Taping mouth

[rogerncormier74]

   

Has anyone used this stuff?  It is all I could find in town and is just 1 inch.  No 2 inch at all anywhere that I could find.
I just wanted to make sure there was not a reason why I should not try this. I figured I could try to overlap it a bit to try to make a 2 inch.
I have the 2 inch 3M Micropore stuff on order from Amazon, but was itching to try tonight, so I got this for lack of anything else.

Thanks.

[Gideon]

Tape up then assume your machine just lost power. Now open your mouth, no hands allowed. You will be able to open your mouth and breathe. By all means on a real situation use your hands, the jaw is a very strong muscle.

[mesenteria]

I have used the 3M NexCare 'water resistant' white tape, an inch wide, that comes in a white plastic spool with a 'collar' cover that the spools snaps into lightly.  It is widely available.   Press it firmly all over its surface, stiff finger tips.  Make sure the ends extend at least a full cm past the corners of the mouth.

Make sure your lips and mouth surroundings are clean, free of schmutz and of oils. 

The folded over tab at one end is important if you have to breathe quickly due to a sudden plugged nose, which many of us get just prior to arousal in the morning. 

Resist the urge to quickly rip off the tape.  Take an extra 1.5 seconds to pull it to one side and you'll be better off.  This will be every important to elderly people with frail and thinned skin.

[jas32]

Tried a few full face masks but I get the best sleep using a nasal pillow so I pursued fixing my mouth breathing by trying a few chin straps, Somnifix, Chin-up Strips, etc.  My best solution so far is mouth taping, a little different way than going all the way across.  

I just use a 1 inch 3M Micropore paper tape cut it about 1 3/4" lengths folded 1/8th" on both ends and place vertically over my mouth (yes both corners of my mouth are not covered by tape and could sometimes escape some air).  It works over 95% of the time and I'm good with it.  I added the folds on the ends to make it easier to peel off, and as others said take the time to slowly peel off the tape to avoid peeling some skin with it.

[BrockPlaysFN]

Thanks for the suggestion, never thought that I could tape my mouth shut 

[edfreeman]

Durable barrier cream will help if there's any skin irritation, also helps protect during tape removal. Just a dab, maybe an inch of it in your palm spread thinly where the tape will be:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CYP...UTF8&psc=1

Hypafix dressing retention tape is what I use, worked better for me than the others I tried:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014SU...UTF8&psc=1

[rogerncormier74]

   

Here are my stats from last night from me doing a test.
Last night I tried ONLY with a soft cervical collar. I did not tape by mouth, nor did I change to a different pillow. The night previous was just the tape.
Numbers seem better. I am not great at understanding the leak rate and what it good and bad, but from what I see on the graph it seems pretty good to me. Almost better than the mouth taping by itself for some reason.
Tonight I think I will try the soft collar + tape and see if that changes anything.

[AndyB]

Somnifix is a good product and works very well, but a much less expensive alternative is "BSN Cover-Roll stretch" tape. A 2-pack of 2 inch X 10 yard rolls currently costs U.S. $12.19 with free 1 day shipping in the U.S. from Mr. Bezos' online store. I learned about this alternative from the Lanky Lefty.

The cover-roll tape holds well and -- for me -- is less hard on my face than other tape when I peel it off in the morning. I've tried other medical tapes (e.g., 3M Micropore, etc.) but cover-roll stretch tape has been the most comfortable for me.

It takes me about 30 seconds each night to prepare a piece of tape for use.  Here's how I do it: (1) cut off a 6.5 cm length of tape from the roll, (2) trim off 1 cm from one side so the paper backing split is centered lengthwise, (3) fold the piece lengthwise along the paper backing split, (4) cut a small oval hole in the middle of the folded backing and tape, (5) unfold the piece and remove the backing, (6) fold a very little amount of the tape on one corner onto itself to provide something to grab later when you want to remove the tape from your mouth, (7) purse your lips and apply the tape so it is centered over your lips, (8) press down to make sure it has stuck to your lips all around.

It takes much longer to read the above instructions that it does to actually prepare the tape each night.  Once you get the routine down, it's a piece of cake.

I used to have significant mouth leaks.  Now I have none. This has been my solution for the last 9 months.

[Rich66]

I've used the Cover Roll tape for months now. It is rated as "air permeable" -- which means I still get leaks through my mouth. So I started using a double layer of it, and it helped tremendously. Also, I did notice that facial hair just provides little avenues for leaks, so I've had to cut my mustache way back, and the beard had to go. And I use chapstick on my lips to ease any pain of the tape sticking to them. I use the 2 inch tape and go past the remaining facial hair. I've just started trying a couple of different tapes -- one of which is MedVance, from Amazon and it seems pretty good. But it's too soon to give an honest product opinion on it.

[clownbell]

Humans are fascinating, what works for one does not work for another. I have tried Cover-Roll but it removes skin when I take the tape off -- and it is air permeable. My best results are with the MedVance silicone tape available on Amazon. First I tried the two inch wide variety, and taped across the mouth (parallel with the floor). Then I mistakenly ordered the one inch wide variety. It did not work as well even when overlapped. So just to experiment, I tried one one-inch tape in a vertical position (perpendicular to the floor) in the very middle of the mouth. That experiment worked well for me, and seems less restrictive than taping entirely across the mouth. For me, the MedVance does not strip off a layer of skin in the morning. Also, I recommend removing the tape by holding the end close to the skin as you remove, as opposed to pulling straight out.