One particular respiratory device that is helping many people who are suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is the full face respirator mask. The full face mask is sealed around the mouth and nose in the shape of triangle and is held in one place by four headgear. This mask is mainly used by individuals who breath through their mouth when sleeping and don’t have positive experience with a chinstraps or nasal masks. Generally, a full face respirator mask is bulkier and heavier than the nasal mask, simply because it covers both the mouth and the nose. The most common reasons why you may need to wear a full face mask during the night are:
- You have chronic sinus issues, which means that you can’t breathe through your nose.
- You need to wear a CPAP mask when your nose is congested due to cold or seasonal allergies.
- Your mouth is open during sleep and a nasal mask nor chinstrap help.
Wearing a CPAP full face respirator mask requires regular maintenance and cleaning, otherwise mask leaks can occur. Leaks can occur as a result of:
- The mask is not sealed properly
- The full face mask does not fit your face properly
- You are breathing through your mouth, or
- The mask is too old, big or is just a wrong style.
All these reasons may cause mask leaks which are the most common problem with the CPAP therapy. Such leaks appear when the air from the CPAP machine is leaking between your face and the mask. Another common problem is the mouth leak when your mouth is open when sleeping, thus most of the air does not enter your lungs.
Air leaking into your eyes is usually a sign that your full face respirator mask is too big, (wide or long) and there are leaks at the base of the nose. Leaks may also occur under the nose due to facial hair. As the silicone in the mask cushion gets old, they become too soft to hold the mask. If this is the case, the cushion your full face mask must be removed and replaced with a new one. Mask leaks may also be caused by pillow pushing and changing the sleeping position during night.
Mask leaks have many side effects, and each can be quite bad for the two main reasons:
- Mask leaks may significantly reduce the ability of your CPAP machine to maintain the required pressure; may harm the ability of the CPAP machine sensors to discover what is going on, and may prevent the CPAP algorithms from properly responding.
- Mask leaks may disturb you while sleeping as the cpap machine may blow air in your eyes or make disturbing noises.
If you are facing leak problems with your full face respirator mask, here are few solution that may help:
- Choose only high quality full face respirator mask from well known manufacturers of CPAP devices. The masks from reputable manufactures are specially designed to provide maximum seal and comfort, and can totally eliminate the mouth leaks problems.
- For maximum efficiency and best results, make sure you clean your mask on a regular basis.
- New positive pressure devices are available for preventing unintentional leaks. These devices will ensure that the right air pressure is always maintained.
- Use heated humidifiers, they generally reduce the effect of nasal congestion and mouth leaks.
