new oxygen masks.

[carson]

Hi all, I have an oxygen concentrator at home which i use at night while i'm in bed.I have a question for anyone out there who also uses a concentrator, the last time the engineer came out to service the machine he asked me if i had enough nasal specs. As i don't use them except when i have occasion to use a cylinder. i prefer the mask because when i get short of breath i tend to breathe through my mouth, i told him i could be doing with some masks, he went out to the van and brought me in half a dozen. However the new masks are differenmt to the old ones', when i put one on i couldnt breathe i felt as if i was suffocating so i had to change it back to my old one. The old masks as you may know have a hole at each side, the new ones don't they have like perforations, i am thinking this somehow is the reason for it, so my question is has anyone else found the same. I am lucky because as i used to work for the company who now have the contract for the concentrators, i was able to speak with my old boss who said i could get them changed for some of the old ones.

[ivyleaf]

Hi Carson.......afraid I cant say about the masks as I always use cannulas with my concentrator.

I don't think I could cope with a mask at night .

you will no doubt shortly hear from someone on here using masks.

hope you get it sorted.

Ivyleaf

[serenityfrank]

Hi Carson. I too breathe through my mouth so when I was put on oxygen I thought a mask would be a good idea. The couple they gave me also had perforations such as you describe, and I too dould not breath with it so I have used cannulae, and I don't think I have absorbed all the oxygen pumped out by the concentrator. I was not given the opportunity of any with holes in. Frank

[caroleoctober]

Maybe not a good suggestion but couldn't you cut out a circular hole where the perforations are. Or use a nebuliser mask mine have circular holes in.

Carole

[carson in reply to caroleoctober]

Carole Tried that made no difference,but thanks for the reply.

[carson in reply to caroleoctober]

Carole Tried that made no difference,but thanks for the reply.

[Baldie]

Hi, like Ivyleaf I can't get on with a mask, almost makes me panic. One thing that might help if you breath through your mouth when breathless is to pop the cannula in you mouth, much less loss of oxygen then.

But I'm afraid there's only one way to get your breathing under control as I'm sure you know, in through the nose and out through the mouth. If like your me it's easier said than done but it does work.

[Hidden]

Hello, this happened to my husband, he was given masks with the oxygen cylinders which were fine, but when they changed him to a concentrator they gave him different masks which he said felt like he was suffocating with too much oxygen and literally took his breath away. I rang the oxygen company who told me that the masks they supplied with the concentrator were prescribed by the hospital and they were the only people who could change them.

I rang the hospital and spoke to the nurse who assessed him for the concentrator and long term oxygen and she told me she would send a form off to the oxygen company for the different masks. Two days later they delivered spare masks that he can now use on the cylinders and concentrators. apparently one mask is marked 25 and the other 28 but they both do the same job. My husband uses the nasal canulas when he is in bed but needed the masks for when he went upstairs as he also mouth breathes. Everything is now okay. Hope this helps.