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JoyD. wrote:I tried placing three strips of 3M tape in the shape of the horseshoe. It still allowed air to escape, and did nothing against lip flutters.

Does the actual chin up product (white horseshoe shape) actually prevent lip fluttering?

Thanks,
Joy

Initially, I had tried that, too. It didn't work. That was before I started using chinstraps.

Maybe it depends on the mask. Since the Activa covers and holds down my top lip and the tape covered by the chinstrap hold the bottom lip closed, there is no room for air to get out. I don't think that the tape alone would work with any other mask, for me.

I'm reading this with great interest, as I have occasional lip flutters, and really don't want to tape my mouth. Joy, I wonder if the seams in the tape keep it from holding as securely? It may not make a difference, but it could be it would work better if cut from one single piece of tape. Is that what everyone else is doing?

One 4" long piece with a cut out going down about half way through a 2" wide tape. That leaves a 1" rise going up your cheeks.

Bev

I just read this thread with interest as I have been having an undesired effect from mouth taping - acne from where the tape has been. At a youthful 57, I still have breakouts in the T zone. I'm not sure if it is the adhesive, or the fact that the pores are blocked, but I have been experiencing terrible zits underneath the area of the 2" painters tape I have been using. I'm talking large red blocked pores that make me embarrassed.

The chin ups would give me the same problem, only worse as more area would be covered. Any ideas, folks?

Thanks,

You may be reacting to something in the tape. Have you tried a non-allergenic medical tape? Would a chinstrap that cups your chin work for you?

luckylinda wrote:I just read this thread with interest as I have been having an undesired effect from mouth taping - acne from where the tape has been. At a youthful 57, I still have breakouts in the T zone. I'm not sure if it is the adhesive, or the fact that the pores are blocked, but I have been experiencing terrible zits underneath the area of the 2" painters tape I have been using. I'm talking large red blocked pores that make me embarrassed.

The chin ups would give me the same problem, only worse as more area would be covered. Any ideas, folks?

Thanks,

I think this makes you a candidate for the polident strips. They're easy to use. You just have to do it a few times to get the positioning right and then they're easy. And no tape on your face. They're kinda gooey in the morning but they roll right off and don't damage your lips.

That reminds me of the two times I used the polident strips. I woke up both times trying to eat them!

Linda wrote:
I just read this thread with interest as I have been having an undesired effect from mouth taping - acne from where the tape has been. At a youthful 57, I still have breakouts in the T zone. I'm not sure if it is the adhesive, or the fact that the pores are blocked, but I have been experiencing terrible zits underneath the area of the 2" painters tape I have been using. I'm talking large red blocked pores that make me embarrassed.

The chin ups would give me the same problem, only worse as more area would be covered. Any ideas, folks?

Linda,
I know a lot of people swear by painter's tape, but I always think about the fact that this tape was NEVER designed for the human skin. We have no idea of what kind of adhesive chemicals are in it, compared with medical tape that would consider that factor. Perhaps that is why you get your reaction . . . just a thought.

Joy

Joy,

Thanks for that thought. I'll bet you are right. I have some medical tape in the house; can't remember now what it is called. I'll be trying that tonight. Thanks so much!

riverdreamer wrote:I'm reading this with great interest, as I have occasional lip flutters, and really don't want to tape my mouth. Joy, I wonder if the seams in the tape keep it from holding as securely? It may not make a difference, but it could be it would work better if cut from one single piece of tape. Is that what everyone else is doing?

When I was taping, I crisscrossed two pieces of tape across my mouth in an x with the cross right over my lips, then put a third strip og tape straight across my lips over the x. The thing about the lip flutters is that you want your tongue to stay behind your top front teeth against the roof of your mouth...that stops the flutters as the tongue then forms a seal. The chin up strips seem to help keep the tongue in that position when they are correctly in place.

Cindy

OK here's a weird one. I taped last night. Not just the chinup strip copy made out of Micropore. I mean I cut a piece of 2" tape wide enough to go all the way across my mouth and onto my cheeks. While my leak rates were still really good, my machine indicates I am exhaling through my MOUTH!

Not all the time... but a lot.

I know if I worked at it I could blow through the tape or make it leak over my upper lip through my mustache, but once I got the nasal pillows on, that becomes MUCH harder to do.

So.... short of super gluing my lips together, I'm not sure what more I can do or how much better I can make it.

yardbird wrote: While my leak rates were still really good, my machine indicates I am exhaling through my MOUTH!

Your machine can tell the difference between mask leaks and mouth leaks? Cool!

I got the other chin up strip samples yesterday from the chin up strip company. 4 Boomerang style and 4 of the tan horseshoe shape. I didn't not like them as well as the white ones...just couldn't get my lips to stay shut with them. The tan horseshoe are a little bigger than the white, and i don't think the material of the tape is quite as strong. So...if anybody would like to try these, I have three of each. PM me and I will send them to the first people that pm to try.
Cindy

OutaSync wrote:Your machine can tell the difference between mask leaks and mouth leaks? Cool!

Yeah it has an event type called EPI (exhalation puff index) and what it's detecting is when it believes you have inhaled through the interface, but exhaled through the mouth. I have no idea what the technical algorithm would be for that, but it has to sense air going in for which there was no detected backpressure in the mask to signify an exhalation.... or something. So yeah it's kinda neat.