Swift Questions

Brent Hutto · Post by **Brent Hutto** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:01 am

Dcam34,

I've never tried or even seen a Breeze but the Swift is now my every-night interface. For me, the most annoying thing about the swift is the strap and buckle that passes over the top of my (balding) head. That big plastic thing that sits front and center on the top of your head in the Breeze would seem much more annoying. Hard to tell without trying it though.

Tom, Linda, et. al.,

Night four of the Swift honeymoon. That was one of my two best night's sleep since I got my CPAP machine. I seem to have some leakage according to the Resmed S8 but I'll be darned if I can feel where it's coming out. I almost wonder if the machine's calculation of vent rate isn't off or something like that. My 90th-percentile leak last night was 0.58L/sec which is bad according to Resmed. But I couldn't hear any air escaping and the only air I could feel (other than the vent) by putting my fingers around the Swift was the tiniest little maybe-leak-maybe-not at the base of my left nostril for a few seconds once. I think I'll just ignore the leak thing, I'm sleeping well and seem to be getting benefit from my therapy. Yaaay Swift!

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:32 am

Brent,
PM Karen (PADACHEEK) about a buckle pad... it's not on her website, but she makes them (I've seen pictures). It's something that I'm considering for mine.

Brent Hutto · Post by **Brent Hutto** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:36 am

I tell you, a pad for that top buckle might make the Swift the perfect interface for me. I need to get in touch with Karen, thanks for the suggestion.

Doovid · Post by **Doovid** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:34 am

It seems everyone has their own way of doing things. And so do I!!!

I have been using the Swift for about 2 weeks and experienced some irritation, redness to the nose. I took a big chance and trimmed off, using small sizors, part of the swift interface that goes into the nares. So what I have is a modified Swift that is part pillows/ part direct flow. This really worked and I've not had any noticeable irritation issues!!! The only thing I haven't done yet is used my Dremmel to round off the part that enters the nares (that may be next)!!!

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:46 pm

Did you cut it down or did you shape it on one side of the pillow where t goes into one of your Nares?

Very interesting. Might need to be something for me.

Are your Nares slotted or round?

TNx,

Tom

Doovid · Post by **Doovid** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:10 pm

My nostrils have round holes and I use the average sized pillows. What I did was fairly simple; it seemed to me that the pillows protruded too far into my nostrils causing the irritation. So by cutting them down in length( pillows, not nostrils!), I still get the good seal of the pillows -- they just don't go so far into the nostrils causing the flare-ups!

if you do try this, CAREFULLY do the cutting---a little at a time! Squeeze the left side pillow together so you can see that your cutting is straight and consistent. Then do the right nostril. Just remember, If you take too much off, or screw up it's permanent! But it seems to me that unless you cut above the "seal", it should work fine.

The effectiveness of the pillows was not adversely affected , but definitely made them more comfortable (to me). And that's what it's all about, right??

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:11 pm

YOu are so right. Good re-engineering.

Tom

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:19 am

I think you are right guys!

yardbird · Post by **yardbird** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:57 pm

If the Medium size goes too far into your nose...just switch to the large.

Worked for me. No pillow surgery was necessary.

Maybe I was just lucky.

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:59 am

Yardbird & CO:

I am getting ready to retire my Swift.

Chuckie, as Linda named my Swift has the upper "nare."

While I might be able to force my nose to accept this - it just seems to have dimeinishing returns.

SInce I have a "Deconstructed Nare" and I can understand how a slotted nare can be a challange for pillow systems I may just be a case of forcing a square peg into a non-round nare.

It ceretainly seems that way. It would be nice if a pllow would work but I might not be successful with any of them - expensive to experiment isn't it.

I am interested in CC2 but it has a pillow system similar to the Swift - so that is probably NOT a solution.

I have heard about the BREEZRE and I'd appreciate hearing from users about the mask both Pro & Con. I understand the pillows are individually customizable so you can have different sizes for each Nare, if necessary.

I will start a Breeze topic on this. I like the light weight of the pillows and not having a mask on my face. If I could achieve that it would be nice, if not I can live with my Mirage Nasal. - the chin-strap is another issue.

I'm not ready to move my Swift to the used mask lot - maybe I'm too tenacious. But after almost a month of hitting my nose with a baseball bat, pressure sores and sinus pain - maybe there's a message there?

SO maybe another mask.

I would be interested in a ULtra Mirage FFM - Large - for those stuffed-up nights.

I would also be interested in hearing for those of you who did not succeed with the Swift but have succeeded with other pillow systems.

Thanks,

Tom

Janelle · Post by **Janelle** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:32 pm

Tom, I too, have slotted nares, and use the Swift quite well. I am questioning the continued use of the Ayr Gel during the night when you use the Swift. If it is drying this will exacerbate an already irritated situation. It would make much more sense to use Neosporin at night and in the day too, if needed. That is what I did.

Also, is the nare you are having problems with the one that is on the side you sleep on? This could be causing more internal pressure against the nare membrane on the off side.

I've tried the Breeze, yes, the improved one. The oldies here know my opinion of that, but I won't repeat it in sensitive company. Suffice it to say, I HATED IT!. It slipped, it slid, it went up it went back and forth all night long, making me have to adjust it every few minutes to just get asleep and all night long, too.

And like others, it was simply waaay too much pressure on my upper lip and the adjustment for the shell did not allow it to get any higher.

Enter the Swift. It didn't touch my upper lip at all. Oh joy, oh bliss! Another thing, Tom, I don't think if your Swift is properly adjusted it should touch your upper lip at all. You might want to try rotating the barrel upward. That should get it off your lip. And improving the angle of the pillows might also do away with the soreness.

Brent Hutto · Post by **Brent Hutto** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:34 am

Janelle,

Do you reckon there's any chance something like Ayr Gel (what I've used) or for that matter Neosporin helps get a good leak-free seal of the Swift pillow on the nose? I ask because I had used the gel the first couple nights with the Swift and didn't really seem to need it so I did not use it the last two nights. I definitely have more of a leakage now than at first, in fact my APAP machine showed a 90th-percentile leak of 0.62L/sec last night, although I wasn't aware of any significant air escaping.

I think tonight I'll use the gel again and see if it keeps the leakage down to 0.4L/sec or less like I had the first couple nights. BTW, I find that Polysporin is easier on tender skin than Neosporin. When I had a pressure sore on the bridge of my nose a day with Neosporin seemed to make it redder. The pharmacist on duty at Walgreens said the third active ingredient in Neosporin wasn't really good for tender spots because it is harsh. Polysporin has the other two ingredients without the Neo-whatever.

snork1 · Post by **snork1** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:59 am

Make sure the leakage is not caused by leaks where the end plug OR the short entry hose plugs into the barrel. This can sometimes open up during the night depending on how things are getting torqued around.

I had wrapped the end plug end with plumbers tape on my Swift, but recently discovered the hose end of the barrel was also leaking AT TIMES. No discomfort and it didn't go into my eyes or anything, but I could feel it when I put my hand over the area, away from the vents. I wrapped that end with teflon plumbers tape and suddenly my middle of the night "mystery leaks" on the Swift plummeted to very reasonable levels.

I also stuffed just a tiny bit more mesh into the Swift barrel than I had before and its actually very quiet now with a fair amount of mesh loosely packed in there. I did feel the air flow before and after at the vents to make sure it was still venting the same amount of air.

Doovid · Post by **Doovid** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:03 pm

snork1 wrote:Make sure the leakage is not caused by leaks where the end plug OR the short entry hose plugs into the barrel. This can sometimes open up during the night depending on how things are getting torqued around.

I had wrapped the end plug end with plumbers tape on my Swift, but recently discovered the hose end of the barrel was also leaking AT TIMES. No discomfort and it didn't go into my eyes or anything, but I could feel it when I put my hand over the area, away from the vents. I wrapped that end with teflon plumbers tape and suddenly my middle of the night "mystery leaks" on the Swift plummeted to very reasonable levels.

I also stuffed just a tiny bit more mesh into the Swift barrel than I had before and its actually very quiet now with a fair amount of mesh loosely packed in there. I did feel the air flow before and after at the vents to make sure it was still venting the same amount of air.

_________________

What is the mesh you're talking about? Does it really work?? If so, where do you get it and how do you use it?? Are you sure that using the mesh doesn't affect how the CPAP machine works? like increases pressure to compensate for the baffeling affect of the mesh.....

I have the Swift, am fairly successful in using it, but it'sstill noisy with "rain-out" (I hate that!)....
CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): hose, swift

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 8:00 pm

Janelle, et al:
I have retired my Swift from my mask line-up at least for now.

I have done everything possible but I was getting a pressure sore against the inside of the center part of the nose. on one side. DId everything - I think my slotted-nare is just too restrictive fr it.

I have slept a full night with the Swift but with difficulty and numerous awakenings.

My quality of sleep is just sooo much better with my nasal mask.

If it was up to me the Swift would work for me - but not to be.

I am also enjoying a chin-strap and with it I'm leak free. Last night on my ULtra Mirage Nasal my leak avg was 18. Can't beat that by much.

So, my Swift may be headed for a landfill in New Jersey - but the one way ride is on hold just in case I get masochistic and need a new hobby.

Best,

Tom

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