help with keeping mouth closed

I have read about some of the things that you guys use to help your mouth stay shut while using a nasal mask. I currently have a chinstrap, but I don't know if my mouth stays shut or not.

What are these Polident strips that I have read about? Also, if you tape your mouth shut, what sort of tape do you use?

Just wondering if anything else will help other than the chinstrap.

Thanks

Links to: Mouth leaks - Air Leaks - Tape - DIY Guard
viewtopic.php?t=8011


Some of the many useful "how-to" threads in those links:

Step-by-step mouth-taping method explained by rooster:
Jun 02, 2006 subject: Just One Man's Very Successful Mouth Taping Procedure 6/2/06 rooster's "how-to" guide.

May 03, 2006 subject: dental cream/fixadent on mouth works better than tape for me

Mar 24, 2007 subject: Poli grip

Polident strips are about 1/8 inch wide by 1-1/2 long. I tear them into two shorter pieces and:
moisten the pieces in running water
moisten my lips
slip the pieces equally spaced across the width of my mouth
keep my lips together for 15 seconds
sleep the night
moisten the strips with my tongue
push the strips loose with my tongue
remove the strips with tissue

repeat next night
I still use the chin strap to keep the mouth closed.

I have used them for maybe 10 months now.

TerryB

I just use gentle paper tape from the pharmacy (I like 3m/nextcare)

I also use an ace bandage 3 inch wide as a chin strap. I find that for myself being a lifetime mouthbreather that hanges the chin down that I need both tape and ace bandage to keep things all shut properly.

Every once in a while I will lay down with just the tape, and reconfirm that I need both.

I use two inch paper tape and it works well. I have tried poligrip strips, but have trouble getting them in place. An uncoordinated tongue. Chin straps never helped me. Good luck.

I use polygrip strips. I get my lips wet, wet the strip and place in the center back of my upper lip, then close my mouth - voila!
the nice thing about them is that they are strong enough to keep your lips from relaxing open, but allow you to open your mouth when you are awake to take a drink of water or an ovol. Then you remoisten and close again. It may take a while for you to get the best positioning of the strips for your mouth, but it's worth figuring out.
W

Well, this is my first post and I apologize in advance if I deviate from some established protocol. I have been reading the posts on this site since last August when I was diagnosed with OSA (RDI of 39 is what I recall, but may have the terminolgy wrong).

I have been using the RESMED S8 Escape with humidfier @ 10cm and Ultra Mirage II nasal mask. For the first three months, it was as if I had been "born again". I did not realize how bad I felt until I started feeling good again.

So, my reason for posting on this thread is because around the first of the year (about a month after I started loosing weight), I started feeling tried again. I won't bore you with the dialog back and forth with my medical provider, but ultimately I traced the problem using hints from this site. I believed I was now sleeping with my mouth open (maybe my pressure was too high with the lost weight -- not sure).

I tried various techniques (chin straps, tape, etc), but for a variety of reasons, none really worked. Then I discovered the posting about Poligrip Strips. Sounded rather silly, but I decided to give it a try. You'll laugh to hear I initially thought to use them as tape and place them vertically on the outside of my mouth. Ultimately I found the right way, and now use one strip (torn in half into two pieces) placed horizontally on the inside of my lips. Works perfectly every single night. I feel great again and have for 2-3 months.

My current challenge is I have lost 40 pounds since the first of the year and believe my pressure may be too high. When I called my doctors office, they initially recommended I just try going without treatment for a few days to see how I feel. I somehow found that less than acceptable. They then agreed to loan me an autoPAP to determine the proper CPAP level. I'll try that over a few days and see how it works. Hopefully I can either reduce the pressure or maybe even stop using the machine. We'll see.

Thanks.

Congratulations on loosing that weight!!!!!!

I am so glad you found a way to use the polygrip strips that work.

You're doing the right thing by taking a look at your pressure, your needs probably have changed, the AutoPap should be very helpful.

Keep up the good work!

W

Thank you so much for your post! I just this hour bought both Poligrip strips and "gentle tape" by 3m. I too was going to use them vertically on the outside of my lips.

Anyone care to send me a pic of them in the strips so I don't end up taping my nose to my chin and asphyxiating myself tonight?

Or is that your secret plan?

LOL,
Babette the Spatially Challenged

Poly strips:

I cut one strip in half, wet them, wet my lips and put each of them on my lower lip, slightly angled back off center of my lips, close my lips for a bit and done...

A photo wouldn't help much, because when they are in place, they don't show (or just barely.)

I also use a chin strap - the one that looks like a white ace bandage. I am planning to make my next one out of an ace bandage.

tape:

I use 3m's waterproof tape.

It is thicker than other tape, feels a bit rubbery, and seals well (but only once - doesn't work for me to unstick it and then hope it will re-stick again). The main advantage for me, over other choices I have tried, is that it is easier to take off - doesn't hurt my "lip skin" in like the others.

I use both the tape and the chin strap most times I use my ComfortLite 2 (not all that often - I usually use a 431 FF) When I take naps, I can usually get away with just using the chin strap.

Thanks Betty! So, if the strip is going along in between your lips, do you find you need to cover the entire "crack" line, or just the majority, starting in the center? Do I need to be certain to fill all the way to the corners of my lips?

Cheers,
B.

The entire 'crack' doesn't have to be taped - Polygrip doesn't seal your lips, it keeps your lips closed so they stay sealed. I put one strip in the middle, attatching it to the bottom of my upper lip (it and my lips are pre-moistened) then close my mouth. That's enough to keep my lips closed - And I can use a finger to open my mouth and let out a burp if I need to

Good taping!
W

i use the polident strips, too, but i cut them in half lengthwise and use half one night and the other half the next...i just wet it, place it in the middle of my bottom lip, move it around a little to get it into place, close my mouth for a few minutes and then it's done...i like the fact that there is a little gap on either end of my mouth, makes me feel safer

I've tried both tape and Polident strips.

Polident strips work way better for me... It is not as confining as the tape and a heck of a lot easier to put on and remove.

The polident "trick" is just sticky enough to keep me from opening my mouth while sleeping.. But I can part my lips any time when I am awake and then seal them back without getting out of bed or anything.

I use one strip..(not cut in half)...

Good question about how much of the "crack" you need to seal....

I have used 2 strips, both cut in the middle (not the long way - the short way) Then I put one piece in the middle of my lips and two on either side, so the strips cover the whole distance of the crack, leaving one 1/2 piece for the next night's operation.

Then I tried just one strip cut in half and I put them with small gap between them in the front of my mouth, and then also it left a a bit of space near each corner. I found it pretty much did the trick, asl long as I got the chin strap in the right place, so it could keep my cheeks from blowing up with air. If that happens, I sometimes leak out the holes.

I have nights when it doesn't work so well, because I am a determined mouth breather. and my AHI can go up a bit - but it is a nice break from the 431 FF and hybrid that I also use. The bridge of my nose needs a break from the 431 and my nostrils need a break from the pressure of the hybrid. The CL2 cushions don't press so hard.

hope this helps. Let us know if you give it a try.