how tight does the mask really have to be?

[anonfan1432]

I feel like i am wearing my mask TOO tight.
like now i am waking up with a bruise line around my entire face, bruised gums, and skin peeling off my nose.

How tight does it REALLY have to be?
Whati am afraid of is having the mask too loose, causing leaks, and increasing my AHI

[Wulfman...]

I feel like i am wearing my mask TOO tight.
like now i am waking up with a bruise line around my entire face, bruised gums, and skin peeling off my nose.

How tight does it REALLY have to be?
Whati am afraid of is having the mask too loose, causing leaks, and increasing my AHI

And, what mask would that be? Your profile is missing items and the machine is incorrect (according to your own posts).

But, most masks should just "float" on your face. The straps just snug enough to keep it sealed but not too tight. A mask too tight WILL cause more leakage and discomfort. No mask should "hurt" you. If it does, it's the wrong mask, wrong size or not adjusted properly.


Den

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[chunkyfrog]

All the above, and if you have to cinch it down really tight,
--it is the wrong size. Insist on a proper fitting and a mask that fits,
With the mask on, lying down, and the machine on. Even if you have to lie on the DME's floor!

[Guest]

I feel like i am wearing my mask TOO tight.
like now i am waking up with a bruise line around my entire face, bruised gums, and skin peeling off my nose.

How tight does it REALLY have to be?
Whati am afraid of is having the mask too loose, causing leaks, and increasing my AHI

Should be able to fit two fingers between the straps and face easily. Always adjust straps with machine at FULL pressure and in sleeping position. As mentioned mask seal should kind of float on the face.

[Tatooed Lady]

not nearly as tight as the "pro" fitting you might crank it. My face hurt for THREE DAYS after a FFM "fitting" when I first got my machine. I may not have been claustrophobic beforehand, but I was AFRAID of having to use a FFM afterwards. I made the nasal pillow mask (Swift FX) work, taught myself to keep my mouth shut while I sleep, and, thanks to this site, learned that a mask is SUPPOSED TO BE LOOSE. My main mask is the pillow, but I HAVE made peace with my Quattro FFM, thankfully.

Let's simplify the above nonsense...I (an many others) FEEL YOUR PAIN.

[englandsf]

You can't make FFMs stop leaking if they are being pushed sideways - no matter how tight they are. Physics will beat you.

Try to find a pillow with a cut out or a malleable material (like husks) that can remove the side pressure then the floating mask will stay put.

Or, if you can, try to get on with pillows - much easier to keep on when side sleeping in my experience.

[Tatooed Lady]

Nasal pillows rock. I'm a side/stomach/back/face sleeper...fell asleep HARD one night...on my face...put my nose to sleep but still didn't have much issue with leaks.

[Guest]

i wake up in the morning with swollen eyes and puffy eys and under eyes as well. if not my mask flibber flobbers. (make noise) is it too tight?

[Julie]

If it feels too tight, it probably is... but not knowing much else about you or your sensitivity to things, it's hard to definitively say one way or the other. Try loosening it for a couple of nights and see if it helps, and/or what it does to your results, leak rates, etc. You might want to ask your GP if you have any trouble retaining water or a similar problem. But if the mask makes farty noises, it's not fitted properly - either wrong for you altogether, or the wrong size, adjustment, sleep position, etc.

[chunkyfrog]

Any cushion mask (nasal or full face) is "supposed" to ride on your face like a hovercraft.
If there are wrinkles in the cushion, the air is not inflating it fully, as it should.
So FIT is everything!

[k_ogre]

I have a Mirage Quattro ffm that never fit (one of the reasons I failed the first time ) I've been playing with it after 4 years to see if I can make it work if I get sick so far only works if I crank the straps tight other wise air leaks like a jet engine.

[Wulfman...]

i wake up in the morning with swollen eyes and puffy eys and under eyes as well. if not my mask flibber flobbers. (make noise) is it too tight?

You didn't say which specific mask and we have absolutely NO WAY of being able to judge mask tension on your face from our computer screens.
But.......MAYBE.


Den

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[JV1967]

I've been having a similar problem; and hearing the occasional farty mask noise, so the DME is scheduled to do a fitting at my house, tomorrow. I was never measured and fitted in the lab.

My My ResMed F10 mask has left a pressure sore on the left side of the top of my nose, and sometimes when I wake up, if the mask is tighter or not, it slides on my nose.