Cervical collar with xPAP question

[HalfAsleep]

I've tried every which possibility for minimizing mouth breathing. Every thing I try seems to be worse than the rig I tried before.

I have tried using a cervical collar for several nights....but I'm getting hints from a few posts that maybe I'm not implementing it correctly for xPAP use.

If I had a neck injury and used a cervical collar, my goal is basically to encase my neck, supporting the chin.

Ergo....My understanding with xPAP is that the goal of using a cervical collar is to support the chin so that the lower jaw doesn't drop. (I never figured out why the upper jaw couldn't just open and thereby defeat the purpose.)

For many reasons, not least having to do with physiognomy, that scenario didn't work.

But now I've caught onto a phrase in a post of SleepRider in a different thread....

For the purposes of xPAP, the cervical collar nudges the back of the jaw (near the ear), more or less disabling jaw drop. Is that what's being said?

If only I could get something to work...

[OpalRose]

What is your leak rate on #SleepyHead showing?
Is it high enough that it affects therapy?

[PaulaO2]

The upper jaw doesn't open because it is part of the skull, unlike the lower jaw which is attached as a joint.

I've not used a cervical collar for anything but neck support. Part of that support is to provide a stop at the front to keep the head from falling forward. The back of the collar rests against the occipital bone, keeping the head from falling back.

The problem with foam collars is they basically only come in one size. Some places you can get smaller ones, but not easily available. For those with longer necks, they would need a taller collar. Perhaps if you found one of those, it would work.

I am not a fan of using foam collars for mouth breathing during CPAP use. I've had to wear cervical collars of various types and the idea of voluntarily wearing one when other things exist that do a better job, it just...I don't like it. I wish whoever had come up with the idea had never thought of it. But I know it works for some people. Some it does not. Some advocate its use as a cure-all.

I can't recall from your numerous posts if you have ever tried a true chin strap. And which one. There is a cloth one called the PAP cap you may want to try.

[HalfAsleep]

The upper jaw doesn't open because it is part of the skull, unlike the lower jaw which is attached as a joint.

I've not used a cervical collar for anything but neck support. Part of that support is to provide a stop at the front to keep the head from falling forward. The back of the collar rests against the occipital bone, keeping the head from falling back.

The problem with foam collars is they basically only come in one size. Some places you can get smaller ones, but not easily available. For those with longer necks, they would need a taller collar. Perhaps if you found one of those, it would work.

I am not a fan of using foam collars for mouth breathing during CPAP use. I've had to wear cervical collars of various types and the idea of voluntarily wearing one when other things exist that do a better job, it just...I don't like it. I wish whoever had come up with the idea had never thought of it. But I know it works for some people. Some it does not. Some advocate its use as a cure-all.

I can't recall from your numerous posts if you have ever tried a true chin strap. And which one. There is a cloth one called the PAP cap you may want to try.

Thanks, Paula, I've just noticed the PAPcap during browsing today.

I do have a collar that's likely tall enough, but like you, I'm not completely comfortable using a cervical collar as a part of therapy, but I'd really like to get a little past some of these body mechanics parts of the newbie CPAP process and then visit them again later. There are so many moving parts in all this. Even if something works short term I'd go for it until I have a better idea what I'm doing. 

No question the mouth breathing is severely impacting my therapy. Per the A10A 4Her my events were at 15 last night; since my diagnostic AHI was 18, either the diagnosis was wrong or I'm not getting anywhere. (I don't have an SD card reader yet, so I can't use SleepyHead). My mask does not leak (any more).

[PaulaO2]

I used the PAPcap as a way to try to stop my lip leaking. It is designed for that but easily works as a chin strap. I also had a clone of the Ruby Red chin strip which worked well and was adjustable. But it didn't help my lip leaking.

When you see the SH graphs, you can tell at the leak graph if you were mouth leaking or mask leaking. Mouth leaking is flat-ish topped while mask leaking is sharp peaks.

[Hojo]

I'm a mouth breather with a FFM mask and recently tried a collar to keep my jaw up, not to shut my mouth.  Since using the collar my OA's have gone from an average of 11/ night to 0.4/ night.  I'm going to keep using my collar.

[Sleeprider]

Glad to hear that worked out for you. Those of us that have been observing results on the forum were surprised a couple years ago to see that clusters of OA almost always responded better to a cervical collar than to increased pressure. I'm a believer, even though I have not needed the collar.

[OpalRose]

I’m a believer too, although I don’t mouth breath anymore.

I use a collar, and sometimes a small neck cushion to rest my chin on, as I tend to tuck my chin into my chest, so it stops me from doing that.

[HalfAsleep]

I got a cervical collar to work last night, but the mask leaked out of control....

[Hojo]

I got a cervical collar to work last night, but the mask leaked out of control....

Are you still using a nasal pillow or have to switched to a FFM? I really can't see a collar completely pushing the mouth closed. I tried a nasal pillow with a chin strap (and had it pretty darn tight) and no luck, had lots of leaks. I may not have been able to breath through my mouth very well, but I'm sure my mouth was open enough for the air to leak out.