HOW DO WE BREATH IN THESE MASKS????

Now for another off the wall question:

Our systems maintain a positive constant air pressure and air flow, even my ASV machine does this.


SO how do we exhale?? How does the CO2 get out??


Or are we rebreathing our own air??

I note a small flap in my mask and thought it must close when I exhale to vent my CO2 out the steady air vents in the elbow of the hose.

BUT I watched it with a flashlight and once the system is up and running it never closed.

And as these systems do not vacuum the air out even during exhale, and there is no exhaust vent anywhere, so there is nowhere for our exhaled breath to go.

Note I am using a full face mask so there is no in by the nose and out by the mouth here...

It is a closed system we are like a car breathing its own tail pipe. In the case of a car, as combustion is so poor, a car can rebreath some of its exhaust and run..and would think we can too, UP to a point where we and the car engine has burned all the left over gas and O2 or in our cases the O2 and fill up with CO2...

So after a couple of hours how much Co2 are we rebreathing? The machine can only push so much o2.

I have to say this deeply scares me.

Rich

racprops wrote:
I note a small flap in my mask and thought it must close when I exhale to vent my CO2 out the steady air vents in the elbow of the hose.

BUT I watched it with a flashlight and once the system is up and running it never closed.

This is the anti-asphyxiation valve. It closes during use, and opens when there isn't enough airflow from the machine. In other words, if your machine shuts off while you are asleep, it will open and allow you to breathe room air.

And as these systems do not vacuum the air out even during exhale, and there is no exhaust vent anywhere, so there is nowhere for our exhaled breath to go.

Rich

I do not have your mask, but there has to be an exhaust vent somewhere. Otherwise, it would be pumping into you and never escaping. I use a different style full face mask, and there is an exhaust vent that blows out the front of my mask. If I wake up and can't tell if my machine is on, I can wave my hand in front of the exhaust to feel the airflow. Unless there is something defective about your mask, there has to be an exhaust vent.

According to the website for your mask:

"Exhalation Ports. Located on the front of the cushion, the ports are specifically designed to disperse airflow efficiently and quietly. "

The photos look there are some smaller holes on the front of the cushion (at the sides) where the air escapes.

Ok for starters us nose mask/pillow users do not breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. There has to be vent holes somewhere, mine are on the hose where the mask attaches.

Oh and I'm not sure about others but your use of capitals is considered shouting and rude.

I know you are frustrated, but don't take it out on us

If you hold your hand in front of your mask, you should feel vented air coming out somewhere.

Thanks BUT there are no other vents than the ones in the elbow of the mask..

The flap can allow me to breath if I shut off the machine...but there is no way for the air to otherwise escape...

And I have tested it by holding my breath and it holds its seal up to 23CM of pressure...And until the seal is broken there is no out going air flow than the control vents in the elbow which flow constant air when the system is running.

My best guess is we exhale so little CO2 that the % of it in the mask takes hours to build up.

AND this build up might be why so many of us cannot sleep more that say 3 to 4 hours with out a break, which clears the system when we take it off for a minute?

Rich

Yes BUT that is a control venting of some of the air coming from the machine, it still is a positive pressure.

It might be we breath out at a higher pressure and volume that we over power the incoming air flow and "Take over" the air vent.

But I cannot test it.

Perhaps a smoker can??

Take a puff hold it and don a mask and see if the smoke is exhailed??

Rich

RandyJ wrote:If you hold your hand in front of your mask, you should feel vented air coming out somewhere.

racprops wrote:And until the seal is broken there is no out going air flow than the control vents in the elbow which flow constant air when the system is running.

Those "control vents" in the elbow where you feel constant air flow when the system is running are venting your exhaled CO2.

ditto to what Randy said. You are fine.

I thought so but cannot feel any change, and the air flow is steady from the machine...

BUT I would think the flap would close if I was really over powering the air flow and pushing my exhailed breath out this vent.

It does not. It stays open, all the way opened under the full flow of air, note it will drop down when the system is in idle but even then does not fully close.

Like a valve in a compressor or motor.

Tomorrow I will use a cherry Koft drop and ask my wife if she can smell it when I am breathing with the mask on.

Rich

RandyJ wrote:

racprops wrote:And until the seal is broken there is no out going air flow than the control vents in the elbow which flow constant air when the system is running.

Those "control vents" in the elbow where you feel constant air flow when the system is running are venting your exhaled CO2.

racprops wrote:Thanks BUT there are no other vents than the ones in the elbow of the mask..

No, check again. Assuming your profile is up to date and you are indeed using the FullLife Full Face Mask, take a look at image #6 on the cpap.com page. There are small holes in the bottom corners of the clear "triangle".

When the machine is on (especially at 23 cm!), you should feel air blowing out of them.

I don't see any vents on the elbow of the mask. Maybe your elbow is broken and leaking?

To answer your original question, yes, with a full face mask you will rebreathe a small amount of CO2. That's why you need to keep the vents clear. (On the plus side, as I understand it, increased CO2 levels actually can help with central apneas, since that stimulates the breathing reflex. But I don't think you're going to see levels increased that much with ordinary equipment.)

I have no other vents than the ones in the hose elbow.

Cannot find the picture your talking about can you post a URL Link?

Rich

Hello Rich,

I can feel your anxiety in your post. Rest assured there are vents in your mask to exhaust the CO2 as you breathe out. If you click on the name of your mask on your post, it will bring up the page where the Full Life mask shows on CPAP.com
Take a look at the photo # 7, it shows the seal and the little exhaust ports on the front of the mask.
All Full Face masks have an emergency valve in the case of power outages, however I wake up right away if my machine stops for any reason.
(There are masks that do not have exhaust ports on the mask itself, but those are for hospital use and the exhaust is controlled on the hose not the mask.)
I hope this is helpful.

Take care and welcome to the forum.
Karen

I feel honor bound to report this:

There is some exhaust out the mask hose vents.

As I was getting ready to go back to sleep I had my hand partly over the vents and I could make out a slight but notable change in the sound of the air flow.

Puffing hard make it even more so.

So positive proof of some venting of our breath.

So in the words of Sat. Night skit: Never mind….

Rich

Sadly the system does note nor show my mask.

This is my mask:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... xMPHLWx015

Rich

Pad A Cheek wrote:Hello Rich,

I can feel your anxiety in your post. Rest assured there are vents in your mask to exhaust the CO2 as you breathe out. If you click on the name of your mask on your post, it will bring up the page where the Full Life mask shows on CPAP.com
Take a look at the photo # 7, it shows the seal and the little exhaust ports on the front of the mask.
All Full Face masks have an emergency valve in the case of power outages, however I wake up right away if my machine stops for any reason.
(There are masks that do not have exhaust ports on the mask itself, but those are for hospital use and the exhaust is controlled on the hose not the mask.)
I hope this is helpful.

Take care and welcome to the forum.
Karen