Sinus Irritation with Nasal Pillows

[mstenner@pollyspies.com]

DOES ANYONE EVERY WAKE UP WITH A BURNING SENSATION UP IN THE SINUS AREA AND HAVE TO TAKE OFF THEIR MASK UNTIL THE BURNING SUBSIDES? IF SO WHAT IS IT?
THANKS,
MARIA

[elena88]

hi there!
good question...

just have a second here, but how long have you been using the machine, and could you fill out your
profile so everyone can see what equipment you have?

[ozij]

Air too cold
Air too dry.

Solutions:
Heated humidifier +
Hose wrap
Heated hose.

[Janknitz]

Air too cold
Air too dry.

Solutions:
Heated humidifier +
Hose wrap
Heated hose.

Or, just to confuse the heck out of you:

Too much humidification.
Turn your humidifier DOWN.

Sorry to confuse you but it could be either one. You're going to have to experiment and see which works for you.

And, if you're uncomfortable with that direct pressure in your nose (when adjusted properly you really shouldn't feel it), how about a nasal mask instead?

[ozij]

DOES ANYONE EVERY WAKE UP WITH A BURNING SENSATION UP IN THE SINUS AREA AND HAVE TO TAKE OFF THEIR MASK UNTIL THE BURNING SUBSIDES? IF SO WHAT IS IT?
THANKS,
MARIA

I didn't think too much humidity can cause a burning sensation.

Does it do so for anyone?

O.

[Janknitz]

Yeah, I get this sinus headachy thing going on and it's a kind of slow burning sensation. It happens when my humidifier is higher than a 2 (PR S1).

[ozij]

Thank you, Jan.
Always learning something on this board!
O.

[roster]

I had the same problem starting out. The thought process was, "They put a humidifier on this machine because it is bad to get dry passages. That tank is big. You must need a lot of humidity, so crank that baby way up. The more humidity the better!"

Eventually I learned to turn the humidifier way down and now it mostly sits dry. Burning sensation in the nostrils is gone.

I found if the bedroom humidity level is 40% or higher, I don't need the CPAP humidifier. In the coldest part of the winter, when the central heat runs often and drys the air to 35% R/H or lower, I will use the humidifier on a setting of 1 or 2.

[Amigo]

Thank you, Jan.
Always learning something on this board!
O.

It never ceases to amaze me how different we all are in our responses to sleep apnea therapy.

For me, the burning sensation ONLY happens if I don't humidify, regardless of season.

I've found that the automatic humidity sensor on my new PR1 works like a charm, and provides just the right level of moisture to keep me comfortable (the amount of distilled water used varies from day to day depending on the humidity level in the room).

[Mycopsycho]

Recently I experimented with the humidifier settings and turned down the setting to .5. Woke up with slight burning in the nose. Next night set it at 1.0. Next day same thing. So next night set it at 1.5. Next day I woke up with a runny nose, sneezing, and then got hit with a serious sinus attack and felt rotten for the next two days. So the following night I upped the setting to 4.0 and now feel better. Moral for me: Too little humidity really affects my sinuses.

[sleepnationtv]

Most Likely the air coming through is too dry and can cause that burning sensation. If you dont allready have a humidifier I would recomend getting one. Also if the pressure of the CPAP is above 12 sometimes the pressure is too great to tolerate being forced up the nose so you may try something like the activa LT that lets the air circulate a little bit better.

[LoQ]

I wonder if any of you with the burning sensation are on oxygen? Or are you using some kind of aromatherapy? Or is your machine air intake near one of those plug-in room fresheners? Etc.

[chunkyfrog]

My sinus irritation disappeared day one.
I had to tweak the level--one too high=rainout;
one too low=snot fountain all the next day.
Does that make sense?

[Amigo]

I wonder if any of you with the burning sensation are on oxygen? Or are you using some kind of aromatherapy? Or is your machine air intake near one of those plug-in room fresheners? Etc.

All very good questions, LoQ.

[Amigo]

Most Likely the air coming through is too dry and can cause that burning sensation. If you dont allready have a humidifier I would recomend getting one. Also if the pressure of the CPAP is above 12 sometimes the pressure is too great to tolerate being forced up the nose so you may try something like the activa LT that lets the air circulate a little bit better.

Hmmm, perhaps, for nasal pillows users, the higher the pressure the greater the need for humidity.