Cpap Mask left wrinkle lines in my face. How long doe they take to go away?

[PerChancetoDream]

The straps on my mask leave marks on my face, but they tend to disappear after an hour or so, though some days they have not gone away for several hours.

I think it depends on an individual's age/skin suppleness/number of hours worn/tightness of straps.. all of those will alter the time the marks linger.

If asked, I will just tell people the marks are scars from when I was slashed across the face whilst foiling a machete wielding perpetrator in the act of robbing a jewelry store........ no one will believe me, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story.       

 I love this! Indeed, why let the truth get in the way. Truth is so...inconvenient.

[theoak]

Some masks include cloth-like covers that you can put around the straps. I find those help a lot with regards to the strap marks.

Being a side sleeper, I even find for the DreamWear nasal masks (cushion or pillow), the plastic tubing can leave marks on my face. Again though, the covers fix that right up for me.

With that being said, my wife tried the strap covers, but that ended up pulling the straps just out enough to increase leaks on the mask itself. The strap covers did help her however with regards to the marks, but again, due to the extra leaks she could not use the covers.

Your mileage may vary with the strap covers ... but another idea. Good luck!

[MickTravis]

To echo someone else’s comment, hydration and salt intake are the big factors for me as to whether I have “strap face” in the morning. Yesterday, I went for 10 miles of hiking in the heat and didn’t drink enough water. I then proceeded to eat a very salty Chinese food dinner. This morning? Strap face.

I try to drink 128 oz of water a day and watch my salt intake. That usually does the trick.

[Hydrangea]

I agree with others' advice to drink more water, and to use cloth liners on the straps.

I'll add my experience, too.

- I noticed that the P10s made my nostrils bigger.
- I notice the Nuance Pro pushes my nose in, and thus I am betting it makes my nostrils bigger.

What I've decided to do is to switch masks periodically, so my face doesn't get too used to the pressure points of one specific mask. I'm finding this helps.

Also, I'm really liking the F20 with memory foam. I feel like it seals to my skin without applying a lot of pressure. Surely that has to help with wrinkles.

And ultimately, I tell myself that any wrinkles or nostril enlargements are worth it because it means my heart is healthier and my quality of life is better.

[DaveL]

I  hope the poster received the answers he wanted.

ihaveapnea, how is your treatment going?


My experience: mask strap marks go away. Usually by mid morning. If I have mask strap marks, I wonder if my mask is on too tight.

You said you stopped treatment. I can't imagine stopping treatment; however, if I did I would expect to have less energy, low blood oxygen levels, and other issues too.
Could stopping treatment cause advanced aging and lines on the face?