybrid. The F&P Oracle is just used in the mouth and although there are no leaks and you don't have to wear the strap to keep the Oracle in place, just mouth breathing is not fun and I snored while using it.

One hint about the Zzz-Mask, don't over-tighten the straps. If they are too tight it will leak more than when the straps are just tight enought to contain leaks but still comfortable and not causing the mask to push hard against your face. Some of what you might think are leaks are not - it is exhaust air from the mask and slight leaks at the fittings and those are unaffected by the straps. Where I get leaks, the few that I get that is, is near the corners of my mouth and I can usually stop those by moving the mask back down if it has creeped up on my nose. I do not need to adjust the straps for those leaks.

[Hawthorne]

KengEsq - thanks for all those hints!

I do like the mask since it is less of a problem on my nose bridge than most.

You've given me lots of things to try. I may get it to work well yet!