Hi. I've just started using the Breeze with the nasal pillows and I find that the whole front of the mask digs into my nose. My nose starts aching after a short while and I can't keep it on. There doesn't appear to be any way to make it looser. In fact, the whole thing has a tendency to slip off when I turn over. I'm new to all of this and after just five nights I'm ready to call it quits. I'm not getting much sleep at all. Maybe dental appliances work better... Please, does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

I had a similar problem with the breeze.  You might try a different mask, I switch between 2, the Aura and the Comfort Curve.  Both put much less pressure on your nose than the Breeze.  You might check with Rested Gal, as a resident lab rat   I think she has personally tried EVERY mask!  She might have some suggestions for you.  

As for dental devices, they only work for some people and they take getting used to also.  Stick with it, with the right mask, its a piece of cake.

Hi Narinia,

I've tried quite a few masks, but nowhere near all of them, as Mike jokingly said.  My pocketbook isn't that deep!  

Do you sleep mainly on your back or do you sleep on your sides?   The Breeze does have an unfortunate tendency to tug upward on the nostrils for back sleepers.   I sleep mostly on my side, turning often from side to side.  The Breeze is one of my favorites for very comfortable sidesleeping.

I suppose you've already tried changing the angle of how the shell that holds the nasal pillows meets your nostrils.  There's a tiny screw bolt down there that you can loosen, then tilt the shell and tighten the bolt again.

There are some tricks to getting along well with the Breeze.  One trick is to hang the main air hose up above your head so that it doesn't pull on the headgear - a good tip to use with any mask, actually.  Fasten a loop of something (bungee, ponytail scrunchy, piece of cloth) up on the headboard or wall behind your head.  Run the main air hose through the loop so that you can toss and turn like a fish on the end of a slack line below it.  

Another trick is to use the stabilizing optional side straps down very low.  They don't have to be tight - just lower than they are shown in most ad pictures for the Breeze.  I place the side straps of my Breeze down even lower than the lowest slot of the "track" in front.  I don't use the slider on the track.  I put straps across the front of my Breeze, as shown in this picture I retouched:


Wearing the straps down low that way seems to keep the Breeze steadier...on me, anyway.

You might want to try a bigger nasal pillows size than what you have now.  Bigger nasal pillows than most DME's would say fit you.   ("DME" is message board shorthand for the home health supplies store that you get your "durable medical equipment" from.)

If you're using the clear colored nasal pillows with your Breeze, those are size "medium".  You might want to try "Large" (light mint green colored pillows.)  Bigger than what you, or the DME, think you should have cushion better as they stay more outside the nostrils.  With smaller ("These fit you!") nasal pillows there's a tendency to try to tighten everything up and cram the pillows up into the nostrils to prevent leaks.  When it comes to nasal pillows, "bigger" than you think you should have is usually better -- both for comfort and a good seal outside the nostrils.

There are many adjustment areas on the Breeze.  You might want to check out the link below...the poster nicknamed "WillSucceed" wrote some very detailed instructions for working with the Breeze:

Aug 10, 2005   subject: Breeze Sleepgear Adjustments

You might want to try a Swift if you can't get your Breeze to behave for you after trying some fixes.  Many people who want to use a nasal pillows interface have very good luck with the ResMed Swift, right out of the box.  It comes with all three sizes of nasal pillows.  That's a big plus, as you can try the other sizes at home instead of having just a few minutes "fitting" to determine the size pillows you need.  

The Aura nasal pillows mask that Mike mentioned is my #1 favorite...very, very soft at the nostrils.  I hesitate to recommend it to women though.  The straps of the Aura's headgear are too long for many women's heads, imho.  I made a LOT of drastic changes to the Aura to make it suit me perfectly.   The "de-construction" changes I made to my Aura can be seen at:

aura-SawPlastic2.jpg

aura-NoLockbox2.jpg

There are soooo many masks "out there" ...you're bound to find one that suits you if you keep looking.  Can be expensive, I know, but it's well worth it to stick with the search for a comfortable mask.  The mask is a very big key to getting good cpap treatment.

Good luck!    

Thanks for responding. I ended up attaching a big sponge under the front of the nosepiece which keeps it from pressing too hard into my nose. I then got another elastic velcro strap and tied it so that it stays on my head better. I still can't really sleep with it on but I'm trying.

You can also wear a sports headband over the breeze headgear to hold it in place.  Like the picture above but with a headband instead.


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