How did YOU Resolve Your Mouth-Leaks? (poll)

[Bob3000]

(NOTE: Please only vote for what actually works for you personally, i.e. what you use most/every night. Thanks!)

To all those who regularly use a nasal pillow mask (excluding the Liberty, Hybrid, etc.), how did you stop mouth leaks? I know for us mouth-breathers, using a nasal pillow mask can be challenging. Personally, I've tried several full-face masks, including the Liberty, the Quattro, and the Hybrid, but the only thing I can get a good seal with is a pure nasal pillows mask. I am currently replaced the noisy but otherwise great Headrest mask with a much quieter and nearly equally effective Swift FX. The problem is that I have a fairly high pressure (18 cm2) and I suffer from massive leaks through the mouth. I simply cannot sleep for more than an hour without waking up to mouth leaks. I know I'm not alone on this, so I was hoping a poll would guide me in solving this problem.

After you vote, please consider posting some details, maybe some things you tried that didn't work, etc.

Thanks, and sweet slumber, fellow hoseheads!

[KatieW]

My mouth leaks were minimal, since my leak rate is seldom over 6 l/minute, and never high enough to affect my AHI. But I didn't like waking up with dry cotton mouth. I've been using the PapCap Chin Strap, and the mouth dryness is still there, but is not as severe now. I still keep a glass of water next to my bed, and if I wake up, I take a sip and slosh it around. I also use Biotene Toothpaste for Dry Mouth.

[rested gal]

I put tape over my mouth...3M blue painters' tape from Lowe's.

I add a chin strap to keep cheeks flat.
Lessens amount of air that can fill my mouth and put pressure from inside against the tape.

[Bob3000]

I put tape over my mouth...3M blue painters' tape from Lowe's.

I add a chin strap to keep cheeks flat.
Lessens amount of air that can fill my mouth and put pressure from inside against the tape.

In several other posts, you've described success with both the DIY oral appliance, and the 'tongue technique', but now you are back to taping? Why is that? Thanks!

[fidelfs]

I keep my tongue up all the time. It is funny, I keep doing it even when I am awake, I didn't notice that until I tried my nasal mask and learned that I don't leaks anymore.

Now, I can feel that my tongue is always up, isn't something?

[Bob3000]

I keep my tongue up all the time. It is funny, I keep doing it even when I am awake, I didn't notice that until I tried my nasal mask and learned that I don't leaks anymore.

Now, I can feel that my tongue is always up, isn't something?

That's awesome. I wish I could do that, but my nasal passages are a bit small so the resistance to breathing is high; basically, I can only regularly nose breathe when I am hooked up to a CPAP machine and have all that pressure keeping my nasal passages open.

[mdintx]

PapCap plus Micropore tape. I put chapstick on my lips (and just beyond) to protect from the tape.

[unityco]

I'm rather new to this (only started in November,) but I've been very lucky to not experience much in the way of mouth leaks. (I'm at zero more nights than not. ) It seems that before I started CPAP, and before I was even consciously aware I had apnea, I was instinctively using the tongue trick. I notice myself doing it at night now that I know what it is.

I'm really glad that mouth leaks are one hurdle I haven't had to overcome! Good luck with your battle!

[plr66]

I have used both Scotch and 3M brand blue painters tape for delicate surfaces. Used to use the 2" wide tape, but found that I did not need all that surface covered, and had wrinkles in the tape at the chin, which at times allowed bits of air to escape by morning. I now use 1" wide tape when using a nasal pillow mask.

[rosiefrosie]

I use gentile paper tape, 1 piece across my mouth and folded at the edges for easy removal. I also put chapstick on my lips before putting the tape on. This works best for me.

rosie

[gasparama]

I use the 2 inch gentle micropore tape. However, I don't use Chapstick because that allows my lips to part just enough to (and this is gross) let drool through. It's difficult to roll my lips in because that causes pain in my jaws.

[donnafowler]

I use NextCare gentle paper tape, small vertical strips at the corners of my mouth (one corner seems to leak more than the other and the extra tension from the vertical strip helps keep them closed) and a horizontal strip across my mouth over that, ends folded under. This has worked well for me for the last 6 months or so.

[rosiefrosie]

I use gentile paper tape, 1 piece across my mouth and folded at the edges for easy removal. I also put chapstick on my lips before putting the tape on. This works best for me.

rosie

That's suppose to be 'gentle' paper tape.

[Bob3000]

Last night I used the Nexcare "gentle" paper tape, and when I took it off at 5:30 this morning, it ripped a triangular piece of flesh from my face. Yeah, really. I will try the 3M Blue Painter's tape this evening.

[Velbor]

I "resolved" my mouth leak by collecting data on it, analyzing it, quantifying it, and determining that, while it does exist, it does not present any significant compromise to effective PAP therapy, nor any clinically significant problems, and that other than periodically keeping an eye on the data, it could safely and conveniently be ignored.