The big mouth tape review thread

[JOinPA]

I'm new to mouth taping since coming here, and several have posted about their experience with it, and I thought it might be useful to have one thread where people can post their experience with various brands of tape. So far, I've tried three, which I will review here.

I am reminded of "Pugsy's Rule". There are no rules. And the first corollary, everyone is different and has different responses. It will be helpful to see what peoples' experiences with specific products are, I think.

Cover-Roll Stretch Tape



First one I tried. Pro: It's tenaciously sticky. Con: It's tenaciously sticky.

This tape is guaranteed to stop mouth leaks for everyone, and I state that as a categorical. This is probably the only product that can be said about. It's so sticky, no amount of drool will loosen it, and, in fact, it's hard to remove. You best remember to fold over a corner of the tape to provide grip to get it off in the morning. This guarantee of efficacy, however, is also it's biggest drawback; those with sensitive skin have reported that repeated use can cause sores and raw skin.

It did not do that for me, however, if I used it regularly for some period of time, I suspect it might. It is so strong, stubble for men won't cause issues, it will stick. I've found you can narrow it by cutting of about 20-25% of its width and it will still be effective as long as you cover the corners of your mouth.

[JOinPA]

Dr. Johnes Advanced Mouth Tape



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQCZ3FL9?ps ... ct_details

This tape seems similar to SomniFix tape, however at about 40% of the price, it's quite a bit less expensive. I have no experience with SomniFix tape [/disclaimer], I hope some will review it.

My experience was generally positive, although the first night I drooled a bit and one side loosened a little. Still worked, though. Pros: Works pretty well, inexpensive Con: It should be just a tad wider. It just reaches to the corners of my mouth and it has to be precisely placed. But I had good results with it. Easy to remove in the morning, no skin irritation, works with light stubble. Two-three days of stubble might cause issues, I had just skipped shaving one day.

I'd love someone who has used SomniFix to try this and do a comparison, because of the price differential.

[JOinPA]

Linhealt mouth tape



This is really inexpensive, about 13 cents per strip, but I got one of the last boxes at Amazon, they no longer have it. Maybe it will be restocked or is available elsewhere.

This is an "X" style tape, one that does not cover your whole mouth. I have read some people have trouble and blow air around it, but that was not the case for me, it worked very well. Pros: Very economical Cons: Does not cover the mouth and that could make it ineffective for some.

I love this product. Apparently it does not take much to stop my mouth breathing because this works just fine. I've placed it the long way horizontal and vertical (like in the package photo) and it works for me either way. Worked with one day of stubble, but I suspect it may not with much more. Clean shaven, this is my favorite solution, by far. Stays put, and stops my dry mouth with minimal tape feeling. Combined with the ResMed P10 Nasal Pillow Mask, this is about the least intrusive setup I can think of for PAP therapy.

I hope it becomes available again, this will be my personal go-to product.

Please post reviews of other tape solutions, especially SomniFix, I'd love to know if Dr. Johnes is close to as effective at less than half the price.

Cheers,

John

[chunkyfrog]

I like chin up strips in the boomerang shape.

[zonker]

not tape-
viewtopic.php?p=1089718&f=1&t=112758&p= ... s#p1086296

i've modified it to fit my head, but basically the same.

also, i use a firm foam cervical collar.

[JOinPA]

Well, the LinHealth, my favorite, did not work at all with 2 days of stubble, had to use the cover roll stretch, which always works. Trimming it slimmer really helps with comfort. I suspect the Dr. Johnes would have been the same. Men gotta shave regularly to use these tapes (except Cover Roll).

[mets123]

I have used Hypafix for over two years. Great product, never have issues removing it. Without this I couldn’t wear the eclipse or any nasal mask.

[JOinPA]

Wow! That Hypafix packaging looks similar to Cover Roll Stretch, but clearly it's a different product. Thousands of ratings, dermatologist rated, and lots of sensitive skin reviewers! I've never heard of it, but I'll have to try it.

https://www.amazon.com/Hypafix-Dressing ... 871&sr=8-3

[onward60]

I wonder, is anyone using the Scunci method referenced above but without a cervical collar?

UPDATE: I have been reading and re-reading the post about Scunci. I don't think I even understand how it works.

[chunkyfrog]

Still sold on chin up strips.

[JOinPA]

Well, not having heard of it until Mets123's mention, I ordered some Hypafix tape from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Smith-Nephew-Hyp ... ljaz10cnVl



I have found that all of the clear, less adhesive solutions work well for me if I shaved that morning. Not so much with stubble, it becomes a 50/50 proposition with 1-day stubble, and a no-go with 2-day stubble.

I have not used the Cover Roll in a couple weeks, but the Hypafix comes with my unqualified, absolute guarantee it will work. It looks to be made by the same company, judging from the backing and I also trimmed 20% off this tape and probably could trim it more. It will work with stubble, and will not come off at night, guaranteed.

My sense is it is somewhat less tenacious than the Cover Roll tape and it removed easily this morning. I cannot speak to those with sensitive skin, but if you're a guy and don't always shave religiously every day, this is likely your best bet for mouth tape. I love it! For the ladies, it's cheap enough you can try it to see how you react to it, but if the other mouth-tape-specific solutions work for you, probably no need for this much adhesive, but I think it is a better bet than the Cover Roll tape.

I give this two enthusiastic thumbs up! When I've shaved, I still like the LinHealth, as it gets the job done for me. This is a guaranteed solution all the time, however.

Cheers,

John

[mets123]

Glad it’s working for you, I have used Hypafix for a long time and have never had any issues with skin irritation from it.

[JOinPA]

I have only tried Cover Roll Stretch, Dr. Johnes, Linhealth, and now HypaFix, but my conclusions are as follows.

1. If I have shaved that day, they all work.
2. If I skip a day of shaving, the Dr. Johnes and Linhealth are a 50/50 proposition
3. If I skip 2 days shaving, neither of those works at all.
4. Like Cover Roll, the HypaFix works 100% of the time in any conditions, but does not have the SuperGlue feel of the Cover Roll.

For a 100% guaranteed-all-the-time-all-night-tape-security which is a bit more comfortable than the Cover Roll, I'd recommend going with the HypaFix. No telling if it will give you issues with skin irritation until you try it, but HypaFix is the cost-effective and guaranteed solution for me.

The sticky is strong enough that I've found I can literally slice it in half lengthwise with a sharp knife or razor knife. I fold over a short edge to provide a pull tab to get it off quickly and I don't bother trying to put a slit in it. Half-width HypaFix is a great solution, for me. Like Pugsy always says, though, there are no rules, or the only rule is there are no rules. But if you need tape, and have been less than satisfied with your choice thus far, give HypaFix a try.

When I have shaved that day, the LinHealth "X" strips are my favorite solution and get the job done. If I have not shaved that day, I use the HypaFix. Won't reload the Dr. Johnes or try Somnifix at this point.

[CPAP@madany.com]

Here's my experience after about 36 days of SomniFix.

For background:

• Before using my AirCurve 10, I had an AHI of about 30.

• I have both central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea, with the CSA being strongly correlated with sleeping on my back.

• I have always preferred sleeping on my stomach, which makes using a mask quite challenging.

• The shape of my nose doesn't match any of the 8+ masks I've tried, but the N30i seems to be the best (i.e., least bad)

• For the first two years of using the AirCurve, I suffered with aerophagia, high mask leakage, marginal AHI (~5), and dry mouth

• To deal with the dry mouth, I used XyliMelts, which always helped, but didn't always help enough.

• Recently my sleep doctor suggested an F30i, which in 4 days went from working perfectly to giving me such bad aerophagia I threw it in the garbage and went back to my N30i.

I did a bunch of searching online and found recommendations for SomniFix. Amazon didn't seem to carry it, but they had some knock-offs that got mediocre ratings. Moreover some of those ratings said that SomniFix was the real deal. Despite the high cost for the first 4 weeks, I thought I had nothing to lose. For the first 11 days of usage, the results were dramatically better in terms on reduced aerophagia, reduced mask leakage, reduced AHI, and less frequent/severe dry mouth (without XyliMelts). At this point I set up a subscription for getting 3 boxes every 12 weeks. Getting 3 boxes at once and setting up a subscription both save a lot, though SomniFix is still somewhat pricey. After that, for the next 13 days, results were much better than without SomniFix, but not dramatically so. Sometimes the strips sprang a leak, which may have been my fault. The strips always take effort to peel off in the morning, but never felt painful or irritating. The strips in one of the new boxes look slightly different, and they seem to work great. For the past 9 days, the average AHI is 0.1, mouth feels great, mask fit is good, and aerophagia is below the threshold of paying attention to it.

Some things that seem to reduce effectiveness are:

• Putting 51+% of the strip below the lip line, which could cause the upper lip to spring a leak. I shoot for centering slightly above the lip line

• Washing my face immediately before putting on the strip. Washing the area an hour before bed seems to be no problem. The reason I wash the area an extra time is that I thought it may avoid skin irritation from glue above a tiny amount of whatever.

• Not using my chinstrap, which I had been prescribed before. I don't think the chinstrap ever kept my mouth closed, but it did seem to make the N30i mask fit the shape of my head just right.

The strip worked perfectly when I had skipped shaving one day. I never tried it with 2+ days of stubble. SomniFix may have some options for that, but I see no need to find out if they exist. Last night I had to cough a couple times while wearing it. That was weird, but didn't blow out my ears, cause a leak, or make my AirCurve 10 upset.

Needless to say I am currently a huge fan of SomniFix, though I do realize I could someday develop skin irritation or have it stop working well for me.

[lazarus]

Keep possible spammer in play, but put asset on standby alert, just in case . . .