Nasal Pillow Sealer Tests

[quietmorning]

This was the test I was waiting for.

I think I'll stop at the local dive shop and pick some up tomorrow.

And I think that you should add Icy Hot to your test list.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! OHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOO!!!! Nothin' doin'!!!

[Papit]

Marine Sports Mask Seal: Purchased at Amazon.com for $8.90 (total with shipping - $5.95 without shipping). This is the Mustache Sealer for Scuba Diving Masks. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003C7 ... UTF8&psc=1. I really liked the stick form - though it was a little soft when I tried it. I think my room was warm. I was a little worried that I'd have the same result as the silicone grease I tried, but I didn't. I used a very thin layer - placing it on my nares with my finger. It is sticky - but not overly sticky. I had absolutely no leaks. There was no residue that 'melted' and dripped, nor was my mask slippery. This morning my nose did not have a layer of silicone on it, nor did my nasal pillows. I put the sealer on my eyebrow - wow. . .I only used a little bit and it completely flattened my eyebrow out. I can see how this stuff works as well as it does on mustaches! I simply wiped it off with a dry washcloth - the silicone came right off. I'm very impressed with this stuff.

Here's another thought. My wife and I do a lot of snorkeling and underwater digital photography. An experienced diver once recommended plain vasaline for my mask seal on my moustache. Works very well. Been using it for years.

[jdm2857]

Petroleum jelly (Petrolatum, Vaseline) is not recommended for use with silicone.

[quietmorning]

Nivea - A Kiss of Milk and Honey Soothing lip balm.

Wow - this performed MUCH BETTER than I expected! I thought it was going to be something you could use if you didn't move around a lot, but this had a very good seal. No leaks. And last night as a pretty active night. I took the stick and went around my nares twice and inside of my nares twice. It wasn't sticky when I put it on - about five minutes before I put my mask on. . .nor was it sticky when I put my mask on, but when I went to adjust my mask after was in bed - the mask was sticky to the seal. So this, surprisingly, will go up with the rest of the really good sealers! My nose is very very slightly waxy this morning. I purchased this at Walgreens for about $3. Can be found at: CVS Pharmacy, Amazon.com (for twice the amount and as an add on item. You can buy bundles of five or more for $12 - $15 ), Target (store only), Walmart (pack of two $5).

[quietmorning]

Nivea - A Kiss of Milk and Honey Soothing lip balm. - there may be a problem with using this sealer. Please do not attempt to use until this information can be updated.

[Bonnie]

I tried the Burt's Bees almond hand cream as a sealer, I had it on hand and use it for, well, my hands! Worked very well, I'm pleased with the seal it gave me. And I do move around a lot at night. I use the FX but also have the Bella and could NOT get it to seal. I'm going to try it with the Bella and hope it seals as well because I like everything else about the Bella. Love this thread!!

[Bonnie]

Quietmorning, I forgot to ask...when using the earplug method do you have to change it every night or is it good for how long?
Thanks

[quietmorning]

Quietmorning, I forgot to ask...when using the earplug method do you have to change it every night or is it good for how long?
Thanks

You know, I'm not really sure - as I wanted to test the next product. I did wonder about it though - though I noticed that the package that the ear plugs come in are covered with a piece of film over them. The next morning I took the silicone off and rolled it back up and put it back into the container - but it would be really wonderful if the hassle of putting it back on every night wasn't there, so I thought about maybe covering the nasal pillows with some saran wrap or something just to keep the silicone soft and clean. I think if you did that, you would definitely be good for at least a few days, if not more.

imfletch, if you happen by, I know you used the ear plugs for ff masks . . . do you put them back into the container when you're done or do you use them on the mask over and over again?

I'm really thinking that saran wrap is the way to go at the moment. I really wouldn't want to do this every single night before I could get into bed - especially if I am dead on my feet tired.

[quietmorning]

Ok, two for the price of one tonight.

Paul Mitchel Curls (Twirl Around) never got out of the gate. I checked the label again before I tried to use it last night and found alcohol in the mix, so I nixed that and grabbed something else in the box.
What I grabbed was the Ross Stick Washable Glue Stick. It is non toxic, and figure the worst that could happen is I'd have to soak my nose for a minute or two to get the nasal pillow off if it really stuck a little too good.

It didn't. I was able to pull my nasal mask off without any pulling my skin at all, this morning. I put it on then put my mask on fairly quickly as a pre-trial showed that it dries very quickly and then is not sticky at all, but rather smooth. I had no leaks. None. I DID have a pretty itchy moment at about 3am this morning - not horrible - but I think it was the paste drying and my nose not liking it too much. A simple roll over to the side pulled my skin just enough to cure the itch, and still, there were no leaks.

This morning. . .however. . . I'm driving to have lunch with a friend an notice this white stuff still on my nose. Gee. . . I thought I got it all. Make sure, if you use this that you wash your nose WITH a wash cloth and scrub fairly well -

And because of this, I'm suggesting that though this is a very good sealer, because of the itch and the difficulty in removing it from your skin - this might be an excellent back up in case you run into a jam and don't have anything - the kid's school box glue stick will get you through a night or two until you can get out and get what you normally use. Any non-toxic glue stick can be found where every school supplies are sold for about $2 to $3 bucks.

[Janknitz]

Interesting. Professional dancers use Elmer's white glue to secure their pointe shoes to their feet for performances!

[quietmorning]

Waxelene - I'm going to test this again tonight as I think I got too much on last night, but so far, it's a fail - HUGE leak between 1am and 3am this morning. Tonight I'll try again using a faint little bit - as this is very waxy and slippery, but should by all accounts be at LEAST a good suction seal.

So no updates to the front page, yet.

[quietmorning]

Waxelene: Well, this is a fail. I tried Waxelene with both a heavy application and a very very light application. Both times I ended up with some pretty heavy leaks. I slept on my back the whole night for both as I was pretty sure this would be a suction seal and not a sticky seal - I still had leaks. I also experienced the center nasal opening in my nasal pillow closing in on itself and sticking together both times. I think (I'm guessing) that maybe some of the Waxelene got into the opening of the nasal pillow and cause it to stick to itself. On a positive note, this is a very nice jelly for other uses that you would normally use vasoline. It's a great replacement. I'm going to use it to battle very dry skin. And it smells good too!

[NYcpap]

For me, washing the nasal pillows daily does the trick. The natural state of the silicone seems to work best. I use Free and Clear dish soap from target. It gets it nice and clean while leaving no residue or fragrance.

[quietmorning]

For me, washing the nasal pillows daily does the trick. The natural state of the silicone seems to work best. I use Free and Clear dish soap from target. It gets it nice and clean while leaving no residue or fragrance.

Are you saying that not using a sealer at all works best for you, just you just make sure that your nasal pillows are cleaned daily?

[quietmorning]

Plumbers O-rings
Silly Putty (made out of silicone - this could actually be an option if I can get it to hold shape over night)

Catching up on some things -

Plumbers 0-rings - this is a mixed review, as they work very well in keeping the neck of the nasal ports from collapsing into the pillow or into the port quite well, but as a sealer - because they stiffen the neck of the port, the necks did not move with my movements and actually caused leaks instead of preventing them. I tried the O-rings on my nasal pillow that had begun to collapse and they worked quite well to keep the air-way open as far as the collapse goes. So, if you use the Swift FX nasal pillow - this is quite helpful to deal with collapses - but use a strong sealer with them.

Silly Putty - this is a fail. I was anxious to try this - as my curiosity was killing me - but I didn't even get far enough to sleep with it. Silly Putty is very stiff. It sticks well to the nasal pillow, but doesn't stick at all to the skin. It's difficult to work with, and does not hold shape well enough to be placed on the nasal pillow. The ear plugs are a MUCH better option.

I never received the Yerba Santa - and it's been weeks, so unless I can find some, or I actually receive what I ordered in the next week or so, I probably won't be able to test it.

Shine Therapy Silk Fusion Sixty Second Critical Repair (Deep Hair Conditioner) aand Sodium Alginate are next. (without additives)