taping mouth shut

I use 3M micropore it leaves no residue & comes of ok if you are gentle.

For nearly a year, I very successfully used a nasal pillow mask using delicate-surface blue painters tape. To my great disappointment and for no reason at all, I developed a rash to the tape (nice rectangle of red that I had to camophlage for work!! Was not funny.) The 3M micropore tape from Walgreens, et al, was horrible for me. Residue in the morning that required as much rubbing to remove, as to cause an equally red mark on my face. I've never understood how others remove that residue without a reaction.

The 3m tape is always a pain for me to get off in the mornings. I apply some make-up remover and let it soak for a couple of minutes and it comes off very easily. Not all make-up removers are created equal though. Baby oil or milk of magnesia will also work really well. I also punch a hole in the tape so I can breathe while walking around waiting for the tape stickiness to dissolve.

3M makes three versions of medical tape:
Micropore paper-based
Transpore plastic-based
Durapore fabric based

3M also makes the blue painters' tape that many here use. (Perhaps 3M would sponsor something for pappers. Maybe a Special Olympics-type competition, a prize for the fastest taper, with style points for originality and final appearance.)

Seriously, though, I tried the three medical tapes serially over two weeks. On my face, the Durapore adhesive is definitely less tenacious; the tape peels off easier, leaves less residue, and the residue comes off with soap and water.

YMMV

Enough with the taping the mouth shut already! Enough with the Polygrip already! Might as well use Loctite red or Ductape. Have a look at devices like the PAPCAP that will push your loose chin flesh upwards and close that mouth whistle.... or get yourself a wife that will wake up at night when she hears you whistling and gently squeeze your lips back together, like mine does.

I am thinking of trying a recent suggestion on here that used a strip of elastic wrap bandage sewn into a loop to put around my face/chin or some of the other whacy ideas that seem to work. dtsm is using underwear elastic to do the job. Others are using panty hose. Whatever works for you.

In the meantime, I have gone to a full face mask (the Quattro) and it is working GREAT for me, but I want to try some other full face masks as well. And as a matter of total comfort I would like to try a few nasal pillow masks along with whatever it takes to keep my lips closed and sealed. I am very sensitive to being able to open my lips/mouth at a moment's notice here as I had a friend die from being ductaped during a robbery. He suffered from allergies, threw up into his mouth and aspirated the vomit and died, regretably, during a robbery of his jewelery store here in Toronto. Do a google search on Kleinberg Jewellers robbery and you might find the story. Since then I am paranoid about taping my mouth and apparently the masking tape solution is a pain in any event. So I am going to try the PAPCAP, the underwear elastic, the panyhose. WHATEVER IT TAKES, my friend. That has got to be your byline if you want to be successful at this, feel better, live better and much longer. I am finding that my medications are interacting differently with APAP therapy and have been putting off doing the rounds of all the specialists yet again to get them squared away until my APAP therapy is, itself, squared away as best I can. I have had nights that have been outstanding and the past two nights have been poopy.... so tonight we start again from square 1 and see what is going on with all the data collected from my S9 and CMS-50E oximeter and Accutor BP meter. Personally, I am guessing here, I am thinking it is the height of allergy season with alternating heavy rains and sunshine days causing the weeds and allergens to reach a zenith... and tons of pollen in the air (the birds and the bees are loving it).

If taping is a serious problem for you try other methods; including a full face mask that has a forehead brace of some kind that is adjustable. I have a feeling that I had a real problem getting a good seal last night for some reason (think I may have dehydrated and my cheeks went down). Good luck and keep at it - your life depends on it.

Toronto
You are obsessed with Not taping. We are all adults here (and some of us are really OLD) . I have a ffm, but I prefer my swift lt. I have tried the papcap, band around my mouth & a chin strap, didn't work, so I CHOOSE to tape....GET OVER IT AND STOP PREACHING!!!
Cheers
Nan

TO, try this while awake:

1. Tape your mouth with 1" micropore, painters' tape or whatever.

2. Forcibly and suddenly open your mouth as widely as possible.

I'll bet you can do it in half a second or less. If you were to vomit into a FFM, with pressure forcing the vomitus back into your throat, you could not rip the FFM off nearly that fast. The risk of aspiration due to taping is a shibboleth, IMO. It's not comparable to the situation your poor friend was in.

I tried taping for the first time last night. I used the 3M micropore. The results was AHI 3.0 which is what it has averaged over the last 3 weeks. Most of my events occured during the first 45 minutes of sleep time. Before I went to sleep I almost tore it off but I got over the uneasy feeling of having my mouth taped and went to sleep. When I wakened the tap was not bothering me until I started pulling it off. My lips are still tender. I bought chapstick today and was thinking about taping again tonight applying the chapstick on my lips first.

What's the best thing to use on your lips before taping?

Snoresliketrain
I use Blistik on my lips before tape, and I keep the corners of my mouth untaped (just in case). I use micropore tape and I turn the edges in just a tad to have a bit to grab onto when I remove it in the morning. Never have had skin problem nor residue left. I have had a fit of the sneezes just after going to bed and I blow a hole in the tape as its only paper, I just re-tape.
Hope this helps.
Nan

Before I apply Micropore I tighten my lips to leave less skin exposed so the tape removing in the morning is easier.

I have found that using a night guard helps me to keep my mouth shut. These are the things that keep your teeth separated at night to keep from grinding. They sell cheap wax ones at pharmacies. Without mine, my mouth opens, but the seal between my teeth is enough backpressure that the air isn't strong enough to force my lips apart. You may want to try it.

nanwilson wrote:Snoresliketrain
I use Blistik on my lips before tape, and I keep the corners of my mouth untaped (just in case). I use micropore tape and I turn the edges in just a tad to have a bit to grab onto when I remove it in the morning. Never have had skin problem nor residue left. I have had a fit of the sneezes just after going to bed and I blow a hole in the tape as its only paper, I just re-tape.
Hope this helps.
Nan

As I was laying in bed before I wet to sleep I was wishing I had truned the edges in for easier removal. I should have ask question on this forum before I tried taping. Thanks.

Snoresliketrain......

When you remove your tape, pull it parallel to your face. Don't pull it away at 90 degrees....that hurts!

I use #2080 Blue 3M 2" painter's tape....and find it to be very comfortable. I have no discomfort during removal.

My doctor told me that since I am used to breathing through my mouth and not my nose that it would be okay to breathe through my mouth if I am willing to use the full face mask. Can anyone tell me if it's really okay to breathe through my mouth if I am using a full face mask?
thanks

Victimofcircumstances wrote:My doctor told me that since I am used to breathing through my mouth and not my nose that it would be okay to breathe through my mouth if I am willing to use the full face mask. Can anyone tell me if it's really okay to breathe through my mouth if I am using a full face mask?
thanks

Yes, it's really ok to breathe through your mouth while using a full face mask. You'll get your therapy breathing either way (nose or mouth) when using a FF mask.

The downside to mouth-breathing is that for many people the mouth is likely to get very dry even with plenty of humidification. Also, I've read there's more risk of dental problems associated with mouth getting dry.