blister and pressure ulcers

I have a full face mask and get blisters and pressure ulcers on the bridge of my nose from the mask. I have tried switching masks, and the tech suggested putting duoderm across my nose. Nothing has worked and I'm feeling like I should apply for Rudolph's job. Any suggestions?

You can contact Padacheek and ask about a nose bridge protector. Padacheek is a forum member, so you can PM her. You can check out the nose bridge protector at her website, http://www.padacheek.com, here's the link;

http://www.padacheek.com/PAC_Nosebridge.html

Padacheek will work with you to get you something that works for you.

Brenda

Thanks Brenda. I looked up the site and ordered one. I really appreciate the information. This site is great. Tara

Great! I hope it works well for you, I know it has helped others here. I think you'll be very happy with how quickly Padacheek gets it mailed out to you too. As an cpap user she goes to great lengths to make this more comfortable for us.

Brenda

Tcamillemars wrote:I have a full face mask and get blisters and pressure ulcers on the bridge of my nose from the mask. I have tried switching masks, and the tech suggested putting duoderm across my nose. Nothing has worked and I'm feeling like I should apply for Rudolph's job. Any suggestions?

There are three reasons why a mask would do that. Either you have it WAAAAY to tight or it's the wrong size.....or both....OR it's got the word "Comfort" in its name.....which means it's the wrong mask.

Den

Wulfman, can you explain a little further about your opinion of ComfortGel FF Mask, that is what my husband is trying to work with but the bridge of his nose is red and he still has leaks. The UM is has a much better design but we can't get it to stop leaking. Of course we haven't tried very much. The CG seemed the lesser of the 2 evils. Any help with that? He has a Standard insert and we were told to look into a Shallow, that may fit better, hopefully.

DoriC wrote:Wulfman, can you explain a little further about your opinion of ComfortGel FF Mask, that is what my husband is trying to work with but the bridge of his nose is red and he still has leaks. The UM is has a much better design but we can't get it to stop leaking. Of course we haven't tried very much. The CG seemed the lesser of the 2 evils. Any help with that? He has a Standard insert and we were told to look into a Shallow, that may fit better, hopefully.

I've never tried the ComfortGel full face mask. I did try the Comfortfull 2 a couple of years ago and it was like a torture test for me after using the Ultra Mirage Full Face mask. The ComfortGel only recently came upon the scene

In this link, there are a number of "User Reviews" that might be worth reading. Seems to be mixed reactions to it.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/comfor ... dgear.html

There's also this (unfortunate) statement:
"Unlike the ComfortGel Nasal CPAP mask, the ComfortGel Full gel cushion cannot be boiled for additional conformity."

I can remember about three years ago, quite a few members who used the ComfortGel nasal mask were wondering when and hoping that they would come out with a full face version because lots of people seemed to like the nasal version. However, it appears that Respironics has screwed up yet another mask design.

To me, the Ultra Mirage Full Face is number one and the Quattro is second best in the full face category.
Assuming that they're properly sized, the previously mentioned masks work best for me when the forehead support is in the full, upright position (no angle) and the top straps are so loose that the forehead support is not even touching my forehead. Any/all tension is on the lower straps. The mask has to be loose enough for the seals to expand from the air flow and snug enough to keep it from falling off. For some people, it makes a difference on the UMFF if it has "Standard" or "Shallow" seals. I've always used "Standard", so I can't tell comment on what the differences are.
Another HUGE factor in doing this therapy and preventing mask leaks is the "bed pillow". I use a ChiroFlow water-based pillow. It's firm enough to keep my head from sinking into it and skewing the mask and it's comfort and height is adjustable by regulating the amount of water in it. There are also other pillows available specifically for XPAP users.

Den

Tcamillemars wrote:I have a full face mask and get blisters and pressure ulcers on the bridge of my nose from the mask. I have tried switching masks, and the tech suggested putting duoderm across my nose. Nothing has worked and I'm feeling like I should apply for Rudolph's job. Any suggestions?

I could solve this bad problem only by switching to a Hybrid full face mask, http://www.respcare.com/hybrid/index2.htm.

I love this mask and have used it every night for over two years.

Tcamillemars wrote:I have a full face mask and get blisters and pressure ulcers on the bridge of my nose from the mask.

Without knowing which mask you are using my guess is the mask is moving. The movement (rubbbing) is what causes skin irritation & blistering. What pressures are you using? How are the leak rates?

What kind of mask are you using? A lot of Full Face Masks have an adjustable forehead pad to relieve pressure off the bridge of your nose. The ResMed Mirage Quatro Full Face mask has this feature. The Respironics version also is adjustable.