Let's talk about Full Face Masks

Hi everyone.

I don´t know if I'm a mouth breather (I don't snore much, I sleep on my stomach), but I do know I have air leaks through my lips. Do I need a full face mask? Is there any special model of full face mask for stomach sleepers? Thanks.

John.

John, you can try a chin strap, but they don't work for too many people. You can tape your mouth shut. You can get a FF mask. Air leaks from the mouth are as bad as mouth breathing.

Brenda

Dark_Star wrote:
Maybe a chin stap will "do the trick" !

It seems that every time the subject of chinstrap comes up, most people will say they don't work.

I have had great luck with the Tiara Ruby chinstrap, which I've been using with my Soyala nasal mask. The only thing I don't like is that it makes my beard itch, and my chin sweats.

I'm taking a second look at a large Soyala FF which fits much better than the medium I tried previously (their sizing chart is messed up). If all goes well, hopefully I won't need the chinstrap anymore.

Sooo does your chin always sweat and beard get itchy when you feel lucky?

That must be tuff on poker nights.

DreamStalker wrote:Sooo does your chin always sweat and beard get itchy when you feel lucky?

Actually no, never.


(but it sure gets HOT under this helmet!)

My DME gave me a respironics basic chin strap and it wouldn't stay where it was suppose to all night. I went to ebay and purchased a Tiara topaz adjustable chinstrap and it has worked wonderfully for me.

I think I have a solution for you over-heated bearded and Total Face Mask types, or rather that NASA has a solution, which with a bit of duct tape, WD40, and ingenuity, should work. I feel sure that BC/BS will allow it.

http://www.nasaexplores.com/show2_artic ... ?id=04-034

Vader, let me know how that works out. I'm think I'm just down the road from you, so I'd like to see your implementation.

This is just the sort of OT nonsensical post that I typically bemoan, but I just got back from the dentist, and am probably over-medicated. Sorry about that.

Here is a follow-up from my original post.

Ok.. so I am in my 3rd week of “therapy” and have had some good nights and some not so good.. that is to be expected with or without CPAP.

Since.. I am mouth breathing I realize that I am not going to get good treatment and was looking for the remedy for this.

I thought… that my only way to go was a new Full Face Mask..or even the Hybrid model…. but I still wasn’t excited about going that route .. just yet.

So while reading the boards…It seems there are at least 3 ways to stop the dreaded “Mouth Breathing” or MB as we will call it from here on.

1) Tape it –- In tape it I was told to get some 2” Paper Tape and tube of chap stick lip balm from the drug store and after applying chapstick to my lips, I was to tape my mouth completely shut. Some even recommend Duct Tape (ouch).

This did not work to well for me .. I have a beard and mustache and was not able to get a good seal and I am not ready to shave (just yet).

2) Strap it – Strap it involves either making or buying a chin strap to keep mouth shut. This method to stop MB seems to have come with very mixed reviews. I have read a lot of folks say it either works or doesn’t work and there seemed to be more saying it did not work then worked. Also I wondered about the idea of having more “stuff” strapped on me would hinder my sleep… or make it more hot during the hot Carolina summers.

So I have passed on this idea for now.


3) Polident it –- Using the made for dentures “Polident Strips” in between my lips has actually worked great for me. I am still mastering this .. but for the last 2 nights I have had excellent results. It is not uncomfortable and easy to take off in morning with some warm water. Also, this stuff is not so sticky that I couldn’t un-do by parting my lips real hard if I really needed too.


In addition to keeping my mouth closed … I also considered a new mask to try and have read a lot of good reviews on the Nasal Pillow interfaces,

I narrowed it down to the New Breeze and the Twilight NP... and after careful consideration I ordered the Invacare Twilight NP with headgear.

Hopefully the new Nasal Pillow mask will solve a couple issues I am having with the nose mask. (air leaking air into my eyes and a small dent on the bridge of my nose…) Not to mention the nasal pillows will be lighter on my face to keep cooler in the hot and humid summer.

So hoping the Twilight NP nasal pillow will work good for me and will follow up again in a few days.

Babette wrote:
I'm trying to be more open minded. I'm gonna try some FF masks, I've got a Hybrid on it's way. Maybe we should just all stand in line and pass masks to each other. Oh wait, that's what we're doing in Mask Roulette.

Well lets start with your box. Here is the box you sent me when you lent me the Comfort Lite. The box is being held by my sweetie , Yvonne



So I have sent the box on Bert Matthews with another mask.

I have named the box,"Babettes Legendary Box".

Lets keep Babettes box moving those masks around. Trade with Bert and you will get Babette's Box.

John M

I, too, never understood why nasal-only interfaces are treated as the cat's meow, and full-face masks are treated as some sort of crappy last resort for people who "fail" at putting big elastic straps around their heads and taping their mouths shut.

A full face mask should be the FIRST mask tried for most people, and if they can't tolerate it even after repeated attempts, THEN have them try a smaller nasal-only interface.

It seems to me that simply covering the WHOLE set of respiratory apertures instead of just the smallest, lowest-capacity 66% of them makes perfect sense as a first-line treatment. Elastic headbands and taping your mouth shut... that all seems silly compared to simply covering all the "ports" with an interface with a single, simple seal (unlike nasal pillows with 2 seals, or the hybrid with 3).

What is this huge slant toward nasal masks, and the view of full face masks as some sort of last-resort option that's looked upon rather dimly? It seems to me the reverse of what the attitude should be.

12% of mask sales on cpap.com are full-face? I just can't understand it.

I would urge both brand-new xPAP patients and people who are having problems with nasal interfaces (like the biggest and uncovered hole coming open during sleep) to try full face mask(s). You may be pleasantly surprised or even thrilled... I strap on my Fischer and Paykel HC431 and I just have *NO* problems, ever. It works like a charm...

FF masks won't work for everyone, but they can work for a large percentage of patients. What the heck's with the bias against them, when to me (and others here, like Den), that bias not only makes no sense, but is the exact opposite bias of what one may logically expect might exist?

Thanks for listening. I'm just curious about this, and always have been.

Well, I would guess that a high rate of non-compliance would result from a newbie given a machine and a full face mask with a pat on the back and never a followup. At least with a nasal interface, a newbie isn't overwhelmed by a huge, intimidating, monstrous mask.

I say it's too bad that many DMEs don't give better customer service and follow-up. A mask doesn't make compliance -- knowledge does.

Well, I would guess that a high rate of non-compliance would result from a newbie given a machine and a full face mask with a pat on the back and never a followup. At least with a nasal interface, a newbie isn't overwhelmed by a huge, intimidating, monstrous mask.

I say it's too bad that many DMEs don't give better customer service and follow-up.

Probably correct, now that I think about it. A full-face can be intimidating at first... but often that only lasts a day or two, and soon the person gets used to it (unless they're in the extreme claustrophobic minority who will never be able to adjust to it). Too bad the DME's don't do a better job of telling people this... ride it out, give it a few days, and chances are you'll soon like it.

Maybe that's why the nasal interfaces are so popular... lack of information and support from DME's concerning full-face masks. Could be!

I alternate between a UMFF and a soyala FF mask. I never have any issues with leaks and in fact laying on my side helps it seal better. I hate nose masks because of the pressure in the area between the upper lip and the nose. I can't comprehend why anyone would go to the pain of taping over a full face mask....but that's just me. I have taped on several occassions and it was a pain. Wearing a chin strap is just one more contraption on ones face. If I never opened my mouth and I had low pressures I would definitely look into something like a breeze or swift...but since I do mouth breathe at times the full face mask works great. I sort of like them....it's like I am in my own little cacoon.

track wrote:I alternate between a UMFF and a soyala FF mask. I never have any issues with leaks and in fact laying on my side helps it seal better. I hate nose masks because of the pressure in the area between the upper lip and the nose. I can't comprehend why anyone would go to the pain of taping over a full face mask....but that's just me. I have taped on several occassions and it was a pain. Wearing a chin strap is just one more contraption on ones face. If I never opened my mouth and I had low pressures I would definitely look into something like a breeze or swift...but since I do mouth breathe at times the full face mask works great. I sort of like them....it's like I am in my own little cacoon.

Track, I agree with almost everything you've said right there. For me, FF is the best way to go, and I still get to keep my beard!
( and I am *so* lovin' my Soyala FF!)