Using nasal pillows with cold sores in nose?

[sleepytimegal]

I am going though a rough intestinal flu period right now. Yesterday I woke up with a multitude of cold sores under my nose and inside my nose - I am prone to these and it's where they usually turn up. I have some medication and it's eliminating the pain pretty much. I look so bad anyway that I'm not even that concerned cosmetically.

My question is this: Do you think there's a problem with spreading the cold sore (herpes) germ through my respiratory system by using my nasal pillows? I'm wondering if I should use the mask, but feel I should because I'm very severe.

Thanks for you comments and opinions. I wish I would have thought about this during the day when I could have contacted my sleep doctor.

Sleepytimegal

[PaytonA]

I think that is probably a question that should be posed to your MD.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[sleepytimegal]

Yes, I did get in touch with my sleep doctor and he said I should not be using the machine with cold sores inside my nose. Unfortunately I had been using it for several days before it dawned on me it might not be a good idea.

This is a hard flu to get over. I believe my intestinal flu turned respiratory. It's really getting me down. And I don't like not using my machine when I was told I needed to use it every night. Wish me luck.

[DariaVader]

I would use the machine, but not with pillows. you have to breathe no matter how you slice it - CPAP doesn't change the path of the breath - but the pillows would exacerbate the sores, IMO.

I highly recommend black seed oil as a healing agent - fwiw.

[PaytonA]

Sleepytimegal,

The ideal is to sleep using your CPAP every night. This improves your sleep and health, and we tend to be kind of pushy about using CPAP every night but in reality a few nights missed here and there are not that big a thing. It is the mind set that is important.

I will tell you that, since I started using the CPAP all night long, I have only slept without it one night when I was in the hospital. Not sure that I slept that much that night but I did not have the CPAP. I did not mind sleeping without the CPAP but I find it very difficult to get to sleep without the darn thing hanging off my face. What a turnabout that is.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[Beej]

As near as I can see searching with Google, HSV does not appear to be an airborne virus, so what you want to use are contact prevention approaches.
That means diligent cleaning of anything touching the blisters, be it equipment, or fingers.

[trish6hundred]

Hi sleepytimegal,
I hope you get over the flu soon.
If you have a different type of mask, you could still use your machine.
Hang in there for more suggestions.

[sleepytimegal]

What you guys said made perfect sense. If my nose is not too sore for the pillows there is no reason to forego the machine. I'm back on it tonight.