Enlargement of Nostrils by Nasal Pillows?

[kiwii]

I've been using the P10 since, um, November-ish... so about 4 months, max.

There has definitely been a change to my nostrils.

Maybe it depends on how much tissue a person has there to begin with. I'm female, with delicate features. (and there is no undue pressure against my nose)

This really isn't too surprising. I had a broken nose repaired and a nose job at the same time. I always suspected that something pressing on the nose would make a difference (based on my experience with rhinoplasty). If my plastic surgeon were still around, I would have asked him.

It's not that big a deal though. I'm much happier having my brain functioning again!

[Hellodare]

As soon as you wake up go look in a mirror. But you better have some place to sit down close by. I did that once. Well on second thought don't do that. My nose has indeed gotten bigger with nose pillows. Wider. I also have groves around the back of the head from the headgear. No It's not on to tight. 19 years on cpap. Even most doc never heard of sleep apnea back then. It really doesn't matter. Have to use the machine!

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I smell everthing!

[Hellodare]

I guess it just depends on how elastic your skin is. Mine is bigger and I'll never convince my parents to switch to nasal pillows. Ever time I do the just stare at my nose! Such as life! I think surgery to repair a large nose would be cheaper than surgery for sleep apnea. And who really likes their nose. Change it later anyway. I don't know.

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It will never be that bad!!

[punkrockcholo]

Not sure if this is the right thread, or if this has been addressed elsewhere, but I notice the left side of my nose collapses a bit more than I ever noticed. Now.. could this be because I was a lifelong "mouth breather" until I started CPAP? Maybe it's been this way for years and I just noticed as I'm breathing with my nose throughout the day.

Keep in mind, I went through the initial feeling of "shortness of breath" the first two weeks of using CPAP during the day with what I can only describe as the feeling of... forgetting to breathe? Perhaps my body being confused about breathing with my mouth or my nose? I never felt like I was going dizzy, or I was going to fall. Just a simple oh yeah, take a deep breath to catch up.

So, anyway, I'm two months into CPAP with an N20 mask and I just can't help but obsess over my seemingly collapsing left nostril. I notice my breathing is a bit harder through the left nostril, and both nostrils flare open a bit. It's not like the collapsing gifs people have posted, so maybe I'm OK? The nostrils flaring open seem to happen when I stare at myself in the mirror. Am I causing it because I'm looking for it to happen? It's not consistent, if that makes any sense.

Hmm?

[Jay51]

Punkrockcholo, the "collapsing" feeling of your nostril could be lateral side wall (or nasal valve collapse).  If you try to take a deep breath and it sinks inward and decreases the breathing space, this could be it (I have been seeing an ENT have similar issues with both nostrils and taking deep breathes).  Do a search on nasal valve collapse.  There is a test for it also.  

Breathe right strips (or equivalent) and those thimble-shaped silicone rubber nasal dilators have helped me a lot in regards to this.  I have tried just about all of them and prefer the softer ones and not the metal ones since they can irritate the sensitive inner lining of my nasal passages.  I have seen your charts in your therapy thread and they look pretty good.  

I hope this helps.  And to the OP, it seems like any nasal pillow cushion would help to dilate the inner passages of the nose (if pillows can be tolerated).