Sudden case of mouth breathing THOUGHTS?

[NC_David]

Although new to the whole CPAP thing, I also found myself opening my mouth occasionally. The sound of the air coming out generally woke me (or my partner) up. What I've done for the last couple of nights is roll a towel and put it between my neck, upper chest, and chin. I sleep on my back, so this works wonderfully. I wonder if some sort of collar could be made for those who sleep on their sides. You know, something that would fasten around the back of the neck and hold the chin up. Taping my mouth shut just doesn't seem like a good idea; plus, I can't imagine how it'd work for those of us with facial hair.

[DreamStalker]

..........
1. Be MINIMAL - not large and clunky. Feel as natural as possible.
2. Have a safety valve.
3. Not press so tightly against the face that it leaves marks in the morning (female vanity)
4. Stable; not dislodged easily.
5. Comfortable for a side sleeper and "pillow scruncher".
6. Won't allow air to get in the eyes (I have dry eyes already!)
7. Won't press on the upper lip to affect my teeth (loosening, pain, etc); I do wear a mouthguard for TMJ which could be painful with a mask pressing on it).
7. Doesn't require a lot of "pre-use" fixing, like pressing squashed earplugs all along the edges so it will seal.

.........

Joy

For me, the Hybrid mask fits all those requirements except for "feel natural".

A few of my liberal friends use the all-natural, pesco-vegetarian, antibiotic-free, organic, free-range, pasture-fed, macrobiotic, fat-free, commune-grown, low-carb, local-grown, co-op distributed, fresh, unprocessed, HFCS-free masks, but they are not for me.

Rooster prefers the more conservative free-market, outsourced Chinese made, environmental polluting, Wal-Mart special, NRA supported, CEO bailout, corn-fed, triple-processed, BPA infused, greenhouse gas emitting, Christian genetically modified, trans-fat laden, gas guzzler masks.

[Raj]

David, I use a foam travel pillow placed around my neck but turned backwards or sideways for bracing.

[dsm]

It just occured to me after reading someone else's post in a different thread, that some of us may equate 'mouth-breathing' to what others call 'mouth-leaking'.

People who have serious sinus problems often find they have to breath through their mouths as they can't get enough air through their noses. These folk typically deal with the problem by using a full face mask (as I do) which allows mouth-breathing and or nose-breathing depending on what will work at the time.

Mouth-leaking is the situation that occurs when someone has a nasal mask & finds themselves opening their mouth in their sleep & air escapes (leaks) out the mouth. This situation isn't 'mouth-breathing' but 'mouth-leaking' a quite different label.

Have added this because I think the original poster may have started this topic meaning 'mouth-leaking' ?

Cheers

DSM

[roster]

.......Mouth-leaking is the situation that occurs when someone has a nasal mask & finds themselves opening their mouth in their sleep & air escapes (leaks) out the mouth. This situation isn't 'mouth-breathing' but 'mouth-leaking' a quite different label.

..........

DSM,

These conditions need to be defined.

I believe both conditions are an attempt to breathe through the mouth.

Mouthbreathing is opening your mouth to breathe (what else ).
-With a nasal mask, air will rush out your mouth and therefore the condition is also called mouthleaking.
-With a FF mask, air does not rush out your mouth because the pressure from the mask has equalized the pressure on the nasal passage, the pressure in the throat, and the pressure in the mouth. You are mouthbreathing but not mouthleaking.

I do agree that there is sometimes "strict mouthleaking". This occurs when a person using a nasal mask maintains a closed mouth but the pressure leaks out between the lips.

Bottom line for newbies, you should follow this procedure from an old post of mine.

After going through this myself and now helping a friend go through it, I throw this out as aid for the newly diagnosed.

If you are newly diagnosed, you need to figure out the type of interface that meets your body's requirements. IMAO, here is a good progression:

1. Nasal pillows
2. Nasal pillows with chin strap
3. Nasal pillows with mouth taped shut
4. Full face mask (Hybrid in my case)
5. Pray that someone invents a better way, like tomorrow.

In step 1, you need to figure out as quickly as possible whether you can keep your mouth shut well enough to get a good therapy (I couldn't).

In step 2, you need to figure out if the chin strap will stop mouth leaks and if you can tolerate the dang uncomfortable strap (I failed both).

In step 3, you need to check whether your cheeks puff out and awaken you over and over (mine did).

Step 4, resign yourself to a ff mask and try several different models to find one that works for you.

If you just don't like nasal pillows, you can substitute a nasal mask for pillows in the first three steps.

Keep coming back here for advice; you will get a lot of advice here, some of it contradictory. Most people can wade through it and eventually get something that works for their case.

Good luck.

[dsm]

Rooster

Good summary - explains it well. The terms shd be easy for people to follow.

But, re mouth leaking with a F/F mask - hmmmm - technically that doesn't happen - the pressure is equal at both nose & mouth so hard to say the mouth 'leaks' air - I actually deliberately breath through both at times if nose is a bit congested but I am pretty sure once I go to sleep the breathing is likely to be one or the other. I strongly suspect we have to consciously breathe deliberately through both, but once asleep I can never tell

Cheers

DSM

[Velbor]

I believe both conditions are an attempt to breathe through the mouth. Mouthbreathing is opening your mouth to breathe (what else).

I think the distinction as to whether the lips are "opening" in order to inhale or to exhale is an important one. I use the word "lips" intentionally rather than mouth, since "mouth" may imply active muscular movement of the mandible. Similarly, your use of the word "opening" may imply and active muscular movement. "Lip flutter" can be an entirely passive exhalation (inhalation seems much less likely) due to even minute pressure differentials. These distinctions strike me as important.

re mouth leaking with a F/F mask - hmmmm - technically that doesn't happen - the pressure is equal at both nose & mouth so hard to say the mouth 'leaks' air

From a system perspective, the word "leak" is probably inappropriate. Inside a FF mask, whether air is exhaled through the mouth (for whatever reason) or through the nose, that air (in the absence of a "seal leak") exits the system normally through the mask vents, and so is not strictly "leaking" anywhere.

[dsm]

One other description (following on velbors lip-flutter comment) is what we used to call 'mouth-pops' (when using nasal or prongs only masks)

I would get these constantly on cpap set at 15 & C-Flex set to 3. As the C-Flex reverted to the applied pressure (15 CMs) there were times my mouth (lips) would 'pop' open & air escape. That was when I took to lip taping & even then if the tape wasn't big enough it could still happen. In the end I gave up trying & settled on a F/F mask & am surviving well

DSM