Dry Mouth

[PositiveMe123]

This has prob been asked and answered a zillion times so I guess this is a zillion and one.

Lots of dry mouth lately and I sometimes wake and have to drink a sip of water. When I don't use my mask (which is seldom) I notice that I never have dry mouth. Why??

Thanks so much.

[swaziman]

That is strange because if you are using nasal pillows and keep your mouth closed then the air flow should be bypassing your mouth. Maybe consider a change in tongue position to the roof to restrict backflow?

[OpalRose]

This has prob been asked and answered a zillion times so I guess this is a zillion and one.

Lots of dry mouth lately and I sometimes wake and have to drink a sip of water. When I don't use my mask (which is seldom) I notice that I never have dry mouth. Why??

Thanks so much.

Hi happydaz,
My quess would be that you are opening your mouth during sleep, which allows air to escape, which in turn causes your mouth to feel like cotton!
Try keeping your tongue to roof of mouth right behind front teeth. This takes practice, but does work by blocking air from entering your mouth.
The other thing is...do you use a humidifier? If so, check your settings and turn it up a bit. Make sure you are getting enough humidity.
OpalRose

[Bompa]

You might want to try and use a chin strap. It prevents you from mouth breathing and helps to eliminate dry mouth.

Take Care!

[trish6hundred]

Hi happydaz,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
You might try a chinstrap and see if that will help you keep your mouth closed.
Much success to you as you continue your CPAP therapy.

[PaytonA]

Is your VPAP Auto an S8 or an S9 version (what color is it)? What mode are you using it in? The VPAP auto can be used in CPAP mode (manually adjusted pressure only), S mode (bi-level mode where the EPAP and IPAP pressures can be set separately), or auto mode where it adjusts EPAP and IPAP within a range which has been set for the machine.

The aforementioned tongue at the roof of the mouth method is the most effective method to keep air from blowing out of your mouth and causing the tissues to dry out. If you have trouble attaining this a chin strap might be of some assistance. Works for some.

Higher humidity in the airstream is helpful too. If no heated humidifier on the machine a room humidifier may help.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[PositiveMe123]

Thanks to everyone who responded! I'll try upping the humidity and will consider a chin strap. Note that I said "consider".. lol!

I still don't understand why I don't have dry/cotton mouth when I don't use the machine. Strange to me!

[Mr. Van Winkle]

I still don't understand why I don't have dry/cotton mouth when I don't use the machine. Strange to me!

Welcome !
Just maybe when your not using your cpap and you don't have the constant air pressure , your keeping your mouth closed so it won't dry out.. also won't help your apnea either (Use your machine !)
Try more humidity.

[retired_guy]

Thanks to everyone who responded! I'll try upping the humidity and will consider a chin strap. Note that I said "consider".. lol!

I still don't understand why I don't have dry/cotton mouth when I don't use the machine. Strange to me!

Hi Mr. Daz,

The thing about having a dry mouth using the machine and not having a dry mouth when not using the machine? That's kind of because the machine acts like a little convection oven when we allow it to blow hot air without restraint all night. I know a few folks that actually blow hot air all day and I suspect they too have dry mouth at the end of the day. But I don't know for sure.

Anyhow, the key is the chinstrap.

And the key to the chinstrap is to make sure you use it as a "gentle reminder" for the jaw to stay forward and the mouth to stay closed. It doesn't force anything. You should still be able to easily open your mouth, sip through a straw, kiss your sweetie goodnight, or whatever you wish to do.

If you actually put enough pressure on the chinstrap to MAKE you mouth stay shut, you will experience great pain. Much as I do on occasion during the day when I fail to keep my mouth shut.

[PaytonA]

One other thing that I forgot to mention in my earlier reply is that I use Biotene dry mouth mouth wash every night just before going to bed. I think that it helps but I have not approached the use scientifically. I did not have any Biotene one night away from home and got dry mouth. Purchased some Biotene the next day and no more dry mouth. So it seems to have some effect.

When I first tried Biotene, it did not seem to help at all. Found out later that Biotene has several other mouth washes that are NOT for dry mouth and that is what I had tried. I tried the correct Biotene and it seemed to help.

Best Regards,

PaytonA