CPAPtalk.com

TerriAH wrote:The medical supply people told me that they will order a nasal mask with cloth but how does that work? I checked the links for the cloth masks, they look promising. How can I be sure that my doctor and med supply people know about these?

It is easy to make a liner for your mask yourself to experiment with.
Get some old well washed t-shirt knit fabric
Lay the mask on it and draw a line around it adding an inch or 2 and cut it out.
Fold in half lengthwise and cut a small triangle for your nose/mouth.
Lay the liner on the mask and bend forward to try out. The triangle you cut out should be too small. Adjust by trimming a little bit each time until your mouth and nose are just free. When you have it just right, lay it on a piece of paper and trace it for future use.

The doctor doesn't care what you use as long as you use it and it works. As far as the med supply people are concerned - it is their job to make this work for you and to know this stuff.

TerriAH wrote:I posted earlier using the name of "Terribirdytahallam." Thanks for the responses. I got my registration to the site straightened out so now you should see what I am using. The medical supply people told me that they will order a nasal mask with cloth but how does that work? I checked the links for the cloth masks, they look promising. How can I be sure that my doctor and med supply people know about these?

Are you breaking out where the mask touches your face?

Wash your face gently before putting the mask on. It's possible that something on your skin is bothering you when you grind it into your face and hold it against your face all night long with a waterproof plastic material. Don't use any kind of cream on your face or hands before bed.

Since you have a Quattro FX and it's all tough plastic, you can wash it really hard.

Take the mask apart, and wash the cr*p out of everything but the headgear. Hand wash with mild soap, run a bunch of hot water over it, wash it in the dishwasher for several cycles with hot water, extra rinse cycles, and normal dishwashing detergent. Run it through a second cycle with no soap. No dishes at the same time.

It might or might not help, but some people think there can be various kinds of residue on or in the plastic of newly manufactured masks.

The headgear can be washed, but it may not stand up to the rigorous washing method I'm suggesting for the mask itself.

Thank you for the suggestions. I picked up a cloth mask today, a Sleepweaver élan. Keep your fingers crossed that it works.

Thanks for your post. I am allergic to everything it seems; latex, metals, wood, poly anything, plastic, elastic, and I am also allergic to the mask! It not only gives me blisters, but also gives me horrible panic attacks!!! Also like you, the guy at the sleep store could not have cared less! I did find out about the cotton silicone cover, (not from him!) however, they are hard to hold in place while trying to get the mask on. Sometimes it has slipped and I will end up with another blister. Instead of ordering and paying for those liners I will be cutting up my husbands old t-shirt s, a little larger than the covers I ordered. If I knew how to sew, I would make a cover with a thin elastic around it that wouldn't touch my face to hold it in place. Something I could throw in the washing machine. I would like to think that the mask manufactures are trying to figure out something for those of us who are allergic to whatever it is that is causing the blisters.
Thanks again, I knew I couldn't be the only one with this problem.

I've slept with the cloth mask for two nights. The first night I had some problems with leaking, but last night I watched the video on fitting the mask, made some adjustments, and the leaking was minimal. I have some redness about my nose and face, but it is much less than the mask with silicone. If you're having problems with the silicone mask, I suggest you try the cloth. It is much more comfortable and so far my allergies are much happier! I'll keep you posted.

Grannies of 9 wrote: I did find out about the cotton silicone cover, (not from him!) however, they are hard to hold in place while trying to get the mask on. Sometimes it has slipped and I will end up with another blister. Instead of ordering and paying for those liners I will be cutting up my husbands old t-shirt s, a little larger than the covers I ordered. If I knew how to sew, I would make a cover with a thin elastic around it that wouldn't touch my face to hold it in place. Something I could throw in the washing machine.

You might want to take a look a Padacheek's mask liners. They can be fixed onto the mask so no slippage and can be removed easily for washing.
http://www.padacheek.com/PAC_Maskliners.html

I have used the cloth mask for about a month, then switched back to the mask with the silicone, using it with a cloth liner. The cloth mask (Sleepweaver Elan) doesn't cause an allergic reaction but it leaks during the night, especially when I roll over, and it only covers my nose (with a chin strap) versus the silicone mask which is a full face mask. I don't feel as rested and I'm much more restless at night, so I think I'm not getting enough help using the cloth mask. When I switched back to the silicone mask, the cloth cover helped, but my eyes are extremely irritated, so I stopped using the silicone mask and switched back to the cloth mask. My optomologist thought it was an allergic reaction, so I had to use steroid eye drops and ointment for two weeks to help my eyes get back to normal. I thought I had the eye problem solved, so I decided to switch back to the silicone mask last night. Today my eyes are red and irritated again. So what do I do? If I use the cloth mask I get less rest, while the full face mask is making my eyes look and feel horrible! I called my sleep doc but didn't get a call back. Anyone else have this problem? What did you do to solve it? Should I ask my doc about supplementing with oxygen or anything else?

Circadiance makes the Sleepweaver mask which has helped my patients with sensitive skin, although they have not come out with a full face mask yet. Respironics also has the Profile Lite mask which is not latex or silicone, but polyurathane. -- Good luck, excellent advice has been given in prior posts.

For a full face mask I would recommend trying the Respironics Fitlife mask...it is silicone, but fewer pressure points. Most all masks come with a 30 day guarantee from the manufacturer...so if you take your mask back to the store where you purchased it within the 30 days you can change it out without worrying about having to buy something that might not work...

How about getting one of those glamorous eye masks that you see rich folks use to block out the light so they can sleep in?

herefishy wrote:How about getting one of those glamorous eye masks that you see rich folks use to block out the light so they can sleep in?

I will second that. I put the eye mask over the Sleepweaver. It works for me.

I have a Fisher Paykel Flexi Fit 432 full face mask. I am a mouth breather and cannot do the nasal pads. The mask itself doesn't seem to cause me as many problems as the strap. I have scalp rash all the time and now have serious lumps filled with fluid behind the bones of my ears. I use tea tree shampoo and Selsun Blue shampoo to treat the rash, but I did not use my mask last night because it is so painful behind my ears. This obviously isn't going away. A friend of mine suggested a good rinse of the straps with vinegar after every washing which helps
but I think I have to treat the headgear every night and need more headgears to do that. I will try the m of m and look at the sites recommended. For a while I thought it was just me until it got this bad and I found your site. If I find any new answers I will check back. Thank you.

Since the original poster found relief with an Elan cloth mask by SleepWeaver,
I think it would be appropriate to point out a full face fabric mask is now available:
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/sleepw ... -mask.html
Return insurance is free at our host's site.

archangle wrote:There are so many nutjobs out there who think they're allergic to everything that the people with legitimate sensitivities sometimes get lumped in with the nutjobs.

Also investigate the possibility that it's not the mask, but something else getting rubbed in by the mask. For instance, mask cleaning products, makeup, soap,face lotion, hand lotion, cosmetics, perfume, etc.

Something that's not bad just on your skin may irritate you when pressed against your skin, and held against your skin by waterproof material that keeps air out and keeps skin moisture, oil, and heat in.

The OP mentioned an oncologist dermatologist so there is cancer/chemo or radiation going on here so this is not a normal reaction one would likely experience with medical grade products in normal circumstances. It may be the pressure of the mask itself -- I have had a few breakouts from a mask but only when the mask pressure was concentrated at a specific point (nose bridge). Worse with some masks than others. The pressure caused the morning breakout in the area not a reaction with the plastic. Were it the plastic, I would always get it, and all over the face. But I assume with someone who may be very ill either it takes less pressure, or maybe even soap residue to cause a skin problem/breakout.

Silicone itself may be inert and non-reactive, but it absorbs gases, many of which may be allergenic, or simply irritant.
Contact dermatitis imitates an allergic reaction, as the body's defenses respond to a foreign substance or pressure in the same way.
Many "allergies" may not be allergens in the purest sense, but the body's reaction makes it as just as much.