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Help with nasal pillow and nose pain - Printable Version

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Help with nasal pillow and nose pain - jane bradley - 09-17-2016

Three days ago I woke up in the night with pain in my nose, and adjusted the mask in case it was too tight (I have nasal pillows). The next day I had pain that continued mainly on one side of the nose just next to where the nostril meets the nasal bone. Went to my gp that day (because I have had cellulitis several years ago), he looked and could not see any issues either inside or outside. He said it was probably from the mask being too tight and was a cartilage soreness. The discomfort has continued to some degree or another for the last several days - especially when I touch the nose on that side, or eat (move my nose). I noticed this afternoon that the cartilage on the inside of the same nostril has become a little swollen. I have not used my cpap since this started (have been using masks for many years and this is the first time in years I have not used it). Has anybody had an issue like this? If so what did you do about it? Uncomfortable even to put on a nonpillow type mask.


RE: Help with nasal pillow and nose pain - OpalRose - 09-17-2016

Hi Jane and Welcome to Apnea Board!

There are a couple things to try.

Do you use a nasal gel or lansinoh cream with the nasal pillows? These will help prevent sores.

Be sure your straps are not pulled too tight. This pulls the pillows into the nostrils and can pull nose upwards, like a piggy nose.

Try one size larger in nasal pillow than you are used to using. The pillow should never be inserted into the nostril very far, but just sit on the outside. Once the air is on it forms a seal.

Also, be sure your nasal pillows are cleaned every morning and change them when they start to look soft or won't hold a seal.

Using a different style mask may give your nose a chance to heal.

If all else fails, you may need to see an ENT.



RE: Help with nasal pillow and nose pain - trish6hundred - 09-17-2016

Hi jane bradley,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Try some HPA Lanolin and put a "little" bit on a cotton swab and dab it into your nostril and see if that helps you.
Hopefully you'll be able to restart your CPAP therapy, good luck to you.


RE: Help with nasal pillow and nose pain - cate1898 - 09-18-2016

Hi jane bradley, welcome to the forum!

It might help if you could fill out your user profile details like specifically which machine you use, the brand/model of nasal pillows etc. Have you always been using the same nasal pillows and suddenly they are causing problems? Has anything in your health changed recently?

Good luck and hope you solve this problem swiftly!


RE: Help with nasal pillow and nose pain - Sleeprider - 09-18-2016

If you didn't have a visible sore, the problem is not with gels, lotions or irritation, it's a nasal pillow that is too small. It needs to "float" along the outside of the nares, and distribute any pressure over a larger area.