Fitting of nasal pillows

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Rigby
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:57 am

Fitting of nasal pillows

Post by Rigby » Thu Jul 07, 2005 8:48 am

This may be a no-brainer for some, but I'm pretty new to this and just made a discovery that helped me, so maybe someone else can try it, too.

I bought a Mirage Swift and stopped using it after a week because the pillows irritated my nose and seemed to allow leaks with the slightest movement. I was using the size small pillows.

Well, I've discovered that my delicate little nose-holes aren't so little after all. I really wanted the Mirage to work so I tried using the medium sized pillows and they worked just fine! I think I was irritated because the too-small pillows stuck up into my nose more than they should. I found the larger ones just sit at the opening and make a fine seal.

When all else fails, follow the directions, huh?

Rigby - whose nose-holes are bigger than she thought.

Started CPAP 6/9/05
Using ComfortLite Nasal Interface
"I can't breathe!"
"Turn your machine on!"
"Oh."

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WillSucceed
Posts: 1031
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:52 am
Location: Toronto, Ontario

Sometimes, bigger is better!

Post by WillSucceed » Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:06 am

I think you are right. The DME guy told me that I would be "find" with the medium size Swift but, I do better with the large. Same with the Breeze.

Regarding nasal pillows, bigger does seem to be better!


4Katie
Posts: 136
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2005 1:59 pm
Location: Northern Virginia
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Post by 4Katie » Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:16 am

There have been a lot of posts about the size of the pillows. Apparently most people need larger ones than they'd expect. I tried larger ones in my Breeze once, but didn't like them and went back to the smaller ones.

But since then I've done some tweaking with my headgear. Last night I tried the larger pillows again, and I was amazed at how much better they felt - and worked. NO leaks, even when I moved.

Messing around with my CPAP equipment is becoming a very time-consuming hobby!

One soft, sweet song's just enough to clear my head...

gailzee
Posts: 454
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 11:35 am

Bigger is Better (in this case!)

Post by gailzee » Thu Jul 07, 2005 3:25 pm

As a female user, I was told that I'd need a small or medium nasal pillow. Well my nose said no, and I went to the large sized swift nasal pillow, it sealed better and since then no problems. I know mentally I don't like to hear "LARGE", but in this case, the large seals and fits/sets better, at least for me.

[quote="4Katie"]There have been a lot of posts about the size of the pillows. Apparently most people need larger ones than they'd expect. I tried larger ones in my Breeze once, but didn't like them and went back to the smaller ones.

But since then I've done some tweaking with my headgear. Last night I tried the larger pillows again, and I was amazed at how much better they felt - and worked. NO leaks, even when I moved.

Messing around with my CPAP equipment is becoming a very time-consuming hobby!