Mouth Leak Even with Tape
I've found that on nights where I do not mouth breath, nasal pillows provide me with the most comfortable sleep with the lowest AHI. However, lately I've been waking up with a dry mouth because somehow, despite taping as accurately as possible (using 3M surgical tape, pressing down thoroughly, making sure both mouth corners are adequately covered), I am still able to exhale out of my mouth. Has anyone else had this issue and managed to fix it? If so, how?
RE: Mouth Leak Even with Tape
I'm guessing here but I would suspect that you're tucking your chin, thus restricting your airway enough to require the exhale through your mouth.
RE: Mouth Leak Even with Tape
Are you sure the leaks are big enough to cause problems? If you use OSCAR there is a leak chart and if you right click on the left side of the chart where the words leak rate are you can put in a dotted line. Choose the last one "Leak rate upper threshold". That will show if your Leaks are a big enough problem to try to fix completely. Some leakage is always going to happen. It is when the leaks cause a problem with the therapy.
11-18-2020, 04:58 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-18-2020, 05:00 AM by multicast.)
RE: Mouth Leak Even with Tape
Mouth breathing may occur even with a taped mouth. There are several reasons. The tape might not be sticky enough; I've tried micropore, too, but it was not strong enough and lacks some stretchability. Now I'm using Fixomull stretch, works for me perfectly.
Maybe the tape size is too small: use a piece of tape of size 2 by 4 inches.
Be sure to clean your face before applying the tape. Furthermore the tape must not have any wrinkles: through those wrinkles some saliva may find its way out and air might escape.
Be also sure to turn your lips inwards before applying the tape. Not only are you avoiding unnecessary contact between your lips and the glue but this will also provide a much better sealing.
A beard older than two days is counterproductive.
Mike
11-18-2020, 12:46 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-18-2020, 12:47 PM by mesenteria.)
RE: Mouth Leak Even with Tape
(11-18-2020, 04:58 AM)multicast Wrote: Mouth breathing may occur even with a taped mouth. There are several reasons. The tape might not be sticky enough; I've tried micropore, too, but it was not strong enough and lacks some stretchability. Now I'm using Fixomull stretch, works for me perfectly.
Maybe the tape size is too small: use a piece of tape of size 2 by 4 inches.
Be sure to clean your face before applying the tape. Furthermore the tape must not have any wrinkles: through those wrinkles some saliva may find its way out and air might escape.
Be also sure to turn your lips inwards before applying the tape. Not only are you avoiding unnecessary contact between your lips and the glue but this will also provide a much better sealing.
A beard older than two days is counterproductive.
Mike
BINGO!!! All of the above, or any one of them, might be the cause of mouth breathing. The mouth area must be cleared of facial oils and any food that might be lingering. You may need to overlay/overlap two lengths of tape if the tape is somewhat less than 2.5 cm in width. You may need a different tape with a different adhesive.
You may have less adhesion, or broken adhesion, when you sleep on your side and you produce enough saliva that it pools near the corner of your mouth, the lower corner depending on which side you sleep.
Contrary to the advice about turning the lips in during application, I would suggest the opposite...because that is what gets the best result for ME. I purse my lips outward and apply the tape (to that oh-so-newly-cleaned surface area). However, the previous responder may have given you good advice if you haven't been doing as he says, so do experiment.
You can still get dry mouth with a perfectly good seal over it. Occasionally I have a drier mouth if I have been sleeping on my back. If your tongue doesn't stay up against the palate, you'll still get air circulating around inside the closed oral cavity, and it will eventually dry the mouth tissues. Try to teach your tongue to stay up against the back of the palate at least.
RE: Mouth Leak Even with Tape
Thank you, mesenteria and multicast!! This is great advice, and I so appreciate it. I've ordered some Fixomull and will see if that helps. I'll also try pursed lips to see if that gives a better seal (I've previously been turning my lips inward). Thankfully, as a woman, I don't need to contend with a beard. I feel for those of you who do!
staceyburke, I've taken a closer look at my leak rates as well. Some of the nights I've taped are actually far less problematic than I thought (I didn't realize my OSCAR leak scale changes based on the max size of the leaks, so a leak of 16 can look very large when the scale only goes up to 26, but a leak of 16 would look like nothing when the scale goes up to 108!). Will pay closer attention to that as I continue.
Also, thank you, Crimson Nape, for the thoughts on chin tucking. I have experimented with a sleep collar, but it unfortunately made no difference for me, so I'm not certain if it's a problem or if I just had the incorrect collar. If the other fixes here don't work for me, I'll consider delving into that further.
Thanks to you all!!
RE: Mouth Leak Even with Tape
I'm currently battling this as well, and can vouch for what mesenteria describes. My mouth is becoming extremely dry, not due to leaking, but due to being "dried from the inside out". I record my sleep with a cheap infrared webcam, and I can see some serious "chipmunk cheeks" where they pulse significantly on every breath. This really dries out the inside of my mouth, despite very minimal leak through the mouth tape itself.
RE: Mouth Leak Even with Tape
New user here, started about a week ago. I have been successful using a chin strap and nasal pillows. There is that option as well. I'm hoping over time I can wean myself from the chin strap.
RE: Mouth Leak Even with Tape
One advice on Fixomull stretch: be sure to pull it off *slowly*: otherwise it might hurt.
RE: Mouth Leak Even with Tape
One of the first things I read about for mouth sealing was using denture adhesive. Smear some on your lips and around the corners of your mouth like lip balm and press your lips closed tightly. In the morning, use a little bit of effort to open up your mouth and wipe it off with a washcloth. A tube is cheaper than buying mouth tape all the time...
