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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on April 23, 2011 at 12:18pm

Tom, one of my doctors seemed to feel that pressure was too high for nasal pillows.  Some people say nasal breathing is better than mouth breathing- I guess because air going through the nose is moisturised and cleansed by the cilia.  I am an inveterate mouth breather and am perfectly happy with my Total Face Mask.  There is a lot of discussion about whether chin straps work.  Some seem to be better than others.  I have never used one.  You might find that a nasal mask (I was thinking of pillows at first)  works fine at that pressure.  I don't see why not.

Mary Z.

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on April 23, 2011 at 10:04pm

I believe that it would depend on the person and the mask. One might have trouble with a nasal pillow mask at such a high pressure. Chin straps also very from person to person. As humans it is natural for us to breathe through the nose. Most of the time mouth breathing is a learned response to a nasal/sinus issue. Those same  issues will keep a chinstrap from working. You can strap or tape the mouth shut. if you can't breathe through your nose the mind will find a way to breathe through the mouth.

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Permalink Reply by D. W. Conn on April 24, 2011 at 5:47am

The use of nasal pillows or cannula style mask may not achieve maximum results with a pressure of 20cm. HOWEVER the over the nose nasal mask with a chin strap may work fine. This of course should be discussed with your PCP and DME provider.
Cannula style mask, and nasal pillows tend to leak above pressures of 12cm. Some people have stated they get great results with pillows above 12cm of pressure.. so try several and hopefully your PCP and DME will work with you for the best comfort.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Cannon on April 25, 2011 at 9:14am

Thanks Mary - your reply led me to research the Total Face Mask, alas I am a side sleeper. I also have a beard and from the photos it looked like the beard would be a problem.  Best, Tom

Mary Z said:

Tom, one of my doctors seemed to feel that pressure was too high for nasal pillows.  Some people say nasal breathing is better than mouth breathing- I guess because air going through the nose is moisturised and cleansed by the cilia.  I am an inveterate mouth breather and am perfectly happy with my Total Face Mask.  There is a lot of discussion about whether chin straps work.  Some seem to be better than others.  I have never used one.  You might find that a nasal mask (I was thinking of pillows at first)  works fine at that pressure.  I don't see why not.

Mary Z.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Cannon on April 25, 2011 at 9:15am

Thanks Rock. I don't think a chin strap would work for me.

Rock said:

I believe that it would depend on the person and the mask. One might have trouble with a nasal pillow mask at such a high pressure. Chin straps also very from person to person. As humans it is natural for us to breathe through the nose. Most of the time mouth breathing is a learned response to a nasal/sinus issue. Those same  issues will keep a chinstrap from working. You can strap or tape the mouth shut. if you can't breathe through your nose the mind will find a way to breathe through the mouth.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Cannon on April 25, 2011 at 9:16am

Thanks for you thoughts.

D. W. Conn said:

The use of nasal pillows or cannula style mask may not achieve maximum results with a pressure of 20cm. HOWEVER the over the nose nasal mask with a chin strap may work fine. This of course should be discussed with your PCP and DME provider.
Cannula style mask, and nasal pillows tend to leak above pressures of 12cm. Some people have stated they get great results with pillows above 12cm of pressure.. so try several and hopefully your PCP and DME will work with you for the best comfort.

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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on April 25, 2011 at 9:50am

Tom, you're probably right about the beard.  Just to be clear though- there are two total face masks by Respironics- the Total Face Mask (one size fits all), and the Fit Life Total Face Mask in small and large.

Tom Cannon said:

Thanks Mary - your reply led me to research the Total Face Mask, alas I am a side sleeper. I also have a beard and from the photos it looked like the beard would be a problem.  Best, Tom

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