Any tips for dry mouth?

[bri127]

I have my cpap machine set to the highest humidifier setting (8) and I fill the water up to the water line. Almost all the water is usually used up over the course of the night, and yet I still wake up with extremely dry mouth. The roof of my mouth is actually starting to peel and I get blisters on my tongue. I can't think of anything to do for this situation.

[Wulfman...]

I have my cpap machine set to the highest humidifier setting (8) and I fill the water up to the water line. Almost all the water is usually used up over the course of the night, and yet I still wake up with extremely dry mouth. The roof of my mouth is actually starting to peel and I get blisters on my tongue. I can't think of anything to do for this situation.

Since your profile shows that you're using a full face mask.......

"Dry mouth" typically indicates that the user is mouth-breathing or mouth-leaking. Since you're using a full face mask, at least you're not losing your therapy air. But, too much humidity can exacerbate nasal congestion and promote more mouth-breathing. These are my recommendations for users with these problems.

Turn DOWN the humidity setting (or even OFF).
Do nasal cleansing before bedtime so you can breathe to begin with.
Train your tongue to stick to the roof of your mouth while you sleep......think of something like sucking on a lemon drop.


Den

.

[Smithfamily32]

Couple things. Try a teaspoon of straight olive oil prior to bedtime. Try not to clean it all out before you sleep - brush teeth ahead of the oil. Second get a very good chin strap and use it. The extra compression pressure from additional elastices does not help but it may stop the mouth breathing. Nose must be clear or your body will mouth breath when you sleep. If olive oil is not your thing vegetable oil works too. Turn the humidifier down because these companies do not know how to effectively humidify unless they jack up the heat. What is probably happening is you are literally drying your mouth out with the hot air, which if tested you would find is not really humidified much at all. They heat the water, then heat the air and because current design chambers are so small and inefficient, the air gets heated but does not pick up much humidity. Olive oil, lower settings and doing something with ambient room humidity if you can and a blessed chin strap is the best thing you can do with current technology no matter what people say. Capp machines are still not really mature enough (and way way too costly). When a manufacturer actually creates a machine that solves this very important humidity problem this form of treatment will improve above the achient practice of medicine using leeches. Right now the technology can save your life but quality of life could be far better. I would like to see unbiased measurements of "at the face mask" temperature and humidity. To be effective the air temp should be no more than room temp but higher humidity, not hotter than room temp but likely lower humidity. After many months olive oil and chinstrap and lower setting is what works. Olive oil does change overnight in your mouth but brushing teeth cures that. I wish you good luck.

[GettingBetter]

I have my cpap machine set to the highest humidifier setting (8) and I fill the water up to the water line. Almost all the water is usually used up over the course of the night, and yet I still wake up with extremely dry mouth. The roof of my mouth is actually starting to peel and I get blisters on my tongue. I can't think of anything to do for this situation.

Sorry you're having these problems. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but good to hear you are using the CPAP and seem enthusiastic about continuing treatment. Good for you. In addition to the wisdom already offered, I would like to add some other insights.

Blistering on the tongue and peeling on the roof of your mouth can be various diseases, medication side effects or signs of an autoimmune disease flare up, not just from using the CPAP. I would encourage you to see your dentist (they are usually very knowledgeable on drug interactions and problems that can cause blistering or peeling) or your GP for a look just to make sure. I would definitely check any newer medications, but don't discount your older prescriptions for side effects. I took a BP medication that three years in had some doozy side effects!

Hope all is well soon,
GB

[Julie]

And you can try e.g. Biotene rinse etc. from the drugstore in the a.m.

[oldbear]

Nowhere in these suggestions did I see anyone asking about a chin strap. The mask he is using could be allowing air to move out past his mouth, or he may need a nasal mask with a proper chin strap. I had nasty mouth problems until I found out how to select and use a chin strap and occasionally wake up with mouth problems when my mask or strap is dislodged.

The filtered air provided by CPAP often relieves nasal congestion caused by dust and other allergens resulting in better nasal breathing so even if you are used to nasal congestion you might experiment with different masks and straps.

[Sir NoddinOff]

And you can try e.g. Biotene rinse etc. from the drugstore in the a.m.

I prefer this product:
http://www.dentist.net/products/orajel- ... rizing-gel

It lasts all night.

[Wulfman...]

Nowhere in these suggestions did I see anyone asking about a chin strap. The mask he is using could be allowing air to move out past his mouth, or he may need a nasal mask with a proper chin strap. I had nasty mouth problems until I found out how to select and use a chin strap and occasionally wake up with mouth problems when my mask or strap is dislodged.

The filtered air provided by CPAP often relieves nasal congestion caused by dust and other allergens resulting in better nasal breathing so even if you are used to nasal congestion you might experiment with different masks and straps.

The mask in his profile shows it to be a full face mask. If he's mouth-breathing, it's only going back in his mask and not out into the room........so, he isn't losing any therapy air........just getting a dry mouth from it going in and out his mouth.

Chin straps aren't very reliable. And, by the time you add all that extra stuff to your face to prevent mouth-breathing, you might as well just go with a full face mask.


Den

.

[bri127]

I have my cpap machine set to the highest humidifier setting (8) and I fill the water up to the water line. Almost all the water is usually used up over the course of the night, and yet I still wake up with extremely dry mouth. The roof of my mouth is actually starting to peel and I get blisters on my tongue. I can't think of anything to do for this situation.

Since your profile shows that you're using a full face mask.......

"Dry mouth" typically indicates that the user is mouth-breathing or mouth-leaking. Since you're using a full face mask, at least you're not losing your therapy air. But, too much humidity can exacerbate nasal congestion and promote more mouth-breathing. These are my recommendations for users with these problems.

Turn DOWN the humidity setting (or even OFF).
Do nasal cleansing before bedtime so you can breathe to begin with.
Train your tongue to stick to the roof of your mouth while you sleep......think of something like sucking on a lemon drop.


Den

.

Yes, I do mouth breathe, which is one of the reasons I chose to use a full face mask to begin with. I actually have a hard time breathing through my nose especially at night. I might look into getting a nasal spray or something to get it more cleared out. I had no idea having the humidity on high would actually make my mouth more dry! Who knew? I'll try turning it off for tonight and maybe turn it up one notch at a time till it seems to be a good one. Thanks!

[bri127]

Couple things. Try a teaspoon of straight olive oil prior to bedtime. Try not to clean it all out before you sleep - brush teeth ahead of the oil. Second get a very good chin strap and use it. The extra compression pressure from additional elastices does not help but it may stop the mouth breathing. Nose must be clear or your body will mouth breath when you sleep. If olive oil is not your thing vegetable oil works too. Turn the humidifier down because these companies do not know how to effectively humidify unless they jack up the heat. What is probably happening is you are literally drying your mouth out with the hot air, which if tested you would find is not really humidified much at all. They heat the water, then heat the air and because current design chambers are so small and inefficient, the air gets heated but does not pick up much humidity. Olive oil, lower settings and doing something with ambient room humidity if you can and a blessed chin strap is the best thing you can do with current technology no matter what people say. Capp machines are still not really mature enough (and way way too costly). When a manufacturer actually creates a machine that solves this very important humidity problem this form of treatment will improve above the achient practice of medicine using leeches. Right now the technology can save your life but quality of life could be far better. I would like to see unbiased measurements of "at the face mask" temperature and humidity. To be effective the air temp should be no more than room temp but higher humidity, not hotter than room temp but likely lower humidity. After many months olive oil and chinstrap and lower setting is what works. Olive oil does change overnight in your mouth but brushing teeth cures that. I wish you good luck.

Olive oil? Like just put it in your mouth? That doesn't sound too pleasant, but I'll think about it.
I have thought about using a chin strap but I am worried I would not be able to sleep, or freak out if I feel like I can't breathe through my mouth. Like I will feel trapped. I will work on trying to breathe with my nose only before I fall asleep and see if I feel more comfortable doing that, and maybe try to use a chin strap that isn't too tight. Also, I am shocked that the humidifier setting being high could actually make my mouth more dry. Never saw that coming. And I just realized that I have been using the "heating up" feature before bed (because the cold air on my face was making it hard to fall asleep, especially in the cold weather), thinking about it now that might not be helping me at all either right? I will look into all the advice thank you!

[bri127]

I have my cpap machine set to the highest humidifier setting (8) and I fill the water up to the water line. Almost all the water is usually used up over the course of the night, and yet I still wake up with extremely dry mouth. The roof of my mouth is actually starting to peel and I get blisters on my tongue. I can't think of anything to do for this situation.

Sorry you're having these problems. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but good to hear you are using the CPAP and seem enthusiastic about continuing treatment. Good for you. In addition to the wisdom already offered, I would like to add some other insights.

Blistering on the tongue and peeling on the roof of your mouth can be various diseases, medication side effects or signs of an autoimmune disease flare up, not just from using the CPAP. I would encourage you to see your dentist (they are usually very knowledgeable on drug interactions and problems that can cause blistering or peeling) or your GP for a look just to make sure. I would definitely check any newer medications, but don't discount your older prescriptions for side effects. I took a BP medication that three years in had some doozy side effects!

Hope all is well soon,
GB

Thanks for letting me know about the possibility of other health problems, I will keep them in mind! I actually have been to the dentist pretty recently and although I did not mention these problems, they didn't seem to notice or say anything about them. I will mention them the next time I go if tinkering around with my machine and other advice doesn't help the problems.

[Wulfman...]

I have my cpap machine set to the highest humidifier setting (8) and I fill the water up to the water line. Almost all the water is usually used up over the course of the night, and yet I still wake up with extremely dry mouth. The roof of my mouth is actually starting to peel and I get blisters on my tongue. I can't think of anything to do for this situation.

Since your profile shows that you're using a full face mask.......

"Dry mouth" typically indicates that the user is mouth-breathing or mouth-leaking. Since you're using a full face mask, at least you're not losing your therapy air. But, too much humidity can exacerbate nasal congestion and promote more mouth-breathing. These are my recommendations for users with these problems.

Turn DOWN the humidity setting (or even OFF).
Do nasal cleansing before bedtime so you can breathe to begin with.
Train your tongue to stick to the roof of your mouth while you sleep......think of something like sucking on a lemon drop.


Den

.

Yes, I do mouth breathe, which is one of the reasons I chose to use a full face mask to begin with. I actually have a hard time breathing through my nose especially at night. I might look into getting a nasal spray or something to get it more cleared out. I had no idea having the humidity on high would actually make my mouth more dry! Who knew? I'll try turning it off for tonight and maybe turn it up one notch at a time till it seems to be a good one. Thanks!

Whatever you do, try to stay away from Afrin. It's OK to use for a couple of nights, but can become addicting in that it actually closes up the nasal passages and keeps requiring further use of it. NetiPot and other saline type solutions will be better.


Den

.

[bri127]

Nowhere in these suggestions did I see anyone asking about a chin strap. The mask he is using could be allowing air to move out past his mouth, or he may need a nasal mask with a proper chin strap. I had nasty mouth problems until I found out how to select and use a chin strap and occasionally wake up with mouth problems when my mask or strap is dislodged.

The filtered air provided by CPAP often relieves nasal congestion caused by dust and other allergens resulting in better nasal breathing so even if you are used to nasal congestion you might experiment with different masks and straps.

The mask in his profile shows it to be a full face mask. If he's mouth-breathing, it's only going back in his mask and not out into the room........so, he isn't losing any therapy air........just getting a dry mouth from it going in and out his mouth.

Chin straps aren't very reliable. And, by the time you add all that extra stuff to your face to prevent mouth-breathing, you might as well just go with a full face mask.


Den

.

The idea of a chin strap does worry me. I feel like it would cause me to freak out by feeling trapped or something. I have a hard time breathing through my nose.. though I am going to try and get a nasal spray (I've used one before and it was very helpful) and see if that will help me get more used to breathing through my nose. If I feel very comfortable breathing through my nose then I will consider a chin strap just to be sure I only use my nose. But right now it scares me that I will wake up feeling like I can't breathe because my nose doesn't feel very reliable to me right now. (Horrible memories of my life before cpap and not being able to breathe might give me these fears). I also wonder if I could use a chin strap easily with my full face mask, just so I wouldn't have to change much. I have had great results with my mask and it is the only one I've ever used. Been over a year and its been good to me.

[bri127]

[/quote]

Whatever you do, try to stay away from Afrin. It's OK to use for a couple of nights, but can become addicting in that it actually closes up the nasal passages and keeps requiring further use of it. NetiPot and other saline type solutions will be better.


Den

.[/quote]

Thanks I'll keep that in mind. I actually have gotten a prescription from my doctor awhile back, but I stopped using it for honestly no reason, so hopefully he will give me another prescription to that, if not, I will look into something that is not Afrin, thanks.

[SewTired]

I agree that for the blistering and peeling that you check with your doctor. In my case, many of the new toothpastes cause this. I can't use Colgate at all and have to avoid any product that has 'whitening' listed.