K-Y Jelly

Is K-Y jelly the same as petroleum jelly?

No. K-Y is water-based. It is often used in "intimate places" where you wouldn't want petroleum products. (You will likely find it in with the condoms at the drugstore...)

LinkC wrote:No. K-Y is water-based. It is often used in "intimate places" where you wouldn't want petroleum products. (You will likely find it in with the condoms at the drugstore...)

::Biting tongue::

K-Y Jelly is fine to use on your mask to help seal but not pretroleum based products which will damage the mask cushion.

Hawthorne wrote:K-Y Jelly is fine to use on your mask to help seal but not pretroleum based products which will damage the mask cushion.

I guess that might be considered an "intimate place".

Hawthorne wrote:K-Y Jelly is fine to use on your mask to help seal but not pretroleum based products which will damage the mask cushion.

While I have read that here many, many times, I had a need to use a triple-antibiotic ointment on my nasal pillows and was pleasantly surprised the petroleum in the ointment did absolutely no damage to my nasal pillows. So I'm not sure why this fear of petroleum products exist.

LSAT - I think so.

LSAT wrote:
I guess that might be considered an "intimate place".

Yep! It gets pretty intimate inside MY mask at times!

LinkC wrote:

LSAT wrote:
I guess that might be considered an "intimate place".

Yep! It gets pretty intimate inside MY mask at times!

tmi...

GumbyCT wrote: [snip]
While I have read that here many, many times, I had a need to use a triple-antibiotic ointment on my nasal pillows and was pleasantly surprised the petroleum in the ointment did absolutely no damage to my nasal pillows. So I'm not sure why this fear of petroleum products exist.

That's just our typical paranoia zeitgeist. It's perfectly normal. Sort of the same thing as our compulsion to test whether the park bench bearing the "Wet Paint" sign really is.

Petroleum products are known to degrade many natural and synthetic rubber products. Out of an abundance of caution I, too, agree that Vaseline/petrolatum which is the vehicle used in antibiotic ointments like Neosporin or bacitracin shouldn't be used. I know the nasal pillows are made from a medical silicone elastomer that has good chemical resistance. But in the case of nasal pillows, the rubber is very thin, and even a little swelling or softening that might be caused by petroleum-based products might ruin a $120 mask.

That said, silicone rubber isn't affected by mineral oil, but it will swell and easily tear on exposure to gasoline which is a blend of many hydrocarbons, so that indicates it's not unreasonable to be "precautious," as my immigrant former wife used to say. Mineral oil is chemically very similar to petrolatum/Vaseline, so I would expect there to be no problem. However, I won't use it on nasal pillows because there is a known safe alternative in the form of K-Y or Astroglide, which, being water soluble, have the additional advantage of being easy to clean off the mask (and your schnoz) in the morning.

Slartybartfast wrote:

GumbyCT wrote: [snip]
While I have read that here many, many times, I had a need to use a triple-antibiotic ointment on my nasal pillows and was pleasantly surprised the petroleum in the ointment did absolutely no damage to my nasal pillows. So I'm not sure why this fear of petroleum products exist.

[snip] However, I won't use it on nasal pillows because there is a known safe alternative in the form of K-Y or Astroglide, which, being water soluble, have the additional advantage of being easy to clean off the mask (and your schnoz) in the morning.

I don't disagree however comma there came a time for me when neither was available. And to be clear, I tried this on a very old and well used pair of my nasal pillows, not a brand new set. And because different vendors will use different compostion of materials YMMV.

Just thought I'd share my experience, nothing more.

No problem-o. I did the same when I had sores, and was concerned about the consequences. But when your nose hurts, it's tough to sleep.

FWIW, the Neosporin didn't seem to do anything to cut down the inflammation. The sores had to crust over and heal on their own. That's what goaded me to seek out an alternative. Someone on this great forum recommended Ayr Gel, so I bought a tube and it worked wonderfully. But, in my line of work, I read labels compulsively, and I realized that there were other much cheaper alternatives. So when the Ayr ran out, I got a tube of Astroglide (and some panty liners, but that was for another mask-related project I was working on ) and found it's even better than Ayr gel because as it dries out, it becomes sticky, which holds the nasal pillows in place and reduces the tendency of air to leak out.

In addition to the above, most guys have rather hirsuite nasal passages. I've often thought some guys could grow a convincing moustache simply by not trimming their nose hairs. And those hairs, when they get too long, are responsible for lots of nasal pillow leaks. Fortunately, Astroglide becomes thick enough about 1/2 hour after application to completely seal those leaks, allowing me to sleep in blissful leak-freeness!

Just to muddy the water a bit... many of us swear by Lansinoh (nipple grease!) for the task of seal enhancement. It is "pure lanolin" and doesn't seem detrimental to pillows/cushions. It has a thicker consistency than K-Y. That would seem to be a good thing where sealing is important.

I guess the bottom line is use whatever you wish if it doesn't rot your mask...

But I don't think I could put K-Y on my nose... While Lansinoh makes me feel like a boob, K-Y would make me feel... (do I really need to finish?)

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