Philips DreamWear Under the Nose Cushion

The under the nose cushion is the part of the DreamWear Nasal mask that actually touches your face, and it is sold here on its own in Small, Medium, Large and Medium Wide. It seals in one broad wedge that sits below the nostrils rather than inside them.

Cushion size and frame size are separate measurements on this platform, so a Medium cushion does not oblige you to run a Medium frame. Philips sizes the cushion from a printed gauge held under the nose, and recommends the smallest one that still fits.

Key Features:

• Frame not included: This listing supplies the cushion by itself, with the frame and the headgear sold separately.
• Four sizes: Small, Medium and Large step by nose height, while Medium Wide covers a broader nostril span.
• Frame sizes: Frames come separately in Small, Medium and Large, and Philips says that Medium suits most people.
• No fixed interval: Philips publishes no calendar figure and asks only that a damaged or worn cushion be replaced.
• Latex free: The instructions for use record no natural rubber latex and no DEHP anywhere in this cushion.
• Storage range: Philips rates storage from minus 4 up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit at 15 to 95 percent humidity.

This cushion suits anyone already using a DreamWear Nasal mask who wants the seal replaced without buying a whole new frame. It is the right choice when marks appear under the nose, or when the wedge no longer holds its pressure overnight.

Note: DreamWear also sells a pillows cushion and a full face cushion for the same frame. They are different parts with different numbers, so check that yours is the under the nose wedge before ordering.

Reading the sizing gauge

Philips supplies a paper gauge you fold along a dashed line and cut to the dotted outline. Hold it below your nostrils and read the point where the outer nostril edges and the tip of your nose meet the printed shapes.

The company's own advice is to take the smallest option that still seals. An oversized wedge spreads the load onto skin that does not need it, and it tends to lift at the upper corners once pressure rises.

Seating it on the frame

The cushion and the frame each carry a small raised triangle. Bring those two marks into line, then push the parts together until the shaped end drops into its matching opening and stops moving.

Nothing screws and nothing clips. If it resists, the marks are out of line rather than the part being wrong, and forcing it at an angle is what tears the soft lip on the sealing face.

Care, and spotting wear early

Rinse it each day in warm water with a little mild detergent and let it dry somewhere out of the sun. Once a week the rigid components may go on the upper rack of a dishwasher, provided the heated drying cycle stays switched off.

Wear tends to show as hardening rather than as a visible hole. Run a finger around the sealing lip while it is dry, and treat it as finished once it has gone stiff or glossy, or once it leaves marks that outlast breakfast.

Here's everything that comes in the box.

• One under the nose cushion, in the size you choose at checkout
• Exhalation vent molded into the cushion body