mask fit with beard

hello, my name is ed and i recently got set up with a bi level machine due to sleep apnea (ahi of 158. am having difficulty getting a good seal due to high pressure with machine and having a beard. anybody out there had good luck with any particular mask having a beard ? thank you all in advance for your help and have a merry xmas.

You won't get a lot of replies because there are not good solutions. You can use mustache wax purchased from a scuba shop, but it will get all over your pillow, and you will have to wash it out every morning. Its the same problem with mustaches and scuba masks. There are no truly good solutions. The only thing you can do is shave the areas where the mask seals.

I have a beard and have been using cpap for years now without any problems from having a beard *smile*. The easiest way is to verify whether you breathe through your mouth when you're sleeping or not. If you don't, or you can find a way to prevent that, then you can use a nasal pillow mask (AirFit P10 and Swift FX work best for me). That kind of mask doesn't interact with your beard. There are other kinds of masks that other people can tell you about that also work with their beards...

Or you can use the "Search" widget in the in upper left hand side of this page and do some searching. This subject comes up every so often, and there are lots of postings to find. I got 315 search matches just searching on "beards" *smile*.

When I did my first titration study, I had a full beard. They used a mask liner under the mask and got a good seal. I run pretty high pressure (20-25 cm H2O) and opted to just shave because it is much easier to get a good seal. If your pressure isn't too high, the beard may not be a problem if you use mask liners. They can be made out of an old t-shirt. I got close to thirty of them out of one of my old shirts.

WindCpap wrote:You won't get a lot of replies because there are not good solutions. You can use mustache wax purchased from a scuba shop, but it will get all over your pillow, and you will have to wash it out every morning. Its the same problem with mustaches and scuba masks. There are no truly good solutions. The only thing you can do is shave the areas where the mask seals.

This is the right answer IMO. Either go over it or shave it, no other choices.

Too tall wrote:

WindCpap wrote:You won't get a lot of replies because there are not good solutions. You can use mustache wax purchased from a scuba shop, but it will get all over your pillow, and you will have to wash it out every morning. Its the same problem with mustaches and scuba masks. There are no truly good solutions. The only thing you can do is shave the areas where the mask seals.

This is the right answer IMO. Either go over it or shave it, no other choices.

Yep, no other choice. And nasal pillow masks don't work either, we all know that. Obvious, I should have seen that. Silly me.

I really wish that other people with beards that have posted about this in the past would contribute to this thread and help the OP. This is silly.

I have a full beard (not the ZZ Top-type - it's fairly close to the face), and I use the Respironics Total Face Mask will zero leaks. It's the fireman-type mask, and it's what we call here, "the mask of last resort". It's hard to recommend.

Sheriff

Sheriff Buford wrote:I have a full beard (not the ZZ Top-type - it's fairly close to the face), and I use the Respironics Total Face Mask will zero leaks. It's the fireman-type mask, and it's what we call here, "the mask of last resort". It's hard to recommend.

Sheriff

Personally, I don't understand why this mask is considered "the mask of last resort". Unfortunately, the large size was too big for me but if it had been the right fit, I wouldn't have hesitated at all to use it as it felt very comfortable. Why the company didn't offer a medium size option is beyond me.

Being a female, I can't speak to the beard issues. But I would highly endorse Sheriff's recommendation to try this mask.

49er

I have a long beard with mustache and use both a full face mask and nasal pillows.

I mostly use the Tap Pap nasal, except when my nose gets a little sore.

Leaks are under control with both!

I use an Ultra Mirage full face mask, and a Tap Pap nasal mask.

Tom

I do not understand why people say that there is no good mask to work with a beard. Of course, the only thing I have to go on is my ten plus years of b-paping, all of it with a full beard. The masks I use are the Quattro FX and the Mirage. Both are FFM. I am a mouth breather and sometimes awaken of a morning, actually able to breathe through my nose. (Couldn't do that two years ago.) I have used the machine in my signature with and without the humidifier. Currently not using the humidifier. Beard has varied from a little over a quarter inch, to up to two or three inches. No problem getting a seal.

The key is to fit the mask correctly, not over-tightening, and taking your time in making small incremental changes.

glarnold wrote:I do not understand why people say that there is no good mask to work with a beard. Of course, the only thing I have to go on is my ten plus years of b-paping, all of it with a full beard. The masks I use are the Quattro FX and the Mirage. Both are FFM. I am a mouth breather and sometimes awaken of a morning, actually able to breathe through my nose. (Couldn't do that two years ago.) I have used the machine in my signature with and without the humidifier. Currently not using the humidifier. Beard has varied from a little over a quarter inch, to up to two or three inches. No problem getting a seal.

The key is to fit the mask correctly, not over-tightening, and taking your time in making small incremental changes.

agree. Amara View here with full beard and mustache without leaks. It's NOT the facial hair, it's the fit which can happen with or without a beard.

Hey Ed,

I have a full beard and, like RogerSC, I use the ResMed Airfit P10 or Swift FX. I have a tendency to open my mouth, so use a jaw-strap. I've been using this combination for 16 months now and it generally seems to work pretty well these days, but my pressure at the moment is 9.6 (on a fixed pressure).

Quite surprised to read that only option is to shave!

Cheers - Adam.

I have a beard too and had the same problem when I started. The only thing that worked for me is the Airfit P10 (since the Nasal pillows do not interact with the beard at all), which left me with the problem that, because I use a very high pressure setting and have a tendency towards breathing through my mouth, I needed assistance in keeping mouth shut. Otherwise, I opened my mouth, breaking the seal and ruining the effectiveness of the CPAP treatment. I eventually settled on something called the ultimate chin strap (do a search here and on goggle), which I thought I would never get used to, but ultimately it was thee only thing that worked for me. Be forewarned, its pricey, but it did the trick for me. There are lots of ways to negotiate the mouth breathing problem which you can find on the forum with a search.

The cheapest and perhaps easiest way to fix the problem is to shave. Your health is worth it.

Fred

My brother has a full beard and uses a FlexiFit HC431 Full Face mask. He uses a Walgreens sleep mask to hold the bottom on tighter. He has very little leak. He developed some small leaks recently due to new lines in his face (he's now 60), but have not increased his leak level. Just annoys him a bit. Some folks have advised that using mask wipes before using mask may help as his mask is only washed out once a week (his choice). Waiting for them to arrive.

With a beard, you will have less hassle if you are able to use pillows or even a nasal mask.