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I just got a new mask and I have had a terrible time adjusting it, but lately I have been awakening 4 or 5 or more times a night with my nose itching...outside and in. The type of nasal itches that make you jump!NOT good for getting restful sleep. Other than that, I sleep much better than with my old mask...you're supposed to replace them every six months...mine was 4 years old. Hell, it looked new. I wash it really often, but it had sort of become "me". Maybe this mask's defective. Maybe they added nasal itch enhancer when they made it. Maybe goblins are coming in late at night and tickling my nose through the mask...they have the capability to pass through solid objects, don't you know.
I think I'll just have my head cut off so there's a nice, wide open space to breathe from. Maybe I should stop trimming my nasal hairs with garden shears. Perhaps I'll just stop sleeping and watch Conan O'Brian re-runs all night.
Who the hell is he, he just showed up 20 years ago unannounced. I've never watched him, watched Letterman about twice, and spend the rest of those hours carving pumpkins out of watermelons.
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If I had more money I'd soon be broke...but I'd have more LPs!
Follow Ups:
My wife uses a Bi-PAP [fancier, more bells & whistles, plays both digital and vinyl]. She's had the same exact problems.Itchy nose and skin irritation; 1. mask is too tight [which also leads to it riding up during night]. 2. Nose piece is contaminated w/ "gouk" [a techincal term meaning skin oils, dirt, dead skin, snot, and possibly beer] Clean the nose piece w/ distilled water and white vinegar. Soak it for several minutes, then rinse w/ hot water then rinse w/ distilled.
You may also need to clean your face w/ something to remove any excess oils. 3. Others have mentioned using the humidifier on your C=PAP, absolutely necessary! You are using distilled / filtered water? Otherwise you'll accumulate deposits in the machine, mask, and nose. [nasal stalactites are chic non ne plus ultre' BTW]Good luck and remember "A C+PAP nap beats a 'Dirt Nap' every time!"
Pete [I don't snore, that air leaking out of my head]S.
Disturbed is a life style...deal with it.
Itchy schnozz (Hey, I grew up in Wisconsin, ok?) would make me think of 3 things:1. New mask is different style than old mask, applying external or internal direct pressure to nasal skin and/or nasal lining mucosa, causing mechanical irritation. If new mask is the same model as the old mask, please disregard. If new mask is different, consider return to old style. (not Old Style, which is a beer I drank far too much of while growing up in Wisconsin)
2. Dry nasal mucosa can itch like the dickens. If you have a humidifier for your CPAP, this is not likely. If you don't, has the air in your house been drier recently (increased use of forced-air heating, nighttime bonfires in your bedroom, etc)? Drier air = drier nose = itchy nose. Your old mask probably leaked like a sieve. Your new one is probably putting a lot more airflow through your nose. Even if the relative humidity of your room air hasn't changed, the increased airflow could be drying the mucosa, with the same result. Bottom line, a humidifier might help, if you are not already using one.
3. Allergic response. There are a lot of possibilities here. Contact allergy to mask material is not likely if your mask is silicone. If your mask is made of woven cat hair... maybe try a different model. If you haven't cleaned or changed the tubing or filters in awhile, there's lots of dust and bugs and stuff (scientific term: crapola) that can grow inside. You might want to consider a "Spring cleaning" for the machine. Speaking of Spring:
Have things started blooming back there? Do you have any daytime stuffiness/itchiness? If so you may be having a good ole' allergic rhinitis to environmental allergens. A couple possible helps here would be Claritin (over-the-counter) and/or an inhaled nasal steroid (prescription). You might also check if your machine has the option for placeing a HEPA filter on the outflow side. Please note: a rumble filter will not work nearly as well, here.Depending on the severity of your OSA, and the location or locations of your obstruction, a jaw repositioner might be a nonsurgical option to get you off the machine. Some people tolerate these just fine; some folks get some pretty big jaw joint and muscle pains.
Surgery is also a possible option. Surgery varies from mild to wild, again based on the severity and location of the obstruction. The key here is to get the obstruction corrected at whatever level of the airway is involved : inside the nose = septoplasty; pretty easy surgery. Soft palate = radiofrequency shortening and stiffening ( piece of cake. I've had it done, but only good for mild cases). Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP for short - worst sore throat of your life for about 2 weeks... but that's why God invented Percocet) Recent literature suggests the laser-assisted uvuloplasty (LAUP for short) has a poor long-term success rate. If the obstruction is at the level of the tongue, there are surgeries to move the chin forward (pretty easy) the entire lower jaw forward (pretty easy, but think possible numb lip and no solid food for 6 weeks) move both the upper and lower jaws forward (pretty easy compared to thoracotomy or joint replacement, but think possible numb lip, no solid food, and really stuffy nose for awhile after surgery) or taking a big wedge out of the back of the tongue to make it smaller (think "holy mother of crap, how did I let them talk me into doing this?")
Bottom line with surgery is: find a surgeon who is familiar with figuring out where the obstruction is happening, and familiar with surgical correction at all levels. Getting your soft palate operated on is not gonna help if the obstruction is in the nose or at the tongue base!
Best of luck to you in sorting out your machine!
I hadn't been turning on the heater for the humidifier! I remembered to do so last night and it was quite a bit better!I had a UPPP...it hurt, hurt, hurt, and did no good! Perhaps they've gotten better at it since the 80's but I will never go through it again! On top of the nurse tripping over all of my I-Vs as she ran after another patient who was walking down the hall, dragging his I-Vs behind him, and awakening from the op with the breathing tube still down my throat and having to endure that for about 10 minutes (5 minute??? 20 seconds???). I screamed for the entire time and I'd warned them that I was extremely paranoid and claustrophobic because of a horrid experience with me and a drain pipe when I was about 12 (Big kids shouldn't crawl into pipes).
I have had a gazillion operations and they get the tube out before I'm fully awake (I realize it has to stay in there until I am awake), but that experience was terrible. I have always had exemplary experiences in my various ops (I've been under general or heavy sedation at least 13 times that I can recall)...I'm the operation king! BUT, Hershey Medical Center sucks!
Anyway, this was another learning experience...they come from very odd directions sometimes, whoda thunk using the humidifier without heat would cause an itchy nose.
You sound like you are really knowledgeable, are you an ENT? I tried a nose mask with my last sleep study...I should have gone with one, this one is exactly the same as my last one full face, like a jet pilot's, sort of, but it is new and does need to "settle" in. Just as the gasket's adjusted to my face it'll be time for another mask!
To all you other guys...if you or someone you know snores heavily, get a sleep study done! It's very important that you do so!
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If I had more money I'd soon be broke...but I'd have more LPs!
I am not familiar with a C-PAP, but it sounds to me like your nasal passages may be too dry. Do you pick your nose often? Have a tendency of growing large crusty boogers?I don't know what I am talking about, but you already knew that.
but we do talk on the phone every day or two. ;~)
That you'll either kiss a fool or get your nose punched. And since your lady wife is anything but a fool, I'd start learning to box ;-)Seriously, I'm not familiar with a C-PAP so I can't comment on that, but there are few things more torturous than an itchy nose that refuses to be itched - like the itch is indeed buried under the flesh of the nose and ya just can't geddit - I'd tell an interrogator anything they wanted to know with that kind of abuse lol.
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