Do you wear mask when you feel sick?

Last night, I was at an award banquet which was great, but there was a prom being held in the next room. We could hear and feel the base for over two hours. I had a bad headache by the time we got back to the hotel room. By the time I was ready for bed, I felt very nauseous. I really thought I was going to be sick. I wasn't sure if I could get the mask off in time, so I went to bed with an icepack on my head and no machine. I did not have any liquid tylenol with me, and even if the lobby had something, I can only take pills that are very small. So no paid meds.

I woke about an hour and a half later, headache and nausea gone. I put on my mask and went back to sleep. I really wasn't sure what to do since there was no way to predict whether I would wake up soon or sleep all night without it. And I didn't want to risk getting sick and missing the trash can. I don't want to mess up my mask or the hotel room.

What do the rest of you do? Sleep with the mask on anyway?

I've only been on CPAP for a year and only sick once during that year. Yes, I wore the mask anyway despite being sick. I thought I would feel worse without it. I too was worried about vomiting with the mask on. Mine is nasal pillows, so not too bad but still I was concerned about it. But I did it anyway and fortunately did not get nauseated enough for it to be an issue.

I anticipate wearing the mask pretty much no matter what.

Zoo, in your situation I would sleep without the mask and machine. I practiced to sleep without the machine and mask parts of nights and during naps.

You absolutely do not want to wear a full face mask if you are likely to vomit. It's one of the few situations that is really dangerous. I was lucky the one time I was that sick - I was awake and got the mask off in time. I don't think that masks that don't cover your mouth would be risky (assuming you haven't taped your mouth shut).

This might be a reason to have a back up nasal mask or nasal pillow mask for when we have an upset stomach.

I know even if I feel sick to my stomach I wear my mask and use my machine because I know that if I don't I will feel worse when I wake up. But I do admit I rarely vomit (once in the last 30 years).

I know many of us keep a full face mask on hand when we are congested, so why not a nasal mask for upset tummies.

Thanks.

I can only use full face masks as I am a mouth breather. I hadn't even thought of safety issues. Just possible mess and cleaning issues. I am also new at this so not the fastest at removing my mask. Hopefully, this won't come up too often. I do think that maybe next time, I should set my timer. Usually, I either get sick or get over the feeling in less than an hour, so setting a timer could help me be sure to get the mask on fairly soon but allowing the feeling to pass. I could not think straight with the bad headache My two soft ice packs were warm as I had taken them to the banquet with some pop. They only serve water and alcohol. I had to wrap a hard pack of blue ice in a wash cloth and snuggle as best I could with it. Fortunately, it did work.

MidnightOwl wrote:You absolutely do not want to wear a full face mask if you are likely to vomit. It's one of the few situations that is really dangerous. I was lucky the one time I was that sick - I was awake and got the mask off in time. I don't think that masks that don't cover your mouth would be risky (assuming you haven't taped your mouth shut).

I did it...with a full face mask the quattro and I am still here to tell the tale. I had food poisoning one night, as soon as I vomited I woke up, ran to the bathroom and did it again. I took my mask off, washed it and put it to soak while I had my shower to clean myself up. Went back to my mask, wash it again, put it back on and went back to bed......wet headgear and all. You will wake up when you vomit....nothing will happen to you. The only time I have EVER heard of someone choking to death ...is when they were soooooo drunk, passed out on their back....and way to drunk to wake up.
When we are sick, we would wake up as soon as we start to vomit and get to the bathroom....no problems, just kinda stinky and messy No danger whatsoever.

A mouse giving an advice to a cat. This forum continues to impress me

You just made my day!! very funny comment!

I had just this question last night. Bad headache most of the day. Did actually vomit a couple of times (not wearing the mask). I decided to put on my chinstrap (Ruby), and my Aloha - because I can remove both very quickly. I did not use my Silent Nite, because that does take a little longer to remove. Slept well. Only problem was when a thunderstorm knocked out the power - tested the quick removal of the mask! I also had one removal situation where the machine was still blowing - took me a few seconds to recognize where the draft was coming from and to get the off switch to work! Bottom line was that I had no problems with putting the mask on with feeling sick - maybe that extra air actually helps?

Rarely nauseous at night, but wore the mask with a bad cough,
Just wiped it out good afterwards. The warm, humid air eventually tamed the scratchy throat.
If nauseous, I would probably stay up until the nausea culminated in a prayer session at the porcelain altar.
Nausea interferes with my sleep.

I would probably stay up till the nausea passed, that said, there are drawbacks to all masks when we are not feeling well. I decided I would get a nasal mask for days when I was feeling bad, and didn't want to use the pillow mask, well....have you ever sneezed with the nasal mask on? Jellyfish face, not at all pleasant, but a quick wash and rinse and it was good to go!

I'm not actually "sick" in the way of nausea or anything like that but have acquired a bad "head cold" since Thursday and have been still wearing the Swift FX nasal pillows and not having any problems so far. I have deep congestion along with a sore throat off and on and thought I wouldn't be able to breathe enough out of my nose but once I put the mask on and with the pressure, things seem to be working out thus far which has actually surprised me.

I just finished up with my first moderate summer cold on CPAP. I wear Swift FX nasal pillows and usually tape my mouth with one horizontal 2" strip of 3M Durapore tape, which into the center, I scissor a 1/4" slit. I wasn't worried about the nasal pillows because I wear them loose but regarding the tape I was concerned in case I vomited (I never did). Therefore, instead of the 2" strip of tape covering my mouth, I instead applied a 1/2" strip of tape vertically over the center of my mouth. As an added precaution, before applying, I also stuck the tape against the inside of my arm a few times to get some skin oil on it and reduce its stickiness, which I've noticed generally makes it peel off easier and faster.

Anyway, in the middle of the night, I had a coughing fit and ended up quickly ripping the tape off my lips, so that I could spit in my waste basket. You don't need more detail than that , but I was glad I'd taken the precaution to use less tape and to 'pre-unsticky' it a bit! (Otherwise, like the movie title "There Will be Blood") I had to re-tape my lips, however that only took a few minutes and luckily I never had to cough or spit again.