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Permalink Reply by 99 on February 9, 2010 at 3:10pm

this is off of a resmed site and is sell you something

Sleep Comfort Care Pad
I got a call to trial the Sleep Comfort Care Pad. Before I received it in the mail, I looked at it online. It was a strange looking thing and it intrigued me. It’s a gel pad that lays on the face and across the nose bridge; a cushion of sorts between the skin and the nasal mask. Its purpose is to reduce or eliminate skin irritation, nose bridge sores and mask leak up in to the eye area. This made me sit up straight in my chair. It was kind of a “holy cow” moment for me and I thought – man, if this works, it will be the answer to the prayers of many a cpap user who struggle with these common problems…my common problems.

I received the pad (both sizes offered) in the mail the next day. When I opened the box and took out the pad, I was surprised. It felt like an oily gummy bear! I found myself feeling it over and over, not wanting to let it go and trying to figure out what the heck it was made of! I looked closely at the design and thought, “of course, how simple, why didn’t I think of that”! IF ONLY IT WORKS!

I couldn’t resist the temptation to try it, so rather than waiting for nightfall and bedtime, went straight for my bilevel. Now, many of you know I use a nasal pillow mask primarily because I have a narrow nose bridge and cannot comfortably use a traditional nasal mask. I am the patient who had the nose bridge cuts and sores, the mask leak in to the eye area – the specific issues this Sleep Comfort Care Pad is supposed to resolve.

I went to the web site www.sleepcomfortcaresystem.com and watched the video which clearly showed how to use it. I have a drawer full of nasal and full face masks from ResMed, Respironics and Fisher&Paykel. I pulled one out to use. I laid the Comfort Pad properly on my face and then the mask, checking to make sure it was seated just right. I turned on machine and hopped in to bed. No leak. Could it be this easy? I decided to try another mask brand. Same result, no leak. Ok, this is too easy, I’ll try a full face mask. I used 3 different full face mask and all were leak free. My skeptical side jumped up and I wondered how it would work at night while I am really sleeping and changing positions. That test would have to wait a few hours. I found myself thinking about this Pad for the rest of the day, conjuring up ways to sabotage it. I wanted so badly for it to work but I had to trial it in as many worst case scenarios as I could think of. It would not get my stamp of approval unless it really worked, for me. I don’t give a “thumbs up” easily.

When night time came, I chose the worst mask I could think of for my short face and narrow upper lip; the one that leaks like a sieve from top, bottom and sides. I chose the small Comfort Care Pad, washed it, patted it dry and laid it over my nose bridge and across my face. On went the mask, off went the lights and I fell asleep after tossing and turning from left to right side several times. I have Restless Legs Syndrome so this is my normal. About an hour later, I awakened because the Pad had slipped up in to my eye area. Ah, so it’s NOT PERFECT. I tried to reposition it in the dark without success. I got up and went to the bathroom mirror. I wet the Pad, patted it dry and paid more attention to how and where I placed it on my face. I did not want to repeat this over and over all night long. I was committed to trialing this product fairly, but I was having negative thoughts. I was sleepy and impatient.

Another hour went by and again, I had to get up and return to the bathroom mirror. I decided to try the size large Pad. It seemed like overkill to me, but it worked and I slept comfortably for the rest of the night without awakening. In the morning, when I removed the pad, there were slight but acceptable marks on my face from both the pad and the mask straps. They both disappeared after my face washing ritual and morning shower. I was pleased.

I really wanted to make the size small Pad work, so on night 2 I tried it again. I carefully summed up my face and positioned the Pad lower on my nose bridge so that the sides of the Pad were as far away from the under eye area as possible. Voila! A successful night two with no awakenings! I decided to really make a project out of this trial and so I committed to using the Comfort Care Pad with as many different mask brands and styles as I could. It was exciting to trial a product that I really felt was revolutionary! Over a period of 6 weeks, I used the Pads with nearly every mask in my arsenal and all with success.

No product is perfect and no product works for every single person. There was a learning curve for me and it had to do with placement of the Pad on the face to keep it away from the under eye area. It was easy to resolve. I highly recommend the Sleep Comfort Care Pad as a simple and effective aid to resolve leak, facial pressure point soreness and nose bridge irritation. This is one product that performs as advertised! Lastly, the added bonus is that it is so inexpensive at $14.99 that there is little risk in trying it! Did I mention it’s insurance reimbursable using HCPCS code #A7032? It doesn’t get any better than that!

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Permalink Reply by Bruce Allan on February 11, 2010 at 11:52am

It is getting better day by day. I went to a larger size pillow mask and that has helped a lot, but it now seems that I am opening my mouth during my sleep. The clinic said that was something I did during my last stay, so I'm going to make a chin strap and se how that goes over the next few days.

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Permalink Reply by RL on February 11, 2010 at 1:08pm

Adjusting the mask size - that is interesting. Maybe you were getting some leaks from a too small fit that caused skin chaffing. That's great.

I too have to deal with mouth breathing with my nasal pillow mask. The tech at my PSG told me to get an ace bandage, and I think that is what they used on me for the PSG. I had to figure out that the kind to get was the fabric kind with velcro type fastening on one end (not the synthetic rubberized material type). I found one that is about 26 inches and is easy to put on and off. I am not completely satisfied with this technique, as it is tricky to get a comfortable position and tightness. Also, I have a little trouble with it making my jaw joint hurt, so I have to be careful to not fasten it too tight, along with making sure I am not having bruxis (teeth grinding). At least the ace bandage is inexpensive and easy to replace when it wears out. I am really concerned how this is going to work for the long term CPAP use, and the effect on my jaw and teeth. For now, I am doing the best I can, waiting to try other options until my main equipment set up is more stabilized. Other options I may have to try include using a full face mask, or there was another type of stick on devise that goes on the chin around the mouth (not covering the mouth) that I was considering ordering, but I imagine long term use of that would be hard on the skin and purse. I'm also skeptical about the specially designed "chin straps" as the are more expensive and may or may not work, and with all those extra head straps, it seems a little overwhelming and awkward.

Also, I have found the Ayr nasal gel with aloe completely eliminated the chaffing on my nostils if I use it every night.

I am also trying the samples Melissa Hertel provided me of a cream product called RoEzIt. I find this cream very helpful also in preventing the chaffing as long as I use it every night. The good thing about it is that it does not have any petroleum products, only emu oil and rice bran oil along with some other well known skin nutrients like aloe vera, vitamins A & E and alantoin. It has a mild smell, sort of like a "desitin" cream that goes away fairly quickly, and it does not interfere with my mask. This product is a little oilier than the Ayr gel, so it may be personal preference as to what one may choose.

I think it is a good idea to have some sort of product like this available as a preventive, so it can be used right away if you notice any skin irritation, so you don't wind up with actual sores. I have noticed that what works for awhile may change over time, so knowing options is good idea, even if it seems not needed at the moment.

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Permalink Reply by Julia on February 11, 2010 at 5:23pm

I get a sore nose from Swift LT for her. I have tried all the different sizes and can't find one that fits perfectly. I think I have different sized nares, lol...something that probably isn't all that unusual. The Ayr gel helps some.

Be careful with lanolin if you are allergic to wool. It comes from sheep. I have a severe allergy to wool and did not know lanolin came from sheep. It made a bad situation unbearable!

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Permalink Reply by RL on February 11, 2010 at 6:21pm

So true, thanks for mentioning lanolin, which some people are allergic too. The ingredients for RoEzIt as I have it are:Aloe Barbadensis leaf juice, water, glycerin, emu oil, rice bran oil, dimethicone, DEA Oleth-3 phosphate, carbomer, triethanolamine, phenoxyethyl paraben, undecytenoyl PEG-5, paraben, allantoin, sodium, hydroxymethyglycinate, tocopheral acetate (vitamin E), DL panthenol, fragrance, retinyl palmitate(vitamin A).
Keep in mind that lanolin is not the same as Allantoin which I is usually derived from the comfrey plant.

If you have any known sensitivities, always review products ingredients yourself from the package label before using.

Julia said:

I get a sore nose from Swift LT for her. I have tried all the different sizes and can't find one that fits perfectly. I think I have different sized nares, lol...something that probably isn't all that unusual. The Ayr gel helps some.
Be careful with lanolin if you are allergic to wool. It comes from sheep. I have a severe allergy to wool and did not know lanolin came from sheep. It made a bad situation unbearable!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Barthelemy on February 12, 2010 at 7:16pm

My experience has been that my nose only gets sore when I have the mask (same as yours) adjusted too tightly. I think there is a fine line between snug enough, and too damned tight. Unfortunately, most of the times I've misadjusted it, I was just too tired to stay awake long enough to fix it....but on the other hand, knowing how I'd feel in the morning, I've been far more careful as time goes on.

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