Nasal Air II new user - finding the right prong size?

I'm trying out the Nasal Air II, mainly to avoid red marks that were beginning to look like they might become permanent if I continued with a facial mask. I like the fact that the nasal prong system doesn't have any contact with my face and it's less cumbersome. But so far, I'm still struggling to find the right size nasal prong. I have an above average size nose and nostrils, so I started with the MediumPlus. Those came out a couple of times during the night, so I tried the Large last night. It also came out once, but I'm now unsure if part of the reason is that this isn't a very good setup if you like to roll on to your side or move around in general. You almost have to sleep on your back continuously. If you don't, you risk pulling at the headgear and hoses (not to mention trying to sleep with a hose between your bed and your head - not real comfortable).

Is there a sure fire-way to know you've got the right size cannula? Should it just slide up into the nose relatively easily or should I have to "fold" the prong and squish it up there? Once it's up in the nostril, should it feel completely comfortable? Or should I feel some pressure of the prong against the inside of my nose?

As a side note, it seems tough to keep a seal with this thing. I mean, I'll often have a nice, quiet seal but then some relatively minor movement will cause a leak in one nostril or the other, which is noisy and tends to wake me up.

I like the concept of the Nasal Air II, but I didn't have all of these problems with seals and movement with the facial mask. Any advice?

Here is Babs Tip Sheet for the NAII. Check it out, maybe it will help.

viewtopic/t23207/Babettes-Nasal-Aire-II-Tip-Sheet.html

Brenda
PS You can always PM Babs, she is the resident expert on the NAII.

Doesn't Babs also staff an 800 # for NAII-Help-Me?
Gumby thinks Babs has stock in the Company.
Or does she just like to have things in her nose?
I too wondered about flattening them out while sleeping on the hose.

bdp522 wrote:Here is Babs Tip Sheet for the NAII. Check it out, maybe it will help.

viewtopic/t23207/Babettes-Nasal-Aire-II-Tip-Sheet.html

Brenda
PS You can always PM Babs, she is the resident expert on the NAII.

I don't think you will find a size that won't slip out diring the night. Size should be large enough to just feel a little pressure. Too large a size will make the nares sore and often will not unfold all the way leaving a channel that will leak. Size should be large enough so whwn you put it in it must unfold completely. The pressure will also expand it and make a better seal. The secret to not having the cannulla fall out is to have the loops tight enough to put some pressure on the hoses and keep them from slipping. I never could get the loops tight enough so I used a strip of "One Wrap" velcro just behind the loops and wrap it tight enough to keep the hoses from slipping down and pulling the cannulla out.

Jerry

I find that I have to wear the side hoses pulled up pretty tight, so that the tip of my nose is pushed up slightly (pig nose effect), and then make sure I've got the two hoses tied together firmly at the crown of my head. This configuration is really stable for me, and I don't have any slippage issues.

I sleep on the edge of my memory foam pillow, with my face and the mask floating freely in the air. This eliminates any squishing of my face, which can lead to prong slippage, or flattening of the hoses.

I found that the NAII headgear didn't work well enough for me. I needed more stability. So I ditched the headgear, and attached the mask directly to my chinstrap with two strips of Velcro One Wrap sewn to the chinstrap at my temples. I use a third strip of Velcro One Wrap to tie the two side hoses together at the crown. If I DON'T do this third step, then the hoses will tend to pull away from my face, and lead to prong slippage.

You can see pix of what I did here:
http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p36/ ... aise/CPAP/

I think it's really rotten that Innomed hasn't put me on the payroll nor offered me any kickbacks for all the publicity I've given them. Maybe I should write to them and tell them about me.

Feel free to PM me with any questions!!!!

Cheers,
Barbara/Babette

New_to_CPAP_world wrote:Is there a sure fire-way to know you've got the right size cannula? Should it just slide up into the nose relatively easily or should I have to "fold" the prong and squish it up there? Once it's up in the nostril, should it feel completely comfortable? Or should I feel some pressure of the prong against the inside of my nose?

I have to "fold" the prong and shove it in, to get it in. Every night. Once it's in, I tug it gently out, until it pops open. Then I twist the cannula until I get it in just the write position. This means to grasp the cannula at the point of connection with the side hoses, and actually twist that juncture, so that I'm making the exhaust vents point farther out away from me, rather than straight down my body. I find that by twisting this way, I can get a very firm "seat" and it seals well for me.

It feels completely comfortable to me, but yes, there is a slight pressure. Some folks report that they have a "break in" period with this mask, and that after that, they are fine with it. In my case, I took to it immediately. I HAVE discovered that occasionally when I get a new mask, the new cannula will be harder than the previous cannula, and in fact will hurt a little bit. My current cannula was like that. They soften up over time, and eventually they become so soft that you can't seem to eliminate all the leaks. That's when I do a replacement and buy a new mask.

Hope this helps!
Barbara