Air from mask iritating eyes!!!

[atruvirgo]

I am getting air in my eyes from my mask. I think it is from the exhaust port. I have tried to angle it every which way, tried lubricating drops in my eyes etc. lately my eyes are RED ALL DAY LONG and they have discharge in them. I tried wearing a sleep mask but in order to block the air I have to wear it under my headgear and then it presses on my eyes and is uncomfortable. I am trying to make cpap work for me this go around but, I feel frustrated. Between the noise irritating the hubby, the bedtime ritual of getting everything situated and the red irritated eyes I am just feeling a bit testy! Any suggestions for keep the air out of your eyes? I wear a small soyala nasal mask.

Debbie

[Bigburd2008]

Unsure of what to tell you about your mask. By the statement "I am trying to make cpap work for me this go around" I assume you quit for a period of time. It is possible your mask seal became hard. May need replaced or a different mask chosen. Contact your DME. I use a FF and it does leak at times but with a little adjustment I can get them stopped.

As far as the noise irritating the hubby, I assume he would rather hear you gasp for breath and snore. Probably real happy when you stop breathing completely. Tell him to get ear plugs and stop being so self centered and a lot more supportive. This is a serious health issue. Keep trying. You will be in our prayers.

The ritual is comforting to me, I look forward to sleeping.

[BlackSpinner]

It can also be coming from inside - your nose connects to your eyes via the tear ducts and some people have "lose" connections where the air bubbles up into their eyes. Search on the board there are some threads on it with answers from eye specialists.

Tell hubby to go sleep in the other room - your heart health is much more important then his whining. Who knows when the brain fog clears you might find someone better.

[pagebypage]

The whole idea behind cpap is to improve your sleep. If your cpap is ruining your husband's sleep, neither of you is meeting your nightly goal. Give hubby a break; he needs his sleep, too. Do these other members really want you to trade your sleep for his?
I would try a different mask. I found the nasal pillows masks to have the best seal especially when I am tossing and turning. Previous members have also mentioned taping (not sure how that works myself).

[nobody]

I have the same issue with my eyes. I'm pretty sure the air goes up my tear ducts and blows on my eyes so it doesn't matter how well my mask is sealed, the air still gets on my eyes. I have had very good luck with eye pellets called LACRISERT. I tried all sorts of drops and even the thick lotion-like stuff and none of it worked. Only the lacriserts work for me, but there is a trick to them. I have to use a saline eye wash just after putting them in so they get soft. My eyes are so dry that they will not get soft enough to work if I don't get them wet. I usually take them out in the morning because they cause blurry vision during the day (otherwise I'd love to wear them because I have such dry eyes). I also have punctal plugs in my lower lids that help a little (not nearly enough, though, unfortunately).

[sheep1234]

Hi Debbie,
If I was you, I would try out a different mask. I've even seen them on craigslist for cheap if your DME won't approve a new one.
I really like mine. I can put my hand flat in front of my face and feel the air come straight out. The only slight problem I encounter is when the air blows on my blanket and comes back at me. I just rearrange the blankets and then it's no problem. We have a king sized bed and I sleep with a body pillow between me and hubby, so he has no complaints. He's happy I'm not snoring!
Don't give up! Your health is VERY important. I didn't know how much sleep apnea effects so many other parts of your body until doing a bunch of research!

[Scarlet834]

Although it's possible for air to be coming through the tear ducts, I had the same issue and since switching to a nasal pillow the dry-eye problems are completely gone. Before the switch my PCP had me using artificial tears, but asked me to stay away from other eye drops. I was battling the tiniest seepage of air around the bridge of the nose, but I, too, was suspicious of my exhaust port rebounding off covers, etc. Even if I go back to a nasal or full face mask someday I'm going to select one that has the exhaust port nearer the mouth, well away from the eyes.

I recommend you look for a different mask. However, I will offer the solution I was going to try next before my DME switched me. I was going to try to seal all the potential leaks across the nose with saran wrap. I never got the chance to try it. That won't help with the exhaust port--naturally you can't cover that. I wonder, though, if it's possible to create a deflector?

Anyway, at the time I switched I was suited up with padding, swim goggles, and almost saran wrap. Too much gear--I'm much happier with the nasal pillow. And I'm very, very happy that the air turned out not to be coming through my tear ducts!