reducing leaks with a full mask

[rhodesengr]

Hi all. I have not been here in a while. I was doing ok using the standard Dreamwear nasal mask but I had to also use a chin strap to stop mouth breathing and dry mouth. Recently, I became aware that Respironics had come out with nasal pillow and full mask versions of the dream wear. I got my self some different sizes of the Full type and found the Size L works the best for me. My AHI's were already pretty good (like 1 to 2) on a typical night but with the Full, they dropped immediately to 0.1 to 0.5. I don't need the chin strap anymore and most nights I don't get dry mouth that wakes me up.

The problem I have always had with full masks (I have tried several) is they they have small leaks which feel and sound annoying so they wake me up. I am getting a good seal with the Dreamwear Full Large but I have to pull the straps pretty tight. I would like to be able to get a good seal with looser straps.

My question is: are there any tricks to getting a good seal with full masks? I know from my professional work that elastomer seals work better with some from of grease (silicone o-ring grease on rubber o-ring for example). So one idea I had was whether some form of lotion, cream, ointment, etc might help seal the mask. I figure the material is a silicone so silicone oil would not be a good choice as it can dissolve silicone rubber. But maybe something simple like a little Vaseline might work. Perhaps there are other well established ideas. So what do you think?

[chunkyfrog]

Not Vaseline--but Lansinoh, purified lanolin, found in the baby aisle.
Otherwise, a mask liner, like Pad-a-Cheek, will quiet the mask farts.
There will still be minimal leak, but not nearly as annoying.

[rhodesengr]

hey thanks. I found some stuff. Mask liners by two different companies and two different "gel" type sealers. MaskSeal is a silicone based goo but seems to be not available. The other one i found was Aloe based. I bought Lanolin a while back for irritation when i was using a P10 so I have that sitting around and can try.

[Gryphon]

You may also be able to make your own mask lines out of some old T-shirts you may have laying around that have seen there better days...

I dont know any off the top of my head but, there plans out there you can download were you can just trace out a mask liner onto a piece of cloth and with a pair of scissors and a few min of your time you'll have a new mask liner.

Mask liners seam to create a very mild overall leak that can be easily managed by the machine and it keeps the seal of the mask from flapping and squeaking in that anoying way that wakes many of us or our spouses up in the middle of the night.

I wish you luck in your search.

Rest well,

Gryphon

[LSAT]

It's important that you fit the mask with the machine blowing and the cushions expanded. If you tighten down the mask too tight the cushions can't expand...that is what forms the seal. Make sure your skin is clean and "free" from oils. Padacheek.com has excellent mask liners that last a long time.

[rhodesengr]

It's important that you fit the mask with the machine blowing and the cushions expanded. If you tighten down the mask too tight the cushions can't expand...that is what forms the seal. Make sure your skin is clean and "free" from oils. Padacheek.com has excellent mask liners that last a long time.

But I have found that you can't really try to make any adjustment once the straps are tight. You have to loosen them and retighten.

I tried the lanolin last night. It did seem to help but also made the mask more prone to moving around (slippery interface). Also, the stuff is pretty greasy. Mine may be old as it has been sitting around for a couple of years but it didn't seem much different than Vasoline. Thick and greasy.

I will look at Padacheek.

I already have two brands of liners coming. I guess i could just trace out the pattern. My wife has a Cricut machine so maybe we can cut out the shape if I can find the right material.

[chartle]

All my old T shirts are super thin so I bought paint rags from Home Depot. They are scraps from t shirt manufacturing.

[rhodesengr]

are the commercial pads just plain cotton? Doesn't sound like a particularly good gasket material: porous

[Okie bipap]

Mask liners don't necessary stop leaks. They make the leaks more manageable. They stop mask "farting" which can be very annoying when it wakes you up. They will also help absorb rain out within the mask.

[palerider]

are the commercial pads just plain cotton? Doesn't sound like a particularly good gasket material: porous

No, mask liners don't seal... there's going to be a very small amount of leak through them, but they feel good, and they *tame* the leaks, so they're quiet, and diffused, so no more jets into the eyes, no more farting, squealing sounds...

And small constant increase in leak is better than the big ones when part of the mask cushion 'blows out' till you wake up enough to fiddle with it.

I had the same concern about them not being air tight when I first started using liners...but the additional leakage is insignificant.

[rhodesengr]

Thanks all. The liners are definitely helping. I had found Silent Night and RemZZZZ on cpap.com so I had ordered those. So far, I have used the Silent Night because they have tabs that hold the liner in place. Padacheek looks good too. I will probably try that one at some point.

[raisedfist]

For me the only solution was to try a ton of masks until I found "the one." To this day, I have tried probably around 10 full face masks, and only the F&P Simplus, using a medium sized cushion, is the only one that is both reasonably comfortable, quiet, and also does not leak or make noises.

[Haley]

I wear the Dreamwear Full Face Mask by Resmed and became so upset because I was having way too many leaks but I loved the mask so I knew I had to find a way to eliminate the majority of my leaks. On the Apnea Board Forum the is a poster named BonJour who wrote an instructional article titled Mask Primer which is detailed step by step instructions on how to fit your mask to eliminate most leaks. When you go to this forum you can use the search tool to look for Mask Primer or find one of BonJour's post because under his signature on most of his posts is a link to Mask Primer. My boyfriend and I followed his instructions and set my mask straps according to his instructions to help prevents leaks. It would be easier if you had someone to help you but BonJour said he did it all by himself. Just remember that when you tighten the straps do so in small tiny increments so as not to over tighten and cause more leaks. That night after setting my mask correctly I had one of the lowest AHI's and very few leaks. I had been having leaks with many of them in the large leak area associated with clusters of Apneas. There were no clusters of Apneas and I slept soundly. When I got up to go to the bathroom I would look in the mirror to check and see if everything looked ok with the setting of my mask. Sometimes I would wipe my chin of any oils and the bottom of the mask. I always woke up before with dents in my cheeks from the mask sides because I had the steps way too tight and now I wake up with barely a little hint of a mark. One thing I did notice when looking in the mirror one night that if I had my mouth open the mask would slide down to reveal about half of my nostrils but if my mouth was closed the mask stayed in place covering my nostrils. I have been working on breathing through my nose instead of mouth breathing. Good Luck. I hope this helps.