Which Full Face Mask will help lessen my puffing?

I have been using an Activa and before that a Swift with my 420S. I hope to get a 420E soon. The Activa is giving me a sore on the left side of my nose and is leaving a mark on the bridge of my nose every morning. It has better numbers than the Swift although last night, it was just about the same. I was thinking of getting a Full Face Mask to see if it will help with my wife complaints on me puffing during the night. I was thinking of the Ultra Mirage FF or the F&P 431. Any recommendations?

[quote="bigheadr"]I have been using an Activa and before that a Swift with my 420S. I hope to get a 420E soon. The Activa is giving me a sore on the left side of my nose and is leaving a mark on the bridge of my nose every morning. It has better numbers than the Swift although last night, it was just about the same. I was thinking of getting a Full Face Mask to see if it will help with my wife complaints on me puffing during the night. I was thinking of the Ultra Mirage FF or the F&P 431. Any recommendations?

Yes! Use the Search function (located at the top of every page). Look up the mask and use the links rested gal has supplied. Lots of reading!!!!!

It really comes down to a matter of personal preference, and more than that, personal fit. What works great for one person may be completely useless for another. Unless you actually try the mask, it is impossible to know how well it will work for YOU!

Happy reading!

I also do not understand what puffing is, is it the mask leaking, the exhaust vent being obstructed by something(my solution for this was to bring the hose over the top of my bed's headboard), mouth breathing, or are you having trouble exhaling against the pressure generated by the machine and what she hears is you gasping. Are you sure that you do not have the adjustment straps on to tight. I had a red mark when I first started using the Activa at the top of my nose and between my eyes. After reading how other forum members adjusted the Activa, I solved the problem. The only strap that must be tight at all it the top one, all the other straps should be fairly loose. Compared to the Ultra Mirage that I had previous used I found that the straps feel downright loose. Another strange adjustment I did, I set the nose pivot so that the top pads made no contact with my forehead, or barely did. This adjustment did away with the red mark. My final recommendation is when making the final adjustments to prevent leaks do them very gradually and forget everything you remember about how tight the straps had to be on others masks that you have used. It was hard for me to get used to the Activa compared to other masks that I had used, but I found it very important to let the Activa's bellows do their job and not cinch the straps down as tight as I was used to.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): mirage, activa, hose

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): mirage, activa, hose

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): mirage, activa, hose

Puffing is exhaling through the mouth. Mouth breathing includes inhaling through the mouth which renders the cpap useless. If you keep your mouth closed during inhale, what's too bad about 'puffing' the exhale?

I am trying to get adjusted to sleeping with this contraption! 2 nights at home so far.......

If you keep your mouth closed during inhale, what's too bad about 'puffing' the exhale?

Might not matter while using a straight cpap machine, but with an autopap I'd think all the airflow in and out needs to stay contained within the loop, so to speak, to allow an autopap to correctly sense what's happening in the user's airflow characteristics.

Biggest danger I can see with exhalations puffing out while using straight cpap, though, is that if breath can puff out at all, that means the natural seal of the tongue inside the mouth is somewhat loose.

Maybe certain individuals' tongues can switch back and forth naturally during the relaxation of sleep with every inhale/exhale all night long. Maybe not.

The tongue loosening its seal intermittently to allow only the exhaled breaths to puff out might be a step onto the slippery slope (no pun intended ). If the tongue's exhale seal gradually gets looser and looser (like a tiny mask leak that gets bigger and bigger) the tongue might finally fail to get back into sufficient sealing position during the nasal inhale.

If I am exhaling through my lips, does this mean that an APAP will not help me or a full face mask?

From what I understand, when air puffs/leaks from your mouth during PAP therapy, you lose some of the pressurized air that is intended to "splint" open your airway. If this is happening during an OSA event , there may not be enough air pressure getting to the airway to prevent it from becoming obstructed, partially and/or completely.
As far as the FF mask, the intended pressurized air is being delivered to the airway via nose and/or mouth so the "splintting" is occuring as needed.