Full face mask for colds

Do most CPAP users get a full face mask to use when they have a cold ?

I don't know if most do or not. I do not. I use my regular nasal pillows mask all the time, even if I have a cold. I tried a number of full face masks early on but never found any that I could tolerate so used my nasal pillows, even with a cold. It works for me.

I coming on 8 years of cpap therapy next month...I have yet to have to use a full face mask when I have had a cold or the flu.
I have been able to use my nasal pillow mask. It's not pretty and not a particularly good night's sleep but when we have a cold we feel like crap anyway and sleep like crap anyway. Until last year I didn't even own a full face mask because all the ones that I tried caused more issues than they fixed so I just elected to not have one since I knew I wouldn't use it anyway.

When I have a cold I just crank up the humidifier even more and the added warm moisture helps open the nose some and most of the time I would wake up breathing better through my nose than when I went to bed when a cold is in full blown glory.
If I can move any air at all through my nose (decongestants or whatever) then I will use the nasal pillow mask and I have yet to have a situation where I couldn't move any air through my nose.

I did finally try the Amara View last year and was actually able to sleep decently with it so I have kept it to have on hand just in case but I seriously doubt it will ever be needed. I have had some pretty nasty colds and flu symptoms in the past 8 years and not once have I had to go without my nasal pillow mask.

Easy for me...I use a FF mask all the time.

Golf016 wrote:Do most CPAP users get a full face mask to use when they have a cold ?

That's what I had thought when I first started and so I went through the trouble of trialing a half dozen FF/hybrid masks ... ended up with the ResMed Liberty (a hybrid type mask).

So I trialed the Liberty for a few days then put it away in my closet for when the need might arise ... that was about 10 years ago and I've not used it since.

I've had a couple of mild colds in the past dozen years but not severe enough that I had reach for the closeted Liberty mask.

I think it was changes in my lifestyle that has made the most difference.

1. I stopped taking the annual flu shots in 2005.
2. I became 100% CPAP compliant in 2006.
3. I stopped eating fast food junk in 2007.
4. I began weekly exercise routine in 2008.
5. I significantly reduced my carbohydrate intake in 2009.
6. I started taking daily 4,000 IU of vitamin D3 in 2010.
7. I changed to a high-fat paleo diet around 2011.
8. I changed from aerobic exercise to high-intensity strength exercise in 2012.
9. I began intermittent fasting in 2013.
10. I started experimenting with ketogenic diet(s) in 2014.
11. I started trying out long term fasting in 2015.
12. I started research and experimenting w/ gut michrobiome and thermogenic therapy in 2016.
13. Currently researching and experimenting with mitochondrial biogenesis and nutriceuticals. I now think the real key to health and longevity is to maximize the quantity and quality of your mitochondrial cells and anyone wanting to start out on their own health research project of the self can get a big head start by going straight for the latest research in mitochondrial health.

So basically, just changing your lifestyle to support better health will help avoid the common cold and the need for a FF mask.

BTW - Been using ResMEd Swift LT since 2007?

I am never surprised when someone passes young IN SPITE of an unhealthy obsession with abnormally healthful habits.
Isn't it infuriating when a centenarian credits fatty food, tobacco and whiskey for their long life?
It amuses me intensely.

chunkyfrog wrote:I am never surprised when someone passes young IN SPITE of an unhealthy obsession with abnormally healthful habits.
Isn't it infuriating when a centenarian credits fatty food, tobacco and whiskey for their long life?
It amuses me intensely.

Whiskey gives me headaches.

Tobacco makes me cough.

Fatty foods .... Mmmmmm.

In spite of the centenarians, I haven't struck out yet.

I use a FF mask every night...F&P Simplus. Not super comfortable but minimizes my leaks by a lot.

Golf016 wrote:Do most CPAP users get a full face mask to use when they have a cold ?

Only the smart ones! Jim So NO, would be the answer.

I do when my nose gets "snuffy" from allergies or a cold. I hate the feeling of not being able to breathe! And my nostrils become really sensitive when I'm congested, so I can't stand anything touching the nares.

Hawthorne wrote:I don't know if most do or not. I do not. I use my regular nasal pillows mask all the time, even if I have a cold. I tried a number of full face masks early on but never found any that I could tolerate so used my nasal pillows, even with a cold. It works for me.

While I get fewer colds since starting cpap they don't last as long either. But the few times I did using the nasal pillows opened my sinuses right up. So no for me too.

It took me several years to find a full face mask that fit well enough to be an effective alternative.
---Mostly because it took manufacturers that long to MAKE a proper mask for my face.
In the meanwhile, I have become very accustomed to nasal pillows.
So much, in fact, that I need to be unrelievably congested and unbearably tired to attempt to sleep with it.
I have slept with my F20 exactly ONE night. I have it, and it is my reserve, and only that.
My nasal spray and Breathe-Right strips will probably always be my first choice.

Janknitz wrote:I do when my nose gets "snuffy" from allergies or a cold. I hate the feeling of not being able to breathe! And my nostrils become really sensitive when I'm congested, so I can't stand anything touching the nares.

Neither can my wife, anytime I get close to her nares, she tells me to get away! Jim

Jim, you're doing it wrong.
I cannot begin to explain how.

chunkyfrog wrote:Jim, you're doing it wrong.
I cannot begin to explain how.

I think her nairs are stopped up. Jim

Also she claims they are all over her body, maybe she's a legal alien.