sjohnson315 wrote:
That's what I was hoping for, I MIGHT be able to use the nasal cushions! YAY! Thanks for your reply!
I thought I was a mouth breather also but come to find out most of the mouth breathing I was doing during the night was gasping for air from the apnea events. Stopping the gasping stopped the biggest part of the mouth breathing. Still had a little "habit" of mouth breathing just because it was a habit but that eventually died down to something that rarely happens and when it does it doesn't last long.
If you can normally breathe through your nose just fine then you may do well with a nasal pillow mask.
Won't know until you at least try and the difference in comfort and ease of putting on and taking off is sure worth at least trying a nasal pillow mask.
You may still want to have a full face mask handy for time when you get a cold or something. Having 2 small children will pretty much guarantee they will share their cold germs with you. I have been fortunate (my kid is grown) that I don't catch many colds now and so far I have been able to still use my nasal pillow mask even with a bad cold. I find that the humidity really helps with the congestion associated with a cold.
If looking at a full face mask...look at the Amara View...It's probably the only FFM I would/could ever use..YMMV but it's a good starting point.
If looking at nasal pillows...look at the ResSmed AirFit P10 that I am using now (see link in my profile) or ResMed Swift FX nasal pillow. Both offer "for Her" sizing if needed where an XSmall nasal pillow is included in the package of 3 sizes and the straps are a wee bit smaller.
Both of these are super easy to put on and take off because it's mainly just elasticity at work.
Full face masks are going to involve a little more work putting on and taking off...not a huge problem but a little more time will be involved. Some people just do the quick release thing and leave the FFM mask on the face if they get up during the night. While it works well...don't know if it is something I would want to be doing when I go to a kids room in the middle of the night. But that's up to you and how the kids would respond to seeing you with the mask hanging off the face.
The Amara View could be easily/quickly removed simply by unhooking one side and allowing the stretchiness of the headgear to do the rest.
The 2 nasal pillow masks that I mentioned can be put on and taken off easily with one hand or even just a couple of fingers because of the stretchiness...especially the P10.