I just finished up with my fourth CPAP mask - a Bravo-style Nasal Pillow Interface mask.  I used it for about a month but hated it (as I did the others!).  I quit using it about three months ago.

The tubing is silicone, of course.  I started exhaling an extremely strong silicone odor/gas while using the mask.  And this has continued since I stopped using it.  It feels as if the silicone "gas" is down deep in my lungs.  It seems my sense of smell has deteriorated, as well.  Or perhaps what I smell is just not as strong as the smell of the silicone when I'm exhaling?

Anyone else have this problem?  Did the silicone smell while exhaling go away?  I see my sleep doctor this Saturday and will of course be asking him about this.  But wanted to find out if anyone else has experienced this.  

Thanks!

Zia in Kalamazoo

I have been on CPAP for ~14 years and I have never noticed any sort of smell from silicone.  Fibromyalgia and some other conditions can cause very a sensitive sense of smell and can cause distortion of smells.   If it is a material in the mask that is smelling, washing it in 1:1 solution of vinegar and water will remove most "new" smells from plastics.  Vinegar can damage some silicones; make sure that it is only a brief rinse and that it is thoroughly rinsed off.  If the vinegar doesn't get all of the smell out or if your mask smells of vinegar, soak your mask in a solution of baking soda and water and then rinse.

Thanks, Bearded One.

Also, just airing out CPAP parts can reduce the smell.  New plastics, adhesives, and other materials out gas and smell; and new masks are packed in plastic bags, which will themselves out gas and confine the out gassed compounds.  

Taking the mask out of the packaging and letting it air out for a few days will greatly reduce the smell.  If the day is warm and the air is clean and breezy, letting it sit outside in the shade will be very effective in removing smell.

Thanks again.  My sleep doctor uses a hydrocollator to clean the tubing.  I've used new silicone tubing many times in the past straight from the package.  But this particular tube was quite different.

I'm leaving the CPAP machine behind for good now.  I'm using Provents along with speech therapy/breathing exercises to strengthen the muscles I use to breathe.  Being a physical therapy student, this is a better "fit" with my personal philosophy of treatment/healing.

Zia