Philips DreamWear Nasal Mask

The DreamWear Nasal Mask from Philips Respironics is an under the nose mask, so the cushion seals below your nostrils and never touches the bridge of your nose. Unlike a traditional nasal mask, it puts no hardware in your line of sight and leaves your face clear.

Air reaches the cushion through the frame itself, which is hollow: pressurized air runs from a swivel elbow at the crown of your head down a silicone tube on each cheek. Nothing crosses your face, so the hose stays clear of the pillow when you turn.

Key Features:

• Under The Nose Cushion: Seals below the nostrils and touches neither the nasal bridge nor the sides of your nose.
• Hollow Silicone Frame: Carries pressurized air down each side of the face, so no hose crosses your line of sight.
• Top Of Head Connection: A swivel elbow sits at the crown, keeping the tube behind you and off the pillow.
• Four Cushion Sizes: Small, Medium, Large and Medium Wide, matched to the width of your nose rather than your head.
• Three Frame Sizes: Small, Medium and Large, chosen by head size and headgear fit rather than by nose measurement.
• Fit Pack Option: Ships all four cushion sizes with a Medium frame, for anyone who has not been sized yet.
• Diffused Exhalation Ports: Vents at the cushion spread exhaled air gently instead of directing a stream at your bed partner.

The DreamWear Nasal Mask is ideal for patients who breathe through the nose, wear glasses in bed, or wake with red marks across the bridge. It is especially useful for side and stomach sleepers, since the tube runs away from the pillow.

Why the bridge of your nose matters

Most nasal masks seal by pressing silicone down onto the nose from above, which puts load on a thin layer of skin over bone. That is where overnight pressure marks come from, and tightening the straps to stop a leak makes it worse.

DreamWear moves the seal underneath instead. The cushion rests against the soft tissue below the nostrils, where there is no bone directly under the skin, so the same therapy pressure is carried by a surface that tolerates it.

Side sleeping and the frame tubes

The two tubes running along your cheeks look fragile, and they are not. When you press one into the pillow it flattens, and the tube on the open side stays round and carries the full airflow on its own.

That is the reason the mask holds up on your side and your stomach. There is no rigid elbow at the front of the face to lever the cushion loose when your head meets the mattress.

Frame size and cushion size

These are two separate measurements and people get caught out by assuming one follows the other. Frame size is a function of head circumference and where the headgear crosses your skull, and three frames are made.

Cushion size is set by the width and depth of your nose just above the lip, and four cushions are made. A large head with a narrow nose is a perfectly ordinary combination, and the mask is built to allow it.

Care, wear and replacement

Facial oil breaks silicone down, so wash the cushion each day in warm water with a mild soap and let it dry out of direct sun. Push water through the frame tubes as well, since the air path runs inside them.

Replace the cushion when the silicone feels tacky, looks glazed, or needs more strap tension than it once did. Frames and headgear wear far more slowly and are usually replaced on a much longer cycle.

Here's everything that comes in the box.

• Nasal cushion (all four sizes with the Fit Pack)
• DreamWear frame (always Medium with the Fit Pack)
• Swivel elbow connector
• DreamWear headgear