Soft palate dryness / texture

Hello everyone,

Can you all do something for me? If you have a normal (not operated on) soft palate, would you check it with your tongue and tell me what it feels like? Is it smooth like the roof of your mouth, or is it sand-papery?

If you are not sure where your soft palate is (though I'm sure we all do!), if you put the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth and then slide it back to just past where the roof of your mouth stops being hard and where it starts being springy, reach back as far as you can, that's your soft palate.

I'm still having trouble with dryness. I use a humidifier, tape my mouth and monitor for leaks, but still wake up kind of dry. I'm guessing it's all the air rushing down my throat, but my soft palate feels sand-papery and I'm wondering if that's normal.

I also find that I am really, really much worse when I fall asleep without my mask on! Wondering if the discomfort I feel has something to do with the collapse of the airways (obstruction) during sleep and not the air rushing around... I am averaging between 3-5 AHI at night lately with the machine one (and certainly much worse when it's off!)

Thanks for your help with this!

Angela

Ooops, sorry, forgot to log in before posting!

Angela

Mine's smooth.

Smooth also.

Hi, I think you should see your dentist, or an ENT doctor. They can examine you properly and tell if there is something abnormal going on or not. Even if someone here had a similar 'sensation', it does not mean it's necessarily related to Cpap, or that it's the 'same' thing you have, or that both of you shouldn't be seen and possibly treated for whatever it is.

Thanks, folks, for your replies...

My description of sand-papery might be a little too harsh... my soft palate is soft and slick but a little bumpier (like tiny grains of sand sprinkled over the skin) than the hard palate roof of my mouth. I've been scoped and poked by my ENT every year since 2002, most recently in August of 2008, and he says the tiny tiny bumps are minor salivary glands and normal, so no treatment is required. But I was wondering if anyone else who experiences dryness upon waking also has these tiny bumps... still could be sleep apnea related. Anyone else?

Angela