New user can't exhale through mask

[realpsych22]

Hi all, I'm on my third night of CPAP, and the first two nights were great. Tonight I'm concerned because I can't exhale at all through the exhale port of my face mask. If I put it on and exhale (attached to the CPAP or not) I can't feel air coming out of the air port. If I try "run mask fit", the system ramps up to a pressure of like 16, and my mask wants to take off like a balloon and I almost choke on all the air. I've cleaned the mask with soapy water every night and just tried scrubbing it with a toothbrush to see if that would clear the ports, but I still can't breath through the thing.

Any help? I'd really like to sleep with the CPAP again tonight, but I don't want to suffocate in my sleep.

[Cubbiebear]

Hi all, I'm on my third night of CPAP, and the first two nights were great. Tonight I'm concerned because I can't exhale at all through the exhale port of my face mask. If I put it on and exhale (attached to the CPAP or not) I can't feel air coming out of the air port. If I try "run mask fit", the system ramps up to a pressure of like 16, and my mask wants to take off like a balloon and I almost choke on all the air. I've cleaned the mask with soapy water every night and just tried scrubbing it with a toothbrush to see if that would clear the ports, but I still can't breath through the thing.

Any help? I'd really like to sleep with the CPAP again tonight, but I don't want to suffocate in my sleep.

I don't know..Have you checked the connector and the hose? Try disconnecting the mask and reconnecting. Washing it nightly is not a good thing to do. Maybe a defect?

[mrcrayola]

I sometimes have a similar issue because I have to pull my mask down onto the bridge of my nose to try to minimize air leaks hitting my eyes. I already suffer from dry eyes as it is. I'm no Jimmy Durante, mind you, but when I do pull down the mask, part of my nose blocks some of the vent holes. Could that be your situation, too?

I often wonder how much carbon dioxide gets mixed in with each breath.

Cheers.

[canyouhearmeaya]

Just to play devils advocate, could it be the cleaning process that's causing this? Possibly gunking up the holes with cleaning product?

I don't know how often people clean their masks, but daily to me seems way OTT. Heck, I imagine there's a lot of people that never clean the mask.

[rick blaine]

Hi realpsych22,

You don't want to scrub the exhaust holes area ever. Not with a toothbrush, not with anything. And especially not on or at the 'inside'/ closest-to-face side.

That only serves to push whatever tiny particles of gunk there are further into the holes.

Better to let the mask soak - for a good 20 minutes. Then, if you're still concerned over the exhaust hole area, run water at it and thru it from the 'outside' to the inside.

Also, don't use anything that's made of soap. Use detergent, the mildest you can find.

And: to clear the mask's exhaust holes if they are now clogged up, I suggest soaking in one part of clear white vinegar to three parts lukewarm water for 30 minutes.

If you don't like the smell of vinegar, the juice of three lemons.

[Julie]

There should be an Exhale Pressure Relief feature on your machine... you can set it to 1-3 and see how that feels. Your AHI might go up by 1-2 cms but it shouldn't matter much unless it's already too high to begin with. On some machines the feature's called A- or C-flex. The mask isn't really the problem.

[canyouhearmeaya]

There should be an Exhale Pressure Relief feature on your machine... you can set it to 1-3 and see how that feels. Your AHI might go up by 1-2 cms but it shouldn't matter much unless it's already too high to begin with. On some machines the feature's called A- or C-flex. The mask isn't really the problem.

If she was breathing fine for the first 2 days, and suddenly can't.. I really don't think you can confident rule the mask out. The EPR function will help with exhalation as it's designed to do, but how do you explain a sudden inability to exhale ? (Assuming no other settings/pressure has been adjusted.)

[LSAT]

After only 3 nights there is no reason to think the exhaust holes need cleaning. There is some other reason. Is EPR turned on and if so, what is it set to?

[realpsych22]

Wow, so many great replies! Thank you!

I've contacted my repiratory tech, so hopefully I hear back soon, but I appreciate all the great advice. I was told to clean the part that touches your face nightly with soapy water to prevent the build up of oil and stuff, but I'll quit doing that and ask again. Maybe I heard wrong?

I wouldn't have tried the toothbrush, but I saw it recommended on another forum and was kinda desperate because I really wanted to use the machine last night... I've noticed an improvement, even in a couple of days.

I'll try soaking the mask in water and vinegar and see if that helps while I wait for the tech to get back to me.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I hope I figure this out before tonight. I'm TIRED!

[palerider]

You don't want to scrub the exhaust holes area ever. Not with a toothbrush, not with anything. And especially not on or at the 'inside'/ closest-to-face side.

I've *ALWAYS* scrubbed the exhaust holes with a toothbrush and dish soap, gets 'em good and clean.

[canyouhearmeaya]

You don't want to scrub the exhaust holes area ever. Not with a toothbrush, not with anything. And especially not on or at the 'inside'/ closest-to-face side.

I've *ALWAYS* scrubbed the exhaust holes with a toothbrush and dish soap, gets 'em good and clean.

How often do you personally deem this necessary with the P10? Just ask I'm using the same mask, and hadn't really considered any need to clean them, at least not at this early stage (i'm only 3 days in.)

[Marillion]

You don't want to scrub the exhaust holes area ever. Not with a toothbrush, not with anything. And especially not on or at the 'inside'/ closest-to-face side.

I've *ALWAYS* scrubbed the exhaust holes with a toothbrush and dish soap, gets 'em good and clean.

My method as well. Never any issues with the vents on my P10. As to the OP, if everything is assembled correctly and the mask was rinsed off properly after washing with soap I really can't think of any other issues other than the EPR settings needing to be tweaked.

As far as how often to clean, the only thing you should consider cleaning daily is the part of the mask that contacts your face, so the silicone interface or memory foam between the hard plastic of the mask and your nostrils or face (depending on the type of mask you have.) You certainly don't need to clean the whole mask daily. Many only do a full cleaning very rarely with no major issues. I myself do a full cleaning perhaps once every 3-4 weeks. But the nasal interface gets washed daily and left out to dry in a well ventilated place.

[palerider]

How often do you personally deem this necessary with the P10? Just ask I'm using the same mask, and hadn't really considered any need to clean them, at least not at this early stage (i'm only 3 days in.)

Frankly, it depends on how often you sneeze/snot the mask... (yeah, I don't have time for delicacy).

The P10 is hard to get a good feeling about how open the mesh is, because it's so diffused, it's hard to tell (unlike regular vent hole masks that shoot a hard jet of air) when the mesh starts getting clogged.

One way to get an idea is put your hand right next to the vent, and feel the *temperature* of the air, when you exhale, you can feel warmth, and it should cool off before you take another breath, (signifying it's purged all your exhaled breath).

If it seems to take longer to purge the warm air, or the mesh looks grody, it's time to scrub it with a toothbrush and *dish* soap (not hand soap) (Others have suggested a waterpic). The mesh won't always return to it's pretty white color, but according to resmed, it doesn't matter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MylY6a6KXMY

Note that I was originally talking about vent *holes* in regular masks above... which I also use a toothbrush on, because it gets into the holes and gets them clean).

[canyouhearmeaya]

How often do you personally deem this necessary with the P10? Just ask I'm using the same mask, and hadn't really considered any need to clean them, at least not at this early stage (i'm only 3 days in.)

Frankly, it depends on how often you sneeze/snot the mask... (yeah, I don't have time for delicacy).

The P10 is hard to get a good feeling about how open the mesh is, because it's so diffused, it's hard to tell (unlike regular vent hole masks that shoot a hard jet of air) when the mesh starts getting clogged.

One way to get an idea is put your hand right next to the vent, and feel the *temperature* of the air, when you exhale, you can feel warmth, and it should cool off before you take another breath, (signifying it's purged all your exhaled breath).

If it seems to take longer to purge the warm air, or the mesh looks grody, it's time to scrub it with a toothbrush and *dish* soap (not hand soap) (Others have suggested a waterpic). The mesh won't always return to it's pretty white color, but according to resmed, it doesn't matter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MylY6a6KXMY

Note that I was originally talking about vent *holes* in regular masks above... which I also use a toothbrush on, because it gets into the holes and gets them clean).

Okay, that's great to know, thank you!! I'm yet to sneeze with the mask on, I'd never even considered that happening!! Hopefully I can continue to avoid that, doesn't sound fun

[realpsych22]

The vinegar soak really seemed to help. It still doesn't feel quite the way I remember on nights 1 and 2, but air is coming out of most of the holes now. I'm a little nervous to sleep in it, but I've got it all attached right now and it seems to work okay without killing me while I'm awake. There does seem to he a lot of air coming out of those backup holes on top of my head, but the mask isn't blowing up like a balloon anymore. I'm not sure what's up.

I also ordered some CPAP cleaning wipes also, so maybe that will help with whatever cleaning issues I might have had.