Dry mouth problems with CPAP

by Elizabeth J.
(Washington)

I have been using the cpap machine for a while and it has been drying out my mouth and throat. I have a lot of allergy problems and I'm wondering if there is a way to fix the drying out problem.

Answer

Dry mouth in patients with CPAP is a very common problem. This is happening due to mouth breathing if you use nasal mask or nasal pillows, or if you have a high leak rate.

Too high of a leak rate can reduce PAP therapy effectiveness. Too high a leak rate can also cause the need for higher PAP pressure than if Leaks were under control. BiPAPs can compensate for some leak but they have their compensatory limits.

If you are using a nasal mask or pillows, you might try a chinstrap or change to a Full Face Mask.

Speaking for a woman who probably likes as little on the face as possible - I can recommend the full face mask Mirage Liberty by ResMed.

Make sure to scroll down the page and click on the videos which show how they seat on the face!

I highly recommend you visit your local home healthcare supplier - see it, try it on - take your machine with you if possible so you can try this and other full face masks on WITH machine set to your pressure. Sometimes, the suppliers have machines there that they can set to your pressure to help when trying on masks - call em and ask first.

Only YOU will be able to know what feels and fits best on your face, and you have to decide by trying them on in person!

Do you have an integrated, heated humidifier with your CPAP? Have you adjusted the settings on that humidifier? Some nights you may need more humidity than another.

There is a special product for CPAP users with dry mouth problems, too. You can learn more about how to avoid dry mouth problems on this link.

I hope it helps!

Happy New Year!
Remy