F40 nostril holes, high pressures?
Been using a BiPAP for 10 or 12 years and have always used a Mirage Quattro full face mask. I haven't had any trouble with the Quattro, but it's so big and bulky. I recently learned of the newer hybrid masks and wanted to give the F40 a try. Two questions...
Has anyone tried simply cutting out the little inverted "T" silicone pieces that form the nostril holes? This presses up against the bottom of my septum right where the nose meets the main face (or upper lip) and causes pain after a while. It doesn't hurt when I put the mask on, but when I next wake up, it hurts. Coming from a true FFM, I cannot think of any functional reason that those holes need to be there unless it really prevents making a seal around the rest of the nose.
Is this mask recommended for higher pressures? I have a BiPAP with auto adjust between 14 and 20. Things work fine when I put the mask and first go to bed and the machine runs at its initial pressure, but I wake up in the middle of the night after the machine has adjusted up to a higher pressure and it's leaking like crazy out the side of my mouth. I can't seem to even really be able to tighten the bottom straps down enough to stop the leak at the higher pressures. Once I'm awake with such a leak, I can't get back to sleep with it leaking, partially because of the noise.
Thank you!
RE: F40 nostril holes, high pressures?
I’m using the AirFit F40 with pressures between 18 and 19, and it works well. The mask is almost certainly rated for pressures up to 20, if not to 25, though I wasn’t able to verify that in the few minutes I looked.
It can be tricky to get a good fit with a hybrid mask like the F40, have you used the fitting guide to see which cushion size might suit you best?
The cushion should be snug against the bottom part of your nose but not tight enough to cause pain, perhaps you could loosen the top straps to loosen the fit enough to be more comfortable. Pressure from your device will provide tension to create a good seal, so it’s preferred that adjustments be made with active pressure.
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RE: F40 nostril holes, high pressures?
I've never used the F40, so I don't have any help there. My choice of hybrid full is the Fisher and Paykel Evora Full. I trialed a VAuto a few months ago, and this was the mask I used for it. Max pressure about 20 or a bit higher, and leaks were limited to about 8 I think.
With the Evora Full it was definitely less bulky than standard full.
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06-23-2025, 08:05 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-23-2025, 08:08 PM by Deborah K.. Edited 2 times in total.)
RE: F40 nostril holes, high pressures?
Some have trimmed the part you are talking about. I searched but could not find the person or persons who did it, but I know they did successfully stop the pain problem.
Perhaps you could post another post where you ask that in the title. I bet you'd get a clear answer.
RE: F40 nostril holes, high pressures?
(06-23-2025, 05:43 AM)Dawnstar Wrote: ...
It can be tricky to get a good fit with a hybrid mask like the F40, have you used the fitting guide to see which cushion size might suit you best?
The cushion should be snug against the bottom part of your nose but not tight enough to cause pain, perhaps you could loosen the top straps to loosen the fit enough to be more comfortable. Pressure from your device will provide tension to create a good seal, so it’s preferred that adjustments be made with active pressure.
Yes, I used the fitting guide. I ended up with the medium size. Although the SW and L sizes fit my nose width, my nose was deeper than those, but fits entirely within the medium. I also gave the SW and L a try with fitting and couldn't get the nostril holes to line up at all on either of those, making it difficult to breathe through the nose.
I am adjusting straps with pressure. I adjusted them comfortably loose initially without the hose connected, then hooked up the hose. I initially had a lot of leakage around the nose, so I have the top straps tightened just tight enough to where it doesn't leak around my nose. Any looser and I get leaks.
The rest of the mask is very comfortable. And even the part that hurts does not hurt initially. It only hurts after I've been wearing the mask for a while. I.e., I fall asleep without any pain, but then when I wake up, it hurts. It's not enough that the pain itself wakes me up, but I definitely feel it when I do wake up.
(06-23-2025, 08:05 PM)Deborah K. Wrote: Some have trimmed the part you are talking about. I searched but could not find the person or persons who did it, but I know they did successfully stop the pain problem.
Perhaps you could post another post where you ask that in the title. I bet you'd get a clear answer.
Thanks for the info. I'll try a new post specifically about the nose pain and cutting that piece out. I'm also thinking I might just try it one of the other cushion sizes that came in the fitting kit.
RE: F40 nostril holes, high pressures?
I think I figured out part of the problem with the pain under the nose, which may put me more susceptible to that pain that most.
I just realized that my septum is a bit out of whack. The fleshy part of my septum doesn't quite line up with the cartilage underneath.
So when that little piece of silicone presses up against the bottom of the septum, even lightly, it pushes the main fleshy part off to the side and the silicone piece then presses directly up against the tip of the cartilage. I can duplicate this by just using the back of my index finger and pressing up lightly on my nose, and it does the same thing.
RE: F40 nostril holes, high pressures?
I use an F40 mask and have cut out the centre piece of silicone. It works better for me as the holes didn't always match up perfectly - I had no pain though.
RE: F40 nostril holes, high pressures?
It’s in my therapy thread. Try this link, and if it doesn’t work, search for:
Modifying an F40 mask
Scroll through the “Snoozyjinn - therapy thread” a bit (it’s at the bottom of page 3 when viewed on my iPad, because the moderator collapsed two different topics into one long thread) and you’ll see modified mask pictures from Sparky9999. Sparky’s first attempt at posting the photos didn’t work, so keep scrolling until you see the photos. My F40 with the modifications fits very well and most nights I have zero leaks.
RE: F40 nostril holes, high pressures?
clhug, Perhaps you should try the F30. Here is my story. I have used the F30 since it came out with great success. The F40 is very similar to the F30 so I thought it would be an improvement and evolution. I had the same pain that you have and for me I had leak problems. I went back to the F30.
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