P10 Nasal pillows/sore nose.
Although a user of just two weeks I'm posting this in the hope it may assist others in a similar position.
As those familiar with the Resmed P10 nasal pillow mask would be aware, one of the attractions of the mask is it's minimal headgear, just a single, but split, narrow fabric strap.
I consider that I'm lucky that this was the first (& to date, only) mask I've tried. (With a beard & moustache other options are limited).
However I have had trouble with it making my nose very tender. I also had a problem waking with a headache, & some early morning spectacular farting
associated with a pressurised gut, which also resulted in back pain every morning.
The reason I mention those symptoms, each of which were fairly significant problems, (apart from the farting which was both a relief & amusing - even though my wife complained that it competed with my pre-CPAP snoring in terms of volume!) is that one small adjustment of the mask has resolved ALL of these issues.
Hard to believe eh? But it's true
I had been placing the head strap on my head incorrectly, the two split parts of the strap toward the top of my head & only an inch or two apart. As a result it was pulling my nose upward, making it sore by morning & taking most of the day for the tenderness to subside. Changing pillow sizes had not helped. I began to not look forward to putting it on again the next night, but persisted. I found too that if I laid on my side my head on the pillow frequently moved the strap, either increasing nose discomfort or allowing the seal to be broken. Lanolin based ointment helped with the seal, but I found that I laid on my back most of the night & tended to keep my head rigid to compensate for the easily moved strap. This resulted in morning headaches.
In my defence I had no instructions on how to use the mask. It's part of the hire arrangement.
When I worked out that ensuring the two split parts of the head strap were wide apart, with half on the top of my head & half at the back of my head was the way to go, it was a moment of epiphany! It may be obvious to others but it hadn't been to me. I had thought that the further apart I pulled the split strap, the tighter it would pull on my nose. Of course the opposite is true.
I can now lay on my side with my head comfortably on the pillow. No more headaches. No more sore nose. And it seems that not laying on my back all night has reduced the aerophagia & thus the abdominal discomfort & associated back pain. The farts are greatly reduced & miserable little things in comparison.
Who'd a thunk that such a small change could have had such wide ranging results. Now I understand the oft heard advice that it takes a bit of time to find out what is comfortable.
Oh, in addition I also have an overhead 'gantry' for the supply hose made from some plastic conduit I had laying around. This was quick & easy to make & is a huge improvement over laying with the hose. I find that having it at a height which allows the short hose part of the mask to kink down from my nose to just below my chin allows me to roll over from side to side without needing to pay heed of the hose position as the 'gantry' also swings from side to side.
As those familiar with the Resmed P10 nasal pillow mask would be aware, one of the attractions of the mask is it's minimal headgear, just a single, but split, narrow fabric strap.
I consider that I'm lucky that this was the first (& to date, only) mask I've tried. (With a beard & moustache other options are limited).
However I have had trouble with it making my nose very tender. I also had a problem waking with a headache, & some early morning spectacular farting
associated with a pressurised gut, which also resulted in back pain every morning. The reason I mention those symptoms, each of which were fairly significant problems, (apart from the farting which was both a relief & amusing - even though my wife complained that it competed with my pre-CPAP snoring in terms of volume!) is that one small adjustment of the mask has resolved ALL of these issues.
Hard to believe eh? But it's true
I had been placing the head strap on my head incorrectly, the two split parts of the strap toward the top of my head & only an inch or two apart. As a result it was pulling my nose upward, making it sore by morning & taking most of the day for the tenderness to subside. Changing pillow sizes had not helped. I began to not look forward to putting it on again the next night, but persisted. I found too that if I laid on my side my head on the pillow frequently moved the strap, either increasing nose discomfort or allowing the seal to be broken. Lanolin based ointment helped with the seal, but I found that I laid on my back most of the night & tended to keep my head rigid to compensate for the easily moved strap. This resulted in morning headaches.
In my defence I had no instructions on how to use the mask. It's part of the hire arrangement.
When I worked out that ensuring the two split parts of the head strap were wide apart, with half on the top of my head & half at the back of my head was the way to go, it was a moment of epiphany! It may be obvious to others but it hadn't been to me. I had thought that the further apart I pulled the split strap, the tighter it would pull on my nose. Of course the opposite is true.
I can now lay on my side with my head comfortably on the pillow. No more headaches. No more sore nose. And it seems that not laying on my back all night has reduced the aerophagia & thus the abdominal discomfort & associated back pain. The farts are greatly reduced & miserable little things in comparison.
Who'd a thunk that such a small change could have had such wide ranging results. Now I understand the oft heard advice that it takes a bit of time to find out what is comfortable.
Oh, in addition I also have an overhead 'gantry' for the supply hose made from some plastic conduit I had laying around. This was quick & easy to make & is a huge improvement over laying with the hose. I find that having it at a height which allows the short hose part of the mask to kink down from my nose to just below my chin allows me to roll over from side to side without needing to pay heed of the hose position as the 'gantry' also swings from side to side.
![[Image: 3xokTocm.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/3xokTocm.jpg)
