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+--- Thread: [Equipment] facial hair (/Thread-Equipment-facial-hair)
facial hair - Mr.K - 04-27-2014
Good Day
I have reading the posts and have not read anything about facial hair.
I have been told that certain resmed masks will still seal on facial hair.
Can anyone tell me if this is correct or not.
RE: facial hair - Peter_C - 04-27-2014
I have a full beard, a bit on the short side. While almost all masks are marked 'no' to facial hair, I tend to ignore this as some are fine, and some are not so fine. To be honest, like most anything else mask related, you could ask 10 of us about a certain mask, and 9 of us may love it, and one hate it, and you still have no idea if it will work for you.
You'd be better off asking us about a certain mask and facial hair, and see how many no and yes answers you get - just realize that it will not mean it will or won't work for you. That is the one big issue we all have with masks, finding the perfect one.
Welcome to the forum
RE: facial hair - trish6hundred - 04-27-2014
Hi Mr.K,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more suggestions and best of luck to you.
RE: facial hair - becker44a - 04-27-2014
(04-27-2014, 07:25 PM)Mr.K Wrote: Good Day
I have reading the posts and have not read anything about facial hair.
I have been told that certain resmed masks will still seal on facial hair.
Can anyone tell me if this is correct or not.
Hi Mr.K,
The short answer to your question is Yes it is correct. It depends on the mask, the mask fit, the face, the facial hair, the pressures, etc. etc.
I have a full beard, and since starting PAP therapy about 3 months ago, am keeping it clipped fairly short. I am using a ResMed Mirage Quattro Full Face mask, and I download and review my data daily. My recent leak data shows very good results. For example, over the last week, my median leak was 0.0 and my 95% leak was 2.4 L/min, which is 10% of the maximum leak the S9 unit can cope with and deliver proper therapy. Earlier, the Leak data was not as good, since I had not yet discovered that sleeping on my back was bad, and escalated the events. This caused the S9 to raise the pressure to control the events, and the pressure increase made for more leaks.
BTW, I believe your machine is fully data-capable (others will correct me if I am wrong), and I would encourage you to start monitoring your own data. This will enable you to see immediately what is going on, monitor all results, including leaks, and figure out if you have a problem or not. If you have an issue with any part of this procedure, just ask, and there are any number of experienced PAP users here who are incredibly generous with their time and expertise, who can help you.
Good luck with your therapy!
A. Becker
RE: facial hair - Dgsr - 04-27-2014
Hey Mr. K,
Like Peter and Becker, I also have a beard.
I trim mine to .5", and it probably gets out as long as .75".
I also use a mirage quattro. I tried a quattro air before this one. I didn't like it as much, but didn't have issues with it and the beard either.
Personally, I'm also using a mask liner. Its more comfortable to me w/ the beard. However, it isn't necessary to have it to prevent leaks with the beard.
Last time I looked, my median leak data in sleepyhead is around 5.
Good luck!
RE: facial hair - PollCat - 04-28-2014
However, if you can use them, nasal pillows work fine for those of us with beards, since the facial hair does not get in the way of the mask.
RE: facial hair - gjw - 04-28-2014
Hi Mr.K
Every mask is different, and while one works perfectly for one person, it fails for the other person.
Well with nasal pillows, facial hair is not an issue.
I for one prefrer my Resmed Swit FX nano to the Swift FX, but with the nano I have to shave my mustache every 2nd day to get a fit. So I alter between the two, depending on the groth of my beard.
;-> gjw
RE: facial hair - PaytonA - 04-28-2014
I have a short vandyke and I have used both Fisher and Paykell masks and now ResMed Mirage Quattro. The masks that I have used have all had cushions that use the pressure of the air in the mask to act on the seal. None of these masks have leaked where the seal is on my beard or mustache.
Best Regards,
PaytonA
RE: facial hair - Mr.K - 04-28-2014
(04-27-2014, 07:25 PM)Mr.K Wrote: Good Day
I have reading the posts and have not read anything about facial hair.
I have been told that certain resmed masks will still seal on facial hair.
Can anyone tell me if this is correct or not.
Right now I am using the mirage activa large nasal mask,I did use the mirage softgel for a bit also.
I also started shaving a bit of mustache just under the nose trying to get a better seal.
My S9 Vpap shows no leaks in the morning,but when I check my stats from my SD card,it shows that I have a leakage.Frustrated. also wear a chin strap.Running out of ideas.But definitly I will not shave my mustache.
RE: facial hair - PaytonA - 04-30-2014
Mr. K
What are your leak statistics and do you get a smiley face or a frownie face in the morning on your display? As I remember, if you get the smiley face, it means that your leaks were less than 24 l/min 70% of the time. All masks have some unintentional leaks-may be trivial. The important thing is that the unintentional leaks are less than 24 l/min.
Best Regards,
PaytonA