So my mother has a problem. And while talking with the respiratory therapist with her today, it occurred to me that someone in my crowd might be able to help in a way that won’t occur to the therapist. When I ran the idea past him, he said to go for it because he’s into territory that he hasn’t covered before.
Here’s the problem: my mom can’t close her mouth or lips. In order for her CPAP machine to work, either she needs to use a full face mask or be able to keep her mouth closed. The full face mask isn’t working for other reasons, for which we’re looking for solutions.
But in the other case, I was wondering if anyone in this crowd would have any experience making rubber or latex face masks that could be altered to keep her moth closed? Or if there’s anyone who has experience with breathe play that could have other suggestions? Any solution would be run by and approved by her doctors, so please don’t hold back responding because you are afraid that it might be dangerous. Anything we finally decide on will be doctor-approved before put into use.
If you know of someone who might have such expertise, I love to be put into contact with them.
I have no expertise in anything that might be useful, but figured I’d ask a couple questions since they occurred to me and might help someone else understand what you are looking for.
She needs to hold her mouth closed around an apparatus for this machine?
And is there actual resistance in her jaw, or is it slack?
I imagine you have a dozen folks on here that will be more useful than I can be, but I’ll think on it, too.
Nevermind, I looked it up.
So, no apparatus in the mouth, but stuff around the upper part of her face, it looks like?
She doesn’t need to hold her mouth closed around the apparatus. She needs to hold her mouth closed. Otherwise the machine pumps air in her nose and out her mouth. Right now, she can close her mouth, but she can’t keep it closed. So it’s not completely slack. But effectively it is. They have a chin strap she can use, but since she can’t press her lips closed it doesn’t do any good.
Her other option is using a full face mask, in which the breathing goes through both the mouth and nose. But that’s not working for other reasons. We might come up with a solution for that separately.
Correct.
Maybe those bandages they use after one has cosmetic surgery – it’s kind of a soft velcro-y thing that wraps from under the chin and fastens on top of the head. Pulled a little bit forward under the chin, it does serve to help push the lips together.
Unfortunately, that isn’t working for her. It holds her jaw closed, but not her lips. It is what inspired my thinking though. Something like that, possibly incorporating latex or rubber, and covering her mouth as well as the chin.
Gauze garter belt combo where the garter wraps around the back side of her head under her hair?
I’ll ask a few friends who do more top-bondage if they have any ideas over the next few days.
Hmmmm. I would think that a RT *may* have encountered this problem before, but perhaps not. Talk to her MD/pulmonologist/neurologist, or whoever is overseeing all of this. Maybe jaw closure would be enough for CPAP, as it’s not uncommon for jaws to be a little open during sleep. I’m not sure if OT or SLP would be helpful or not. I’ll ask around at work, BUT note I’m leaving for RenFaire tomorrow, home on Sun, so answers could be delayed.
Maybe Tonya Winter?
As a CPAP user, while the jaw may not be closed, the lips need to be or the CPAP can’t do its job.
What about a mouth guard or some such in tandem with a chin-strap? That way the air passage through the lips is blocked from the inside.
I’ll ask about that.