Nasal pillow question....

[PaulaO2]

Yes, that holds true for nearly all masks. They are designed now so the air pressure itself holds it on. Over tightening will disrupt the masks ability to form it's seal.

[BabyDoc]

@BabyDoc: Nasal pillows DO go inside the nostrils up to the first ring or bulge which is the part that creates the seal. Unless I am visually not picturing what you are saying, and unless I have been using them wrong for the past 9 yrs or so...

Paula, I still insist the pillow should not fit inside your nose. Maybe my description isn't clear. (BTW, I went to a RT, who uses pillows herself, and she fitted me with mine. She specifically cautioned me about using pillows that are too small and demonstrated to me what patients do wrong with their pillows.) My Switf FX pillows don't go into my nose to any extent and I don't have any significant leaks. Only a small portion of each of the nostril pillow's convex surface with its holes curves slightly inside the opening of my nostril as it creates its seal. It should not touch on the mucous membranes inside your nose. It will become more convex if you tighten the pillows too much and begin to leak or irritate the mucous membranes. The silicon outer edges of that surface sit on the epidermal portion, surrounding the outside of each nostril and create the seal. (The only time it feels like the pillow is inside my nose is when I turn my machine off. There is a moment, only then, when it feels like more of the pillow is being sucked into my nose. )

[JudgeMental]

Hmmmm. BabyDoc, maybe your RT is wearing the nasal pillows wrong. The first portion is designed to fit comfortably "inside" your nares.

Antcyd. I don't use the FX model but I do use the ResMed LT model and the replaceable pillows part has the word "ResMed" on it and it should be on the top side, facing yur nose. I also agree, that I think you probably need to try a larger size (medium) and not smaller.

[BabyDoc]

A video on how to use the Swift FX. It has a good section on how to size.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcRRbCMu_tk

Yes, the first bit of the nasal pillow goes inside the nostril. How else would it form a seal? Nasal masks go over the nose and form a seal via pressure on the cheeks and the bridge of the nose. Nasal pillows form the seal by pressing on the skin just outside the nostrils or just barely inside, depending on the style.

A picture is worth a thousand words. I guess I can't describe what I am doing as well as this video demonstrates it. The convex part that fits inside the nose is much smaller than the surrounding surface of the pillow which makes the seal with the skin portions of the nose. The part that fits into the nostril opening shouldn't press on the nasal membranes to any extent. Moving the pillow slightly from side to side and sometime pulling it slightly outward or pushing minimally inward will get that portion centered to get the best seal and the most comfort. Either too far in or out isn't good for leaks. Too far in, not only does it tend to leak, it will probably hurt.

[PaulaO2]

We are saying the same thing except we seem to have different views of just what "inside" means.

[JudgeMental]

I'm sure that we are all on the same page as far as understanding how nasal pillows are supposed to fit.

Regardless of the style that we choose to use..>.nasal mask, nasal pillows or full face mask.<..it should NOT cause discomfort, leak or leave red marks on the skin. If it does any of those, then we are using the wrong style and/or wrong size OR we are improperly fitting it to our face.

[antcyd]

You all have been an amazing help to me and I am just so happy to know you all are here no matter how stupid my questions are!! LOL I HATE that I have sleep apnea and am having to deal with this but I am soooo glad to have found all of you wonderful supportive people!!!
OK, so tonight I am going to try the next size up and see how it goes. I feel more informed and hopeful that one day all of this will be in the past and I will stop dreading going to bed!!!
Thank you!

[memnoch1974]

When I used my nose pillows for the first time, I made all of the mistakes mentioned...but the biggest change was using the biggest nose pillows possible. Initially I thought that the smallest pillows would create a better seal since they fit inside my nose...trust me, I hated the nose pillows since I was left with an irritated and sore nose. Not only that, I also overtightened the straps.

I looked at the same video posted here and helped shed some light into what I was doing wrong... I found out that the biggest size nose pillows allow for a good seal with the straps adjusted tight enough to be comfortable and create a good seal since the nose sits on the pillows nicely.

Hope this helps.