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Nose pillow

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Rherndon71 +0 points · almost 6 years ago Original Poster

I am new to my CPAP and they started me off with a nose pillow. After wearing it for a couple of days it was starting to make the inside of my left nostril dry and hurt really bad. It felt like the cartridge on the inside of my nose was dried out and very painful but the right nostril is fine. Any suggestions on what I can do to keep it from drying out or being so painful? I also use the humidifier.

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sleeptech +0 points · almost 6 years ago Sleep Enthusiast

How is your humidifier set? Also, you may need to swap from an "up the nose" mask (intranasal) to an "around the nose" mask (nasal).

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jstevie +0 points · over 5 years ago

It is important to have the correctly sized pillow. My clinician started me on the wrong size, and I struggled between discomfort and good seal until I got the right size figured out (medium). Still it was uncomfortable for 1-2 weeks. I got the tiny pimples, red spots and rashes. Now acclimated to the medium pillow (3-4 months use) it's not sweat. Keep the faith.

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Sierra +0 points · over 5 years ago Sleep Patron

I agree with jstevie. The fit is important. I have tried two nasal pillow masks. In the ResMed AirFit P10 design I tried the large and medium size cushion. The medium seals better and the large is more comfortable. I have settled on the large. I also tried the Brevida nasal pillow and could not find any size that I could live with. If that was all I had, I probably could tough it out and get used to it with longer use. Not worth it to me, so the Brevida goes into the discarded mask bin. I'm sure it is a personal fit to the mask issue, and not a basic design issue with the mask.

113 posts
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snuzyQ +0 points · over 5 years ago Sleep Commentator

A dab of AYR saline nasal gel in each nostril goes a long way in improving the seal of a nasal pillows mask, preventing sores, and increasing wearer comfort. My AYR gel has aloe vera in it. So nice!

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purplefan100 +0 points · over 5 years ago

what is ayr gel ? i have never heard of it before. but I am also new to sleep apnea.

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snuzyQ +0 points · over 5 years ago Sleep Commentator

You can pick this up at any drug store. It's a squeeze tube (small) of a gel-like lubricant made from normal saline solution. Mine has some aloe vera in it. It's very soothing.

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