Acne from CPAP mask - what to do?

Hello @cpapboy, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I currently use an AirFit F20 full face mask but I have tried the AirTouch F20 full face mask and it didn't work as well as I thought it would for me. Also, you can't clean it like the normal mask. You have to use a non-alcohol CPAP wipe or it will damage the memory foam. I also think they told me you have to replace the mask every 30 days but I'm not sure. I was getting the CPAP nose and cheeks and talked with my sleep medicine PA and she recommended making or buying a cloth cover for the full face masks. She told me about the CPAP Comfort Cover that some of her patients used and I went online and bought a set of 2 of them. They work great for me and I generally wash them once a week by hand and switch them out. I now have a stock of the comfort covers and can switch them more regularly. Here's the website if you want to see them - https://cpapcomfortcover.com/comfort-cover-choices/full-face-mask-covers-nose-and-mouth/

You might have a silicon allergy causing the reaction to the skin. If you do have an allergy, there are CPAP masks made of fabric - https://circadiance.com/sleepweaver/

Can you talk with your sleep doctor about the reaction to the mask?

Hi, @cpapboy - I am also having issues with getting dots of acne all around where my CPAP mask goes. Not pretty. This was not an issue at first, but in the last two weeks, it's gotten bad and traces the exact bottom of my mask.

I have the kind of facial skin where I have to be extremely careful. Any little change in moisturizer or makeup can cause me to break out, even though I'm certainly not a teenager anymore. My dad had the same thing, getting breakouts even into his 60s.

Regardless, I'm trying to figure out what to do. Using nighttime acne meds (and a lot of them are for nighttime) along with the mask sounds like these things will run into each other, and I'm not sure about that plan.

I thought about asking my Sleep Med doctor, but I thought this might get out of his purview.

cpapboy - did you find anything that helped?

@lisalucier Do you think a piece of cloth between the mask and your face might help? Might be worth a try to cut a small piece off of an old t shirt and place it on the area before you put the mask on just as a test. Thinking if the mask is snug the cloth should stay there while the mask is on.

I would put a cotton handkerchief over my face, then put the mask (nasal, not full-face) over the handkerchief.

It took some practice to make sure I wasn't blocking any airflow, but I got pretty good at it,

When I got my first mask umpteen years ago, the tech had it so tight on my face that after one night, I had a ring of badly irritated skin in the shape of the mask. Not fun. Loosening the straps a little helped a lot.

Good luck!

I will investigate putting some cotton material around the edges of my mask. I also sent a portal message this morning to my Sleep Med NP. So, we'll see if this acne around the mask issue is familiar to him and if he might have some solutions.

In the meantime, I decided to also try some benzoyl peroxide facial wash like the one I purchased for one of our teenage sons.

My sleep doctor's team suggested the possibility I could be having acne as a reaction to the CPAP wipes I use. I have only used them for a period of time. Before I was wiping with a wet cloth. She also suggested to do any moisturizer or anything that might add moisture under the mask 30 minutes before bed.

Thought these were worth investigating.

I suspect friction and moisture are part of the problem. Avoid the wipes and rinse the mask with hot water in the morning. My unit has an adjustment for moisture rate. Other possibilities are yeast and rosacea like per oral dermatitis.
A telemedicine visit with a dermatologist or in person consultation could help. 2.5 % benzoyl peroxide is the mildest gel
OTC. Allergy to silicon CPAP is extremely rare.’