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Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
#1
Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
I'm trying to find nasal pillows with headgear that will fit my wife better than what we've tried.  She is short, so her head is on the smallish side (on most masks of all kinds, the initial fit is close to the adjustment limit; as soon as the headgear stretches a little, there is no adjustment left in the straps).  Her hair is also silky, so there is no friction for the headgear, and it slides off.  The issue is that the rear strap of the masks we've tried generally falls at the back of her head, near the widest portion of her head.  It slides off and the mask leaks.  Making the strap tighter just causes it to slide off immediately.

So we're looking for nasal pillows with headgear that has the rear strap at a steep enough angle down so it falls closer to her neck, and would need to stretch over the wider area of the back of her head to slip off.

What we've tried:

For many years after switching to nasal pillows, she used various ResMed Swift masks--Mirage Swift, Swift FX, and Swift LT.  In recent years, she's used the Aloha.  However, we're now looking to solve the leakage problem caused by the headgear slipping.  Of the old masks we have around for backup, the Swift LT headgear rides lowest at the back of her head (but still not really low enough), so she's switching back temporarily until we can identify something with a better headgear fit.

What I've found online:

Many of the full face masks have headgear that actually fits against the back of the neck.  That would be ideal, but I can't find nasal pillows with headgear that rides that low in back (and she would prefer to stick with nasal pillows for comfort). 

It's hard to tell from online pictures whether promising masks actually ride low in back.  A few with pictures that look like they might: Philips Respironics DreamWear Silicone Pillow Mask, Philips Respironics Nuance, ResMed AirFit P30i, ResMed AirFit P10 (for Her), and ResMed Swift FX Nano (For Her).  I don't know if the "for her" versions are actually designed to fit women's heads better.  Resmed makes the Bella headgear for the Swift FX, which loops around your ears, but many people seem to find that uncomfortable.  There is a Deluxe Nasal Pillow Mask by Sunset Healthcare that looks like the rear strap comes down at a steep angle, but I can find almost nothing about it. 

There are also a few masks that don't use headgear, like the Bleep DreamPort Sleep Solution that uses an interface that glues to your nose (panned by users for nor staying on), and TAP PAP Nasal Pillow Mask that is mounted to a mouthpiece (she wouldn't be able to use that).

We buy CPAP stuff online, rather than through a local DME supplier, so it can get challenging and expensive to try random masks.

I'm guessing this is a common problem for women, so I'm hoping to benefit from other peoples' experience in identifying nasal pillows with headgear that rides low in back so it doesn't slip off (or identifying masks among those listed above that actually don't ride low in back so I can rule them out), or an alternate solution.
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#2
RE: Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
Yes, finding masks that fit women with small heads, small noses and not much hair like me is hard! I tried a couple of nasal pillows early on but stuck with the Phillips Wisp for 5 years with good success. They have a small headgear and a petite cushion. When I started having problems with my mouth blowing open (not mouth breathing) I had to go to a full face mask and sizing was even worse. The Wisp headgear comes down on the neck, under the bump at the back of the head, and stays put.
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#3
RE: Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
The ResMed
N30
P30
N30i
p30i

with this head gear, it does not slip.


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#4
RE: Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
(10-23-2021, 09:59 PM)SideSleeper Wrote: I tried a couple of nasal pillows early on but stuck with the Phillips Wisp for 5 years with good success.

Thanks for the suggestion, we weren't familiar with the Wisp.  The headgear looks perfect.  We were hoping to find nasal pillows that work, rather than going back to a nasal mask.  But if we need to, the Wisp looks promising.
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#5
RE: Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
(10-23-2021, 10:37 PM)staceyburke Wrote: The ResMed
N30
P30
N30i
p30i

with this head gear, it does not slip.

Thanks for the reply.  The pictures for those masks look like the back strap falls in roughly the same location as the Swift LT, but we'll check them out.
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#6
RE: Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
Actually the Bleep stays on quite well as long as you prep your skin with witch hazel before you put the DreamPorts on. And there are no straps on your head or face - wonderful!
Machine:  ResMed AirCurve 10 Vauto
Mask:  Bleep DreamPort Sleep Solution
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#7
RE: Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
I use the Phillips Nuance Pro headgear, because it does not cause sores under my nose like other nasal pillow masks, and it does not leak. Like your wife, I have a small head and was almost out of "territory" to attach the velcro to the headgear. I solved this problem by removing the stitching that attaches the back strap to the headgear, cutting an inch off of each end of the back strap, and sewing the strap back onto the headgear. Perfect fit! 

You may want to consider this if the only problem she has with a mask is that the strap is too big.
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#8
RE: Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
(10-24-2021, 08:08 PM)Deborah K. Wrote: Actually the Bleep stays on quite well as long as you prep your skin with witch hazel before you put the DreamPorts on.

That mask looks interesting.  But the consumables look very expensive.  With regular nasal pillows, and replacing the headgear and nose piece when they wear out, the total cost averages about $100 per year.  For the Bleep, it looks like the total cost is more on the order of $750-$800 per year.  We're kinda hoping we can find a regular mask that works and is comfortable to avoid that budget hit if it isn't necessary.
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#9
RE: Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
(10-24-2021, 09:04 PM)readingteacher Wrote: I use the Phillips Nuance Pro headgear, because it does not cause sores under my nose like other nasal pillow masks, and it does not leak. Like your wife, I have a small head and was almost out of "territory" to attach the velcro to the headgear. I solved this problem by removing the stitching that attaches the back strap to the headgear, cutting an inch off of each end of the back strap, and sewing the strap back onto the headgear. Perfect fit! 

You may want to consider this if the only problem she has with a mask is that the strap is too big.

The Nuance is one that looks promising, so thanks for that input.  In our case, the headgear slipping off isn't because there's not enough adjustment to make it tighter.  That problem is mainly that the back strap rides too high and slips off over her hair.  It looks like the Nuance back strap rides a lot lower and would be less prone to slipping off. 

Our problem with running out of adjustment territory has meant that the headgear doesn't remain functional very long.  We can make it fit initially, but as soon as it stretches a little and needs tightening, there's nothing left to attach the Velcro to.  I like your solution of making it shorter.  We've never tried stitching headgear, but there's nothing to lose in trying it if it will otherwise need to be replaced, anyway.
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#10
RE: Nasal pillows with good woman's headgear fit
I’m a small woman too, and understand the problem. The Dreamwear line of masks (pillows, cushion, full face) come with a small frame that fits well for me. The strap rides quite low on my head and only slips up when I’m on my back (I’m a side sleeper).
The standard fit pack is a medium, so make sure you request small.
HTH.
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