Nasal sores and humidifier.

[ubuntootoo]

Hi Everyone,


I’ve been using my resmed airsense 10 for about 6 months on and  off. I’ve had a recent issue which I wanted to ask about. About a month ago I started getting really sore nostrils, not at the entrance, but just inside my nose and going upwards a bit. It felt a bit like when you have a spot forming under your skin and it’s sore. Over the following days the sore areas produced a bit of pus and scabbed over but it became painful to the touch.  After several more days the nostrils gradually improved (I’d stopped CPAP while this was going on). 

Then about ten days ago I woke with a very swollen top lip and it was quite red under my left nostril. I got in to see my doctor as this clearly wasn’t right. He said I had an abscess. I mentioned the sore nostrils and he thought that the CPAP had dried out my nose and created sores which allowed Staphylococcus bacteria to enter my system which had then caused the abscess. He put me on a high dose of two different antibiotics which took over a week to clear up the infection. 

I’m finally back to normal and am about to try my machine but with a humidifier attached. I spoke to my CPAP clinic about my dry nostrils and they sent me a humidifier but I haven’t been able to try it until my infection had gone. 

So, has anyone else had anything like the above? Do you guys think it was caused by dry nostrils? I have very little faith in doctors. 

Also, how do I know if I’ve got my humidity setting right? It’s currently on 4. Do you think I’ll be able to notice any difference?

Thanks for any advice you can give. 

[Deborah K.]

I would think the humidifier would help. When I was new to all this my nose sometimes got very dry. I applied a little Lanisoh inside with a fingertip and that stopped the problem. Lanisoh is used by nursing mothers. It comes in a tube sold in baby departments everywhere for not a lot of money. It's just lanolin and is harmless to infants, so I don't think it would hurt anyone else. The humidifier may be enough, but if it's not, add the Lanisoh.

[ischua]

I had the same problem for 2.5 years. Infections inside and pressure sores. I was using phillips respironics mask. My respiratory therapist told me that he couldn't help me about 3 months in never heard from him again. I did a lot of modification and spent a lot of money trying to find a good mask before I settled with the evora full. It helped a lot with the sores but still got infections inside my nose. I found that washing my face and nose and cleaning with an astringent like sea breeze or witch hazel to remove oils and dirt cleared it up. haven't had a sore nose in months. Humidity level set at 4

[G. Szabo]

I always had issues with dry air, causing pain inside my nose. Then, I tuned up the moisture as high as possible to reach the condensation limit. Since then, I have had no problem. See my current setting on the left.

[ubuntootoo]

Thank you for the replies. I’ve never heard of Lanisoh. I’m in the UK so maybe there are similar products under a different name. I’ll have a look. Regarding my mask, I started out using a full face mask which came with the machine and it was good apart from air leaks and farting on my face which I could never resolve so the hospital sent me an F30i pillows mask which has been fine but maybe that contributed to the issue.

I’ll try the witch hazel too so thanks for the suggestion.

Regarding the humidifier, I got up this morning after a fairly good sleep (I actually had a vivid dream which is rare, so maybe that indicates I slept better using CPAP again). When I looked at my water level it hadn’t moved at all; literally none used. I had machine set to 4. Surely the level should have dropped. Tonight I’ll set it to maximum.

[G. Szabo]

Regarding the humidifier, I got up this morning after a fairly good sleep (I actually had a vivid dream which is rare, so maybe that indicates I slept better using CPAP again). When I looked at my water level it hadn’t moved at all; literally none used. I had machine set to 4. Surely the level should have dropped. Tonight I’ll set it to maximum.

You should increase the hose temperature along with the humidity increase to prevent condensation.

[ubuntootoo]

i don’t have a heated hose. ??‍♂️

[G. Szabo]

Then it would be best if you did not go to the maximum immediately. Instead, try to increase it gradually until you experience condensation. There is no point in going above that. The ultimate solution is a heated hose. With that, you can use high humidities.

[ubuntootoo]

Hi,

I thought I'd post an update in case it benefits someone. I'd been using my humidifier for some time but I was either having no humidity or I was being woken by gurgling noises and loads of condensation. My only reason for the humidifier was to hopefully eliminate nasal sores. The hospital were reluctant to send me a heated tube because apparently they're VERY expensive and can only be issued after all other solutions have been tried. 

I've found a solution which seems to work for me. That is NO humidifier, and instead all I do is smear vaseline up each nostril before putting mask on. I don't know if vaseline is a brand everyone here will know, but it's petroleum jelly. So far, after about 1 month of this, I've had zero sores and no issues whatsoever. 

I guess the humidifier might be more necessary in drier climates. Here in Scotland it seems to be damp most of the time. 

Hopefully someone else might find this useful. 

[Deborah K.]

Good for you!    I'm so glad you found something that has solved your problem.