puffy eyes please help

Hi,

I'm fairly new to the cpap but have adjusted to it quite well except for one *major* problem--I wake up with swollen eyes/nose/face, sometimes very swollen, and my eyes are dark, gunky, and weepy through the day. I've goggled the topic and googled it again, but for some reason, I can only find conversations dating back to 2007/8. If I am repeating an oft asked and answered question, I am really sorry, but my hope is that people have stopped talking about it because there's a simple fix (fingers crossed here.) If anyone can tell me anything to help, I would be indebted.

Some basic info: I use the kind of mask that just inserts into the nostrils and I love it but it makes my swelling the worst. I've tried the comfort gel mask and I absolutely can't stand it. Leaks all night, and my puffiness is only a little bit better. I've obviously tried all the "beauty tricks" for swollen, baggy eyes--ice, frozen spoons, cucumbers, eye mask, etc...These barely make a difference and I can't stand how weird I look to myself with these big swollen eyes. My eyes are darker, too, but I can address that with makeup. This also just can't be good for my eyes!!!! I've turned my humidity down and that helped a tiny bit, but any lower that 1.5 and my nasal passages get dry. Forgive me for whining on here, but I'm frazzled with this. My doctor says she's never heard of the problem and to just keep trying different masks. I know it's a common problem or at least used to be because of a google search. Anyone out there have helpful info????

Thank you!!

FRQ

Is your nasal pillow mask leaking? An improperly fit nasal pillow mask, or one with worn out nasal pillows, will leak, and because of the facial structure (the air bounces off the arch of your brow and back into your eyes), the leaks can go right into your eyes. If you have software, try to take a look at your data and be sure that leakage is not the issue.

If it isn't, you may be having a problem with the valves in the little tear ducts in the corners of your eyes that drain into your nose--this causes the air going up your nose to leak into your eyes. It might help to switch to a nasal mask or a full face mask, BUT, leaks are usually MORE of an issue with those masks and can cause even more problems unless you get really good at acheiving a leak-free seal. In any case, try another kind of mask to see if it helps.

If you can't beat this problem, you need to see an opthalmologist who can take a look at those tear ducts and see if there's anything that might help.

Oh, thank you for responding so quickly! My nasal pillow mask is definitely not leaking--the doc checked the software. I rarely get leaks unless I roll over and then I *think* I wake up and correct the mask. But the software said very few leaks. The nasal mask leaks and leaks and leaks and won't seal and makes me nuts and I can't move and it barely improves my puffy problem. I think I might have this tear duct problem, because when I cry (like at a movie my eyes swell up instantly. I'll look into seeing an eye doc. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

In addition to mask leaks, the exhaust flow from the mask (especially the Swift FX nasal pillows mask) can bounce off the bedcovers and back into your eyes. So make sure your eyes are adequately shielded from the fearsome flow of the exhaust vent too. I've found putting a hanky over my eyes works. A comfortable eye mask would also work.

And then there is also a small chance that some of the CPAP air is getting into your eyes via the tear ducts. This feels quite different (at least to me) than air blowing into the eyes from either a mask leak or from the exhaust flow bouncing off the covers and back into the eyes. Putting the hanky over the eyes does NOT work for this problem. But (for me) putting pressure on the inside corner of the eye (next to my nose) with my finger immediately makes the eye feel better. Removing the finger immediately starts the flow of air into the eye.

Not sure what you can do about air getting into the eyes via the tear ducts though: When I had some of that at the beginning of my xPAP therapy and I told the PA at the sleep doctor's office that I knew the air was coming into my eyes from inside my head, she immediately paid attention. That comment was put together with several other complaints and by the end of the appointment, she made a recommendation for a week of auto-titration to see if my pressure level could be reduced. The auto-titration did show I didn't need quite as much pressure as my first titration study indicated. Reducing the pressure took care of the problem for the most part.

Good luck.

I had this same problem using a ResMed Quattro FFM. Felt like it was the pressure from the mask under my eyes, but if you're using nasal pillows... How long does it last?