How to reduce drooling?

[ATeam91]

Dear Apnea Board Community,

I bought and tried every mask out there. Due to periodic nasal obstruction throughout the night, I cannot use the nasal only masks but find the full face masks very comfortable and sleep all night with them. I have found best results with a ResMed F20 air touch full face mask. The memory foam is much more comfortable and makes a better seal.

My current frustration is I wake up 2-3 times a night with a little puddle of drool in the corner of the mask and the foam is all wet, and I have to take it off to dry it. I think the drooling itself is waking me up. I have tried the cervical collars, the knightsbridge chin strap, all the other chin straps, custom oral appliances with rubber bands, every pillow under the sun, you name it. I have not been successful at keeping my jaw from dropping while I sleep, but honestly, this aspect does not bother me too much since I use a full face mask and have to breathe out of my mouth for a lot of the night anyways. My AHI is always low and around .3 and in general I feel pretty refreshed.

It is a minor but annoying inconvenience to have to wake up and wipe drool out of the mask and my face, and wake my partner up with the leaking air noises. I tried mask liners, stuffing cotton balls and tissue inside the mask, no luck. I find the airtouch foam actually helps the most as the foam will absorb a lot of the saliva before waking me. I know this is a little gross but it is our reality

I have played with my temperature and humidity settings to optimize what is comfortable and prevent rainout. Any other tips on how to reduce the drooling?

Thank you

[car54]

Maybe it is condensation from too much humidity.

[ATeam91]

I tried reducing humidity to almost zero to see if that would improve it. Same issue. It's not condensation in the tubing, its always in the mask right at the corners of my mouth.

[Deborah K.]

If you drool a lot most nights you might need to apply mouth tape.  In that case, you would probably do better with a pillows mask or possibly a nasal mask.  They leak a lot less than full-face, and wearing tape under a full-face mask might make that mask leak.

[ATeam91]

The leakage isn't the concern, it's that I periodically need to breathe out of my mouth every night due to nasal cycles and periodic obstruction. So mouth tape is out of the question too, unfortunately. I tried it, I wake up in a panic and have to rip it off with a plugged nose.

Same goes for the nasal only masks, pillows or cushions. Need a full face mask for optimal therapy and not waking up due to nasal obstruction.

[tbhausen]

Maybe not possible for you, but I'll post in case it might help others someday:

Perhaps slit or puncture the mouth tape so you can breathe through it if necessary, yet it still seals the corners of your mouth to keep the drool in so it's less likely to wake you up? I started with a F20i and was drooling into it, but switched to pillows (first Bleep Eclipse, then a P30i). I've learned that the "direct injection" (I'm a car guy) from the pillows really keeps my nose clearer during sleep. I've also learned to almost completely control mouth breathing. The only time I'll ever use a FFM again is if I'm just too congested to use pillows (that hasn't happened yet).

[ATeam91]

I appreciate that. I tried all of the nasal pillow/cradle masks and sizes, they simply did not get enough airflow in my nose to breathe comfortably for some reason. Same thing with the F30i, the hybrid design just doesn't get enough air in the nose compared to the full face mask F20. The F20 really gets a lot of air into my nose.

I have not tried the bleep eclipse yet but that one does interest me.

[SleepyDawg]

I use same mask and occasionally drool when side sleeping.  I reduce drooling effects by having something in my mouth which reminds my brain to swallow.  I’ve used the xylimelts, gum, and Ricola lozenges.