How did YOU Resolve Your Mouth-Leaks? (poll)

When I changed to the Activa LT, for some reason, I no longer had mouth leaks. The mask seems to push my upper lip in and my bottom lip thrusts forward, so no leaks.I also learned where to keep my tongue, and I always swallow once, after everything is in place.That seems to create a seal of sorts. I taped for about 4 years with Nexcare, which was a good tape, but my lips became a mess, and so did the skin around my mouth.

I usually use a mild chin strap that is actually an eye mask with velcro closure. I am very inconsistent in when I leak a little. Every once in a while I wake up with a bit of cotton mouth. The odds of opening my mouth are greater if I eliminate the chin strap. While I may continue to experiment, it's so unobtrusive I have no problem to use it. I used to add a strip of tape in the center of my mouth. I no longer do so. I feel as Velbor does about my residual leaks. They are not compromising my therapy.

I can virtually eliminate leaks with the PapCap. It's a very good design. However, I found that pressure along the mandibular joint makes my neck seize up. I'm on vacation from the PapCap right now, considering how I might approach my next usage of it, since it was so darn effective in eliminating leaks.

I didn't vote -- because what I use isn't described. I suppose it's a chin strap.

It's my homemade "brandy keg" out of 4" diameter cylindrical closed cell foam with a strap through the center which goes around my neck. The "keg" is wrapped in fleece. It keeps my chin up quite nicely, but I can take a sip of water if I need to. (Rarely do any more.)

I used to use a full face mask, because when I first got my CPAP I thought it made more sense. When my FF broke, I was forced to get a strictly nasal. I got a chin strap also, but found if I do open my mouth, I end up waking myself up. I haven't had any problems in the last 6 months! One great thing was now I don't wake up with a really dry mouth!

Kiralynx wrote:I didn't vote -- because what I use isn't described. I suppose it's a chin strap.

It's my homemade "brandy keg" out of 4" diameter cylindrical closed cell foam with a strap through the center which goes around my neck. The "keg" is wrapped in fleece. It keeps my chin up quite nicely, but I can take a sip of water if I need to. (Rarely do any more.)

Wow, never thought of that before. Unfortunately, that wouldn't work for me; I can clench my teeth and still easily blow air out between my lips. But that's a clever idea!

I am a committed mouth breather. My nose just doesn't flow enough air most of the time. However, with my BiPAP I practiced using a nasal pillow mask while watching TV using my back up machine. After about 3 weeks of practicing holding my tongue up against the roof of my mouth I tried sleeping with my Swift II. Although my leaks were a little worse than with a full face mask, they weren't too bad and I think I receive good therapy. I sleep better than I did with FF mask and I only rarely have a dry mouth from leaks. The pressure during inhalation overcomes my the poor air flow through my nose and I exhale OK also. I never would have thought it would work but it did.

Dale

Bob3000 wrote:Last night I used the Nexcare "gentle" paper tape, and when I took it off at 5:30 this morning, it ripped a triangular piece of flesh from my face. Yeah, really. I will try the 3M Blue Painter's tape this evening.

I've occasionally gotten some irritation or even a tiny skin rip if I try to pull tape off, no matter how carefully or slowly I "pull" it. Learned from a post by Gerald that the best way to take any kind of tape off in the morning is to roll it backwards on itself, pressing down firmly against the skin as you work it off backwards.

Birdshell has posted a good tip many times... before applying tape, smear a light coating of Milk of Magnesia on the skin around mouth. Let it dry. Then apply the tape. Tape will still hold, but will be easier to remove in the morning. I haven't had to use the MoM, but others reported that worked well for them to stop irritation from tape removal.

I use 3M blue painting tape.

For people new to the message board who might be wondering, "WHAT??? Tape over the mouth???!!!", here's a link to discussions about that (and other ways to control mouth air leaks) --

LINKS to: Mouth leaks - Air Leaks - Tape - DIY Guard
viewtopic.php?t=8011

I failed at polident and taping. I admit that I didn't try very hard at either method. I succeeded using the DIY mouthguard method. I went through many of those over a time span of a close to a couple of years. I no longer use it. My tongue now stays up on the top of my mouth on its own blocking air passage.

I meant to add that when I started with the DIY mouthguard, I followed the posted instructions. Eventually, I got better at molding the appliance by making it thin as possible, but still using the same overall design. Towards the end, I molded part of the guard so that it fit under my tongue only, giving it a bit of extra lift, but I did not include the part that covered my top set of teeth. After a few months of that, I just went without anything at all without a problem.

The truth of the matter is that I am indeed a nose breather and find that if I open my mouth the whistling sound of the air passing through same wakes me up; I thence close my mouth and go back to sleep. It has not been a big issue for me but if it does continue to happen I will then take steps to resolve and since I hate having my mouth taped shut or mechanically closed it will likely be a full face mask that is quick and easy to remove.

I need to add a small subnote to this and that is simply that a friend of ours ran a jewelery store here in Toronto and some years ago they were robbed. The perps taped all of the mouths closed and our friend then threw up into his mouth and died as a result. This is no joke but a true story. Everyone was devastated and I have had that lingering memory of our friend's last moments of choking to death in the back of my mind ever since to the point of paranoia.

On the other hand, when I whistle at night (occasional) I have awoken to find my wife gently attempting to close my lips without waking me. I laughed so hard I was crying. She was royally ticked needless to say but then we both had a good laugh.

I do whatever is necessary to ensure my nasal airway path is clear even if it means using a spray decongestant. My MD has prescribed nasal sprays of various types but they do not seem to work well at all. I HAVE found that filling up the humidifier to maximum and turning up the heated humidification to as high as I can comfortably accept makes a huge difference; and if I can start the night with some airflow through my nose the heated and humidified air does the trick. In fact, I am presently suffering with a dooozy of a cold which would normally have me coughing all night with a stuffed solid nose. Guess what? No stuffy nose. No coughing. Sleep like a baby except for the call of nature at 4 a.m. or the call of hip pain at around the same time. I am about to download last night's data into my computer.

Whatever you decide to do my brothers and sisters, make sure it is absolutely safe and you are comfy with it or you will not sleep. I am one of the lucky ones thus far as far as nose breathing is concerned and after my full face mask experience this past summer in hospital (I was on full life support for almost a month) makes that option unlikely. It was not a happy experience for me.

Great replies, keep 'em coming. And torontoCPAPguy, my condolences; what an awful time your friend must have had.

I tried sleeping with the Hybrid last night, but even though I can get it a decent seal when I get ready for bed, I always wake up after an hour and I'm leaking again, may face is uncomfortable, etc. The pantyhose trick for the nasal pillows works ok, but even with that, I am leaking there, or I am leaking around my mouth. Maybe I will try the smaller mouth piece (I use medium) but on fitting the medium really seemed the way to go. I just don't do well on full-face masks of any type.

I think I will try the DIY oral appliance this week. I taped my mouth again last night, and it works reasonably well, but I feel a bit incapacitated at night while wearing it, and I am very concerned about asphyxiation if the power goes out. The Swift FX, like most (all?) nasal pillow-only masks, function no the assumption that if the cpap machine quits, you will breathe through your mouth. If your mouth is taped, you will end up re-breathing your own air and this can slowly kill you. I am not sure if a person would wake up under these circumstances.

Daffney_Gillfin wrote:I meant to add that when I started with the DIY mouthguard, I followed the posted instructions. Eventually, I got better at molding the appliance by making it thin as possible, but still using the same overall design. Towards the end, I molded part of the guard so that it fit under my tongue only, giving it a bit of extra lift, but I did not include the part that covered my top set of teeth. After a few months of that, I just went without anything at all without a problem.

Inspiring! I will work on this in parallel with my other approaches to mouth-leakage. I wonder how much treatment pressure levels affect the ability to prevent mouth leakage using only the tongue. Can you tell us what pressure you're using on your CPAP, or what range you use on APAP? Thanks Daffney.

I started with an Activa nasal mask and soon discovered that I was a mouth breather, I tried a few full face masks but I have trouble maintaining a seal. My best solution has been 2" 3M painters tape. But I still need to use a full face mask when I have a cold and can't breathe through my nose.