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[CPAP] Dealing with Dry Mouth
#1
Dealing with Dry Mouth
I am new to using a CPAP and am currently trying out the Philips Respironics System One with humidifier.
I have tried both the nasal pillow and the full face mask as well as both the heated tube and non-heated tube.

I am wakened during the night with dry mouth, regardless of what configuration of equipment I use. Apparently this is because my mouth opens. I've tried a chin strap with the nasal pillow, but still had issues as the strap would fail and my mouth would fall open (I'm guessing)

Anybody have any experience or suggestions for this.
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#2
RE: Dealing with Dry Moutn
Have you looked at your leaks? Is your humidifier nearly empty or completely empty when you wake up? Because it could be leaks causing it.

Xylimelts work well as a bandaid fix although they won't fix the underlying problem, whether it is mouth opening, mask leaks or an improperly configured humidifier.
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#3
RE: Dealing with Dry Mouth
(05-31-2014, 10:56 PM)eviltim Wrote: Have you looked at your leaks? Is your humidifier nearly empty or completely empty when you wake up? Because it could be leaks causing it.

Xylimelts work well as a bandaid fix although they won't fix the underlying problem, whether it is mouth opening, mask leaks or an improperly configured humidifier.

Thanks for the response eviltim.

Apparently, there are little to no leaks (according to the data) The humidifier has never run dry, but sometimes gets lower than others.

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#4
RE: Dealing with Dry Moutn
Hi normhamilton,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
You could try turning up your humidity a bit and see if that helps.
Hang in there for more suggestions and best of luck to you on your CPAP journey.
trish6hundred
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#5
RE: Dealing with Dry Moutn
Dry mouth common, caused by mouth breathing, cannot be help much if you,re mouth breathing and using full face mask

i use nasal mask and chinstrap worn over the mask, helps keeps mouth closed and mask in place

Practice breathing through your nose and mouth closed during the day so becomes habit to do so during the night too .... practice makes perfect

Have you tried turning off humidifier and using passover humidification (water in tank but no heat)
Everyone is different, heated humidity can make nasal breathing worse for some people and the opposite true for others

Nasal cleansing before bedtime helps (neti pot or squeezy bottle)

Dry mouth can also be caused or worsened by dehydration, drink plenty of water during the day especially if you drink a lots of coffee

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#6
RE: Dealing with Dry Mouth
This may or may not help.

I'm a mouth breather and a FF makes me wake up with cotton wool feeling in my mouth.
Started using a Nasal Mask and it improved immensely but i still had a bit of it...

I found that as long as I took away the 2 pillows I have always slept on and only now use one and for some reason, that position stops me from opening my mouth.

I changed my machine and everything last night and for the first time in a while I had dry mouth as well but it will be for another reason I have just not yet figured out.


Generally I am assuming that position, being straighter, rather than propped up shifts whatever is needed in me, at least, so I don't open my mouth. Tried putting the pillow back just to see and I had dry mouth again.

Good Luck, you will figure it out, hopefully right away...
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#7
RE: Dealing with Dry Mouth
Welcome to my world...

I'm relatively new to CPAP...started therapy 6 weeks ago or so. I've never slept with my mouth open and according to my wife, even when I snored terribly, my mouth was closed. But now...contrary to what I may have posted a couple of weeks ago (so sorry to anyone that read that...I was in denial apparently), I am indeed starting to experience mouth leaks which causes the extremely dry mouth issue. Last night was probably my worst night ever...I bet I woke up a dozen times due to dry mouth.

I tried the singular chin strap...which did nothing to help. It just wasn't strong enough, and it slipped off a lot. I got a different style of chin strap...one that has two or three points to hold it into place, much like my nasal mask straps...and that helped immensely, but it was too small...I'm waiting on a larger size to come to my DME tomorrow. Maybe try a different style of chin strap?

Upping your humidity won't help if you are having mouth leaks. So don't bother. With all that air flow pushing through your mouth, it will dry you out even if the setting is as high as possible.

And for the record, I was using a nasal mask, but switched to nasal pillows with a chin strap.
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#8
RE: Dealing with Dry Mouth
Don't overcompensate with the chinstrap by making it too tight. The idea to stop mouth breathing is that you have to learn to keep the jaw forward, with the tongue against the roof of the mouth. The chinstrap is supposed to "encourage" that idea, not force it. If you force it, you might actually encourage the jaw to drop down, not remain in a natural forward state. Also you'll encourage that crappy little gland between your ear and you jaw to hurt like crazy. At least mine did.

So yes, definitely use a chinstrap, but don't crank it down all that much.
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#9
RE: Dealing with Dry Mouth
(06-01-2014, 10:07 AM)BamaSteve Wrote: Welcome to my world...

I'm relatively new to CPAP...started therapy 6 weeks ago or so. I've never slept with my mouth open and according to my wife, even when I snored terribly, my mouth was closed. But now...contrary to what I may have posted a couple of weeks ago (so sorry to anyone that read that...I was in denial apparently), I am indeed starting to experience mouth leaks which causes the extremely dry mouth issue. Last night was probably my worst night ever...I bet I woke up a dozen times due to dry mouth.

Don't feel too bad BamaSteve, I was in denial about my mouth leaks when I got here and for a year before that. It took me being able to look at my detailed data and even then it took me a while to admit to myself that I was leaking through my mouth.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Admin Note:
PaytonA passed away in September 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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#10
RE: Dealing with Dry Mouth
(05-31-2014, 10:27 PM)normhamilton Wrote: I am wakened during the night with dry mouth, regardless of what configuration of equipment I use. Apparently this is because my mouth opens. I've tried a chin strap with the nasal pillow, but still had issues as the strap would fail and my mouth would fall open (I'm guessing)
Anybody have any experience or suggestions for this.
Hi Norm, after six years of nasal pillows, chin strap and mouth taping, I have resorted to a FFM to remedy mouth leaks, or to be more exact, therapy air exhausting via mouth. I found with APAP the air pressure would increase enough to blow the tape away allowing the air to gush out drying out my mouth and waking me. The FFM I found, didn't solve the issue completely but is way better. With my FFM I use a chin strap. I still have leaks, but little or no dry mouth.
There's a lot on this forum about hydration & relative humidity & their relationship to dry mouth. When we go to bed, under the covers, RH drops way down below the ambient. Surprising but true. This contributes to bodily dehydration with accompanying dry mouth. However body temperature (heat) remains constant all night. Below is a graph from my data logger showing this. Hope this helps.
[Image: tn_dl_6_8_14.png]

[Image: signature.png]Keep on breathin'
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