Royal Philips has launched DreamWear Full face, the third mask option—nasal and nasal pillows designs debuted previously—available for its DreamWear mask system. Philips Respironics used the company’s proprietary design tools to analyze facial data from thousands of 3D scans to create the design.
According to a recent Philips survey, US sleep apnea patients say the top challenges to using CPAP therapy are that the mask can leave red marks on the face (40%) and the hose gets in the way (42%). Additionally, 35% of US patients say traditional masks limit their range of motion, and on a global level, 3 in 5 respondents (63%) said they noticed they had a tendency to breathe through their mouth before being tested for sleep apnea.1 Philips recognized these challenges in designing this mask as a solution.
“We’ve found that patients’ acceptance and adherence to PAP therapy for sleep apnea are very much rooted in selecting a properly-fitting, effective, and comfortable mask,” says Teofilo Lee-Chiong, MD, chief medical liaison at Philips, in a release. “Our recent survey highlights the challenges that therapy users are experiencing all over the world and validates the work Philips has been doing to help them to improve their quality of life.”
The new DreamWear Full face mask was designed to expand on current Dream Family offerings, with the goal of providing a better option for sleep apnea patients who breathe through their mouths. According to the company, Philips DreamWear Full face features include:
- Comfort: To help combat the challenges that come with wearing a CPAP mask, Philips designed the new DreamWear Full face mask to feel like there’s nothing on the face. The cushion is designed to sit under the nose, not on it.
- Convenience: The new full face cushion is one of three available for the DreamWear mask system, which directs airflow through the frame and removes the hose from the front of the face, giving patients more freedom to sleep comfortably in any position they desire. The offering also provides an option for patients when they can no longer breathe through their nose from allergies or a cold. Additionally, the third cushion option provides cash-pay opportunities for durable medical equipment providers and additional mask options for patients to help offer them the best chance of long-term therapy success.
- Quality: The DreamWear Full face mask was built with a thorough understanding of facial geometries and a suite of proprietary design tools and processes to provide patients with clinically proven fit, comfort, and seal.
Reference
1. Survey conducted online by Regina Corso Consulting on behalf of Philips from January 15-22, among 2,000 adults in the US, Australia, France, Germany and Canada, all of who have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine.
Just got my dreamwear full face mask today,seen reviews on it but didn’t think it could handle my high 19.9cm/H2o. When I got home I put it on and spent a couple hours with it, no leaks very comfortable. Can’t wait to go to bed tonight.
I’ve used the Dreamwear full face mask for 2 nights. I think I like it except that there are leaks during the night that I don’t understand. I was given a size medium.
Have been using off and on for a month the reason i dont continually use it all the time is because it hurts the under side of my nose, I’m running 19.9cm/H2o and i have to have it really tight to keep it from leaking. I’ve tried to adjust looser but it leaks, I’ve tried different size cushions nothing worked so i have to live with the pain. When i frist put it on it feels good have to adjust it a little to stop the leaks. But my mask seal shows good and my AHI numbers are really good just wish it didn’t hurt my nose.
Hi Ronald
I have the same problem to the point where is has caused a slight infection. I’m actually wondering how important that little strip of rubber is & would it be worth while cutting it out.
Have you tried cutting that strip ?? I’m having the same exact issue and it hurts bad. I may try to cut that tonight
great mask. New to CPAP. tolerating well, but leaves small red marks on either side of nose. lighten throughout the day, but I feel the more I wear the mask the more they will be permanent. Any advice?
I have recently started the dreamwear full face mask and I love it, but last night I had popcorn like sounds coming from the top connection. They were very loud and I could not wear the mask….Did anyone else ever have this happen?
I’ve only had my CPAP a week but I found when I hear the popping sound it’s water in my hose. Some nights it would wake me up because the water would start filling my mask. I have a heated tube and tried ever temp/humidty setting and even got a hose cover but I still had “rain out”. I eventually put the machine back to auto temp and auto humidity and it stopped the water popping sound.
Happened to me as well. it is indeed due to water/precipitation buildup. Easy solution is to disconnect the tube and blow in it, the liquid ejects from the other side and then, no sound.
It seems that the airflow tube is loud and wakes me up at night. I like the Dreamwear full mask going under my nose and not my bridge of my nose, but I can hear the airflow loudly. Suggestions? Anyone else experience this. Wonder if I am using it correctly.
Hi Dora
Maybe check the connect between the hose & the face tubes, you may not have the elbow clicked in properly
Early days. Seems O/K
The hose connection, to the mask, has a push on connection
unlike other masks that have slip on connection with a side pressure release.
This means if i wish to walk away from the machine while wearing the mask I have to struggle pulling and twisting
to remove the mask tube from the hose, all the time unable to see what I am doing and working overhead
Early days. Seems O/K
The hose connection, to the mask, has a push on connection
unlike other masks that have slip on connection with a side pressure release.
This means if i wish to walk away from the machine while wearing the mask I have to struggle pulling and twisting
to remove the mask tube from the hose, all the time unable to see what I am doing and working overhead.
Is something missing?
I have just started using my Dreamwear mask. Whilst it is LOADS better than the standard full face mask, I think this design could still use a little tweaking. When I first put it on, it feels great, perfect even but then during the night, it starts to slip, just a little, & leaks developed around the nose which as a result, hits me right in the eye. I can adjust the straps so it tighter but end up with a sore nose & red marks.
As for being able to sleep in any position with this mask. Yeah not so much. I am a side sleeper, almost to the point where I’m on my stomach. As a result the vents at the side of the mask press quite hard into my face, keeping me awake. As the mask has those little holes in the front, I really fail to see what the side vents are for? Are they really needed?
All in all, as I’ve said earlier, it’s a great mask but could do with some tweaking!
Are the flaps in the mask necessary, or can I remove them? They seem to make a lot of noise when breathing in/out and it wakes me up. Thank you.
My husband is finding the same problem and is ready to abandon the whole c-pap thing. Any solutions?
Have been using the DW Nasal Mask (M frame, S nasal piece) with DreamStation APAP & humidifier & heated tube, and while it worked great, I was having a severe dry mouth issue, even with a chin strap. I got the DW Full Face Mask Trial Kit to try. First night, wife said I was actually snoring in the mask–slightly increasing DreamStation pressure and setting pressure to Auto got rid of that, but, I still have dry mouth. Also, seems while I still must have a S nasal size, I really need a M mouth part, as the mouth part coming with the S mask touches the corners of my mouth and causes leaks. Probably need some way to mix & match parts to get the exact right fit…
I have had this mask for over a month. At first it felt comfortable. The it started hurting my nose, leaking, bottom of the mask would end up in my mouth. At times the magnetic connections would come off in the middle of the night. My events per hour went up. I had to go back to my nasal mask with chin strapped
The full face mask is well designed except for the two exhaust ports on the front of the mask. The amount of air allowed to exhaust causes my moisture reserve tank to be used up long before I have had sufficient sleep time and is so noisy that I am kept awake in the early hours of the morning. I want s refund. If there is a redesign which eliminates the two huge exhaust ports, I would like to have a replacement in lieu of a refund. Other aspects of the mask are very good, but spoiled by the air exaust ports at the front of the mask.
Did you ever get an answer on the removal of the flaps? They are driving me crazy and can’t find any suggestions on how to deal with the issue.
I like the mask, but am wondering if you have any suggestions for not ending up with the indented lines on the sides of my face from the straps. Seems I have it about as tight as it needs to be. Will I need to force myself to sleep on my back, or are there other options? Thanks!
You can buy sleeve cushions. Looks like the ones you thread your seat belt thru, to prevent the seatbelt cutting into your throat. Amazon has them.
I used this mask for a month and a half, all the time experiencing a variety of problems, including leakage, problems getting the mask properly seated under my nose, marks left on my face in a variety of places, and feeling like my mouth was being squeezed together. At my appointment with my sleep doctor he said many of his patients have experienced similar problems. I’m now using a ResMed Airfit F20 with a
I used this mask for a month and a half, all the time experiencing a variety of problems, including leakage, problems getting the mask properly seated under my nose, marks left on my face in a variety of places, and feeling like my mouth was being squeezed together. At my appointment with my sleep doctor he said many of his patients have experienced similar problems. I’m now using a ResMed Airfit F20 with a memory foam cushion with an expensive pillow designed for CPAP use. Everything is much better and I am sleeping through the night. The only part I’m having to get used too is the mask touching the bridge of my nose.
I have been using a PAP machine for four years, with a Flexifit mask. The pressure is set to 19.9cm/H2o. My doctor had me try the DreamWear. Last night was the first time. Overall pleased with it, no leaks. However I woke up after three hours of sleep with an extremely dry mouth. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. Never had this before. Humidifier is working. What happened? Is there a way to avoid this?
I used the full face dream mask and it fit good but I found that when exhaling it was like I was forcing to exhale. I took the mask off after a couple hours just so I could sleep. I put my old full face mask on that I had with the old machine. Anyone else have this problem?
i am glad i am not alone .. i like the mask so as i dont get air up in my eyes .. but damn all night long the under the nose .. it hurt so bad i finally had to get up .. and also the air that blows up in your nose… also what is it that the small head rear is soooo big .. this company needs to resize for smaller heads and the mask hurts under the nose… i am calling my doctor to see what else is availablie ..
With this I found finally a mask that allows me to sleep all night. Its seal is 100% and no more leakes so all in all much better than my n30i and F20 full face.
BUT : my events went up from 1 to 20 !!!!! This defeats the purpose. What is going on ? To me it looks again that I get no CPAP at all. I work with a pressure of 10 cm H2O, which was great with the other masks. Does this mask need so much more that a full face ResMed F20 ? Help !
The dreamwear full face mask is a good system. It is not leak free by any means. I like that the hose connects at the top of the head. Problems are with the tubes that go to the mask they are easily pinched closed while sleeping making it difficult to breathe. These tubes also crimp closed when placed into the soclean machine making it impossible to properly sanitize the mask. If they could make it so the tubes bend but not get pinched closed that would be great. Another problem is the little hole your nose is supposed to fit in. The flap moves and covers the nostrils so you can’t breathe. Maybe a mask that covers half the nose and eliminate this little flap they would have the perfect mask.
Have had Full face dreamwear for approximately 6 months. Love not having a bulky mask on my face. Product definitely needs tweaking. Constant leaks and straps do not stay fastened. It would be helpful if the rubber was a little less pliable which may alleviate constant leakage. Also have had dry mouth issues. Overall good product once tweaked.
I’ve been using the Dreamwear full face mask every night for about 6 months. Most of the time it is so quiet that I only hear the air if I pull it away from my face. I do get a bit of dry skin where the mask touches around my mouth. A touch of moisturizer on my skin fixes that. The small plastic flaps sometimes get caught in the vent holes and have to be tucked back inside. I find it very comfortable and have no problems popping the hose off and on if I need to use the bathroom at night.
Tried one night so sleep at all switched back to my old resmed mirage fx both of these have leaks whether I use tight or looser… So unfair when I wanted to try it out would have cost me $105 for a week cost of mask was $160 more wasted money also tried fullface resmed FX 20 no good so im back to MirAGE FX and chinstrap Im a pensioner so not happy with the wasted money… Dry mouth after 4 hrs as well… using humidifier and climate line…. Any suggestions???
The dreamwall full face mask sounds like the dream. It would especially benefit patients that are light sleepers or who toss in bed quite a bit.
Thank you for the review.
I have been using a Forma full face mask very successfully for over 10 years and decided to give another mask a try. My AHI at my sleep study was over 120, since the CPAP therapy its rarely over 1 and lot of the time zero. I ordered the Dreamwear Full Face and during the fitting process it doesn’t feel like I can exhale like I can with the Forma, it feels like there is too much restriction. I am using an Airsense 10 Auto. Anyone else experience exhale restriction when going to the Dreamwear? In comparing the small holes in the two masks the Forma has far more than the Dreamwear.
I had the same problem with the Dreamwear FFM with exhale restriction. I found the newer, thinner CPAP hose was kinked at the top elbow on the frame. No fault of the Dreamwear, but I replaced the hose with a new earlier style I had in my CPAP supply inventory. Then all was good.