British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

My mask makes my face swollen. I also suffer from blocked nose and sneezing whilst wearing mask, which culminates in severe cold-like/allergy symptoms. I then have to stop wearing the mask until the symptoms subside (up to a week!)
Would nasal pillows be a better option ?

Could it be that you are allergic to the material of your mask? (There are other masks made of different components.)

I didn't tolerate nasal pillows at all even though I tried hard to like them. Might you also consider trying a full face mask if you are only using a nasal mask at present?

I think you should go back to your sleep clinic/technician/equipment provider asap ... it does you no good overall health-wise to stop using your equipment even if it's to stop the reaction.

If you are a mouth breather nasal pillows won't be much use to you unless you wear a chinstrap .
That will be even more un-comfortable than the full face mask.

Perhaps look into hybrid masks they cover the nose/and mouth areas but are less obstructive than a full face mask.

Resmed Mirage Liberty Hybrid mask




Regards,

If its is a nasal mask you use nasal pillows might work for you, but make sure you get ones you can get on with. There are quite a few out there.
You really need to try them and they do take a bit of getting used to as they got slightly into the nostrels and can irritate the inside of the nostrels for a while or they get used to them.

Do you have a humidifer?
This can help with irritation.
I found I had to turn the setting well up to stop sneezing, the machine I have now even turned full up is barely enough compared to the old one, but I get by.
If you do not have a humidifer get one, start at a mid setting and adjust till symtoms stop.
If you have a full face mask you are stuck with it if you are a mouth breather. Only thing you can do is turn up the humidifer.
If on the slim chance you have an alergy to silicone there is a mask called a Sleepweaver which is made of material instead of silicone and plastic. Not used one myself but if you are not a mouth breather this may be another option open to you.
Also make sure you are not overtightening the straps on the mask. They should be just tight enough to seal leaks, if you have to have it very tight you have the wrong size of mask.
Also make sure you clean the seal every night with a wipe.

S2S

Do you suffer from hay fever etc normally? There are a lot of people allergic to human dust mites, my son is, every bedroom is full of dust mites. If your CPAP is sucking them up and blowing them into your respiratory system that might be the problem. Perhaps you should talk to your technician about whether the filter is working as well as it should.

Filters need changing every 6 months in my experience, but can be 'shaken' or flicked to get rid of clinging dust in the meantime. It helps to keep your machine on a hard surface and not on a carpet.

I think dust mites are much smaller and need more than just a bit of gauze.

My machine has two types of filter. The general one which I use but you can also get an additional allergen filter if you need one (which sits in along side the normal air filter). They do need changing more often and that's probably an expense for the NHS but if you need them then I'd ask whether or not your machine comes along with the option for an extra filter.

Mine like Alsa's just need a wee shake each week when I'm doing my general clean!