Nasal Congestion and Remedies - Add Yours

[sydneybird]

I post this in the hopes that it will help others in trying to resolve their nasal congestion issues and to solicit other suggestions and remedies.

Trigger (a guess): Seasonal Fall allergies from very windy conditions, pine forest, blown leaves

My symptoms (continuous for 3 months):
Total blockage nasal congestion alternating with
profusely runny nose
mostly clear discharge
bloody nose from all the blowing
Sinus headache

No chest congestion, no cough, no fever

Remedies:

Caveat - Of course the below results are only applicable to my current condition and my body's response.

Loratidine (Claritin) - Antihistamine - I have taken this daily for 10 years. Usually keeps 50% of allergy symptoms under control, not this time

Cetirizine Hydrochloride (Zyrtec) - Antihistamine - Switched from Loratidine to see what happens; not much of a change in symptoms, maybe makes me more tired. I'll keep taking daily for now.

Diphenhydramine HCL (Benadryl) - Antihistamine - Yes, stops the runny nose but knocks you out; great sleeping pill. Not for us working stiffs that need to be awake to make a living.

Phenyleprine HCL (Sudafed PE) - Decongestant - Completely ineffective, useless. Read the reports, doesn't even metabolize to anything useful in the body.

Pseudoephedrin HCL (Sudafed) - Decongestant - YES, the only tablet decongestant that actually works, but not nearly as good as the nasal spray decongestants. Can be used long term unless you make it into methamphetamine. Very helpful in combo with other things. At least it opens the nose so you can breathe but not complete cure.

Guaifenesin (Mucinex) - Expectorant - Supposed to thin out chest congestion to help cough but does help a bit to relieve sinus congestion. Side effect for me is it makes me feel lousy, a bit dizzy and a bad taste in the mouth. Not effective enough to put up with the side effects.

Naproxen Sodium (Aleve) - Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory - Significant relief from total nasal blockage due to inflammation (still have to deal with drainage). Aspirin works the same but doesn't last as long.

Fluticasone Propionate spray (Flonase) - Steroid - Tried for two months (one month before this attack and into the first month) only to give nose bleeds I think from the alcohol, no help with current attack

Mometasone Nasal spray (Nasonex) - Steroid - Water based rather than alcohol based, much preferred over Flonase. Used for 10 years but insurance dropped coverage, replaced with flonase since much cheaper. Seemed to control runny nose and congestion by 50%. Used in combo with Claritin to get 80%.

Oxymetazoline HCL spray (Afrin) - Decongestant - Relief from total congestion in seconds, lasts 6-8 hours, extremely addictive, only can use for a few days until your nose closes up for good. I consider this an emergency bailout that I had to use at night so that I could use xPAP without mouth breathing (I don't have a full face mask). I used spray in alternate nostrils (left nostril one night, right nostril next night) and for only three straight nights in a row, then off for a few nights. Since it worked so well I considered my total blockage problem to be mostly an inflammation issue, but what is causing the inflammation?

Zicam Allergy Relief Gel Swab - Homeopathic - Not much good for relieving congestion or runny nose (the menthol does a little bit of good), but sooths blood-crusty sore nasal cavities when your nose is over dry.

Neti Pot - Salt water and bicarb (SinuCleanse) nasal irrigation - Can't use with total blocked sinuses. Use after opening nose with a decongestant spray to flush the sinuses, seemed to put pressure and moisture into my ears, did thin and flush out mucus, never seemed to drain out completely with saline drips for many minutes afterwards, not long lasting and I feared made things worse with the water remaining up in there, neti-ed every few hours until I got tired of it. Used on and off for the past 20 years but never kept it up for more than three days. Great for cleaning the nose after woodworking and such. I felt it was not worth it.

Saline nasal spray (Ocean) - Helps to add more moisture to thick mucus for better blowing, not long lasting and a bit irritating

Salt water irrigation and wash with pressure bottle or pump bottle - Pretty much the same as neti pot but much more pressure on the ears. I liked it better than the neti pot but I don't want to risk ear or sinus infection with either one of them.

Steam Inhalation - I had a clothes steamer so I used it as a nose steamer. I read that viruses can't take the heat so if I had a "cold" that would kill the virus. Used for two days 4 times a day for about 5 minutes. Almost instant relief but short term and uncomfortably hot. That was a month ago so I don't think I have a cold.

Vicks VapoRub next to my xPAP air intake - Menthol salve decongestant - Not too bad at first, but I don't really enjoy the smell and it doesn't really seem to help that much.

Vicks Mentholated Cough Drops - Does little for my congested nose and gives me a stomach ache for about an hour afterwards.

Colloidal Silver NanoSilver Hydrosol (Sovereign Silver fine mist vertical spray) - When you are desperate you start to look in strange places for relief. Wild-*ss claims are made for this product, invisible silver ions in pure water ready in wait to kill viruses, fungus, mold, bacteria, parasite, ex-girl friends and whatever else that could do your body harm. Since I didn't know what was up my nose this has got it all covered, or so they say. After two weeks of hourly daytime use, all I can say is it is the nicest $20 spray bottle that I have ever used up my nose which I will refill with saline at some point. The spray is so fine it is like a silver mist. Heck, I even sprayed my mask with it in the promise that it will sterilize anything and do no harm to things that are good. I sprayed it on an acne pimple to no avail, but it is supposed to cure acne. Maybe it gave me acne. First pimple in 30 years.

Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE by NutriBiotic) - Ten drops in 4 oz of saline nasal spray. Another antibacterial, anti-viral, antiseptic, anti-anything bad cure-all. Used every 3 hours for two weeks. No different than saline by itself. Darn. Back to using it as a fruit and veggie wash.

Nebulizer using salt water and bicarb (SinuCleanse) nasal irrigation solution - Using a mask, not mouth inhalation (nothing wrong with my lungs, it's all in the head) - Now we are getting somewhere. 10 minutes three times a day and I'm getting significant and long term (hours) relief. I had a nebulizer for about ten years laying around in a box that we used when our infant daughter has some asthma. Never thought until now to actually use it on me with saline until I read on this forum about coastal sea breezes carrying saline mist in the air clearing sinuses and xPAP users hoping the xPAP humidifier would do the same thing. I don't want salt spray near my xPAP machine but that is only me. The nebulized saline really gets into the sinuses without the pressure on the ears or salt water retention in the sinuses. It is a neti pot substitute for me. Nebulizers are available on a famous auction site for about $20-30, which is cheaper than some of the conventional remedies listed above.

That's my list.


How am I doing now? Last week I finally called the doctor to make an appointment as this nose issue just has to stop so I can get back to being a productive worker. I have been putting off the doctor for lack of money and lack of confidence that after my $1200 deductable I will simply be sent home for bed rest and antibiotics after a battery of testing and probably MRI/CT/X-ray and nasal endoscopy and who knows what else which will only prove that I have a stuffy nose. I kept up my salt water nebulizing, Aleve and Sudafed and within the week I'm getting much better. Canceled the doctor's appointment. If my nose gets bad again I'll reschedule the appointment.

All my best to you.

[HoseCrusher]

My congestion is minor in comparison. I simply add a very small amount of sea salt to my humidifier water. No more issues with congestion.

In more severe situations I think you need to do more, but the salt ions in the air should help a little.

[Lizistired]

Hosecrusher, What is a small amount? I started following that thread but ... just give me the punch line.

[HoseCrusher]

Lizistired, I am using .2 grams of freshwater aquarium salt in 1 liter of water. This is a very small amount. After talking with my RT the other day, he felt that you could go all the way up to a normal saline solution without problems health wise, but it would form salt deposits on the inside of your humidifier tank. A normal saline solution has 9 grams of salt in 1 liter of water. I tried this and it does leave salt deposits on the humidifier tank, but I really didn't notice much difference however I am not having any congestion issues right now. I can't recommend using a normal saline solution at this time because there isn't enough data on this yet.

Keep in mind that only a little of the salt makes it into your lungs, so if you have lots of problems the results may not be enough to completely clear you out. But if your are clear, it should be enough to keep you clear through the night. If you have heavy congestion, do what you have to do to clean yourself out, then breathing the salt ions in the air should keep you clear (or clearer) while you sleep.

I need to add the caution that spilling water that has a little bit of salt in it into your machine may do more damage that spilling distilled water into the machine, but the best bet is not to spill any water into your machine.

I will also add that this small amount of salt will have no effect on your humidifier tank, and I have been unable to find any adverse effects listed for breathing air with a very small amount of salt ions in it. Make sure your salt is pure.

[Lizistired]

OK Hosecrusher, 2 more ?'s. Can you use sea salt? And if I'm correct that a 1/4 tsp is 1.5 grams, how are you measuring 0.2 grams? Or just dilute saline solution? So 22ml of saline solution to a liter of water?

[HoseCrusher]

Yes, 1/4 teaspoon comes in very close to 1.5 grams. Sea salt is fine. I have a gram scale that measure down to .01 grams.

If the smallest you can measure is 1/4 teaspoon, you would need to add that to 7.5 liters of water. Or, you could lay the 1/4 teaspoon of salt on the table and visually split it up 7 ways (we will round up in this case).

If you are able to measure 1/8 teaspoon of salt, you would put that into 1 gallon of distilled water.

I don't think the measurements need to be exact, but you need to error on the heavy side. We tried .1 grams per liter and that did not have any noticeable effect. When we increased it to .2 grams, my friend and I noticed a change. My philosophy is to only use the minimum amount needed to achieve results.

[islandboy5150]

I've been hacking up some gross looking splooge that looks like Anderson's Pea Soup with red streaks and chunks in it. Things started out being a nasal drip, then turned into sinus drainage, now it's moved down into my chest and I'm coughing and hacking that mess up for an hour every morning going on a month now. Getting real tired of it. It won't go away it seems. No remedy has put a dent in it, except thera-flu eases the cough for a little while. Gets much worse over night. If I didn't know better, I would think there was something growing in my machine or in my hose that's causing it.

[crashnose]

Thank you for starting this thread. I'm not a CPAP user (yet) -- Just having my first sleep lab done, finally, this weekend.

I have severe congestion issues. Not just from mystery inflammation, and allergies, but also from having a broken nose at an early age & two subsequent surgeries spaced out 16 years apart. It's still not repaired completely, but it's the best they can do. (So they say.)

I feel like I'm trying to nose breathe through two coffee-stirrers. Only a few things help without having side effects (bleeding, congestion rebound, etc.)

- Breathe Right strips. Thank you to the people who invented this marvelous contraption. If I could get away with wearing them during the day, I would. And I've considered it. They don't work 100% on their own, but they're really great as part of a multi-attack to open airways. Wish they were cheaper. Always apply to a clean (wipe with alcohol, dry it off) nose so it will stick, or you wasted some money.

- I agree with the naproxen (Aleve). Inflammation is a key factor for me, body-wide. I'm still trying to figure out what's causing it. I just had a full allergy workup with about 60 needles.

- One GIANT thing I found is that using FRAGRANCE-FREE skin products (deodorant, even) really changed things within two days, at least with the rest of my body. (I imagine it's also impacted my nasal/sinus tissues, but I'm still rebounding from OTC Dristan, so maybe I can't tell.)
What this means: no air fresheners, no scented laundry soap, no scented candles, no cologne or perfume, even bar soap. When buying products for my body, I use the app "Skin Deep", from the Environmental Working Group, which allows me to scan bar codes with my phone camera, returning information about allergies and ingredients. Very enlightening.

- The allergist said to quit smoking and being around second-hand smoke. Including wood-burning fireplaces and campfires! I have a hard time quitting, because something in them shrinks my nasal tissues. Nicotine? Or menthol? I don't know, but I'm pathetic. Knowing that smoking one will give me a touch more breathing room, especially if it means going from completely slammed shut to just a little open so I can blow out some stuck mucus, means I smoke a cigarette even if I don't want to smoke. I really hate the e-cigs, but if it's the nicotine, then using water vapor cigs might work for me. The patch caused me some weird vascular side effects that sent me to the ER, so never again.

- Some of the cortico-steroids are not supposed to cause nosebleeds or sores. Fluticasone (generic) has nosebleeds as a side effect. Mometasone (generic) does not. I loved the allergist I saw, but after discussing nosebleeds with him, he gave me "the newest and best" nose spray, containing some Fluticasone and Astelin (for allergies). Why? Not paying attention? This is serious business for me. I've had nosebleeds that lasted 3 hours and couldn't be pinched off because they were so high up. I can't hang over the sink for 3 hours, and I'm not gulping down my own blood... It was so bad I took a youtube video of it. The ENT doc seemed amused, and said it usually isn't as bad as people feel it is. I am not afraid of blood, but when you're blowing out congealed blood that looks like a tomato slug, something's wrong. Be your own watchdog! Check ingredients in what the docs give you.

I have to agree with the report on the neti-pots, saline spray, and OTC sprays. (Those OTC sprays work fast and good, but beware - eventually they will stop working and make it worse. Then, if you have asthma, good luck breathing through your mouth if you're panicking that your nose is completely useless.)

I will get back my results from the allergy tests, and then I'll know if I have foods to avoid, etc. as an added measure.

Thanks again for the posts, and if you can't afford your meds if they were removed from your insurance policy, I have a good source I've been using a couple years now, an overseas pharmacy. I don't even have to show my scrip, but you didn't hear that from me! Try searching generic ingredient or brand equivalent at: all day chemist d*t c*m. Takes a couple weeks to arrive, but soooo worth it when you know what you need, do your research, especially if you've been ok'ed by a doc, but you can't afford US prices. For example, a Dymista equivalent (Astelin and Fluticasone spray combo) is regularly $189 US retail, but you can get it there for $9.10 US plus $25 shipping flat rate.

Again, I know that's info not approved by the forum... but I want to shout it from the rooftops. They won't even spam you and they treat their customers well. I get phone calls with polite order updates. Anyway... This is a good thread and I appreciate the reports on the products and ideas!

-

[jencat824]

My sure-fire nose cure - I use all these & have no congestion. I have cats & dogs, the problem would probably be better without them, but they are my 'kids' & you just don't get rid of your children,.

Clarinex (Rx - am)

Singulair (Rx - pm)

Nasal Rinse nightly

Vicks nasal stick (occasionally)

Most Important:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/cpap-a ... aster.html

The most helpful at night is the Pur-Sleep Aromatherapy.

Jen

[waxteeth]

Nice! I just ordered the aroma therapy diffuser.

I've been using Afrin for 3 weeks. It's still working but as mentioned above the non medicine options are pretty weak..

Looking forward to trying this.

[Julie]

Just turn down the humidifier! If you haven't tried that already.

[waxteeth]

I turned it up....

I thought more humidity was better for nasal congestion.

[sydneybird]

Hello, this is sydney. Boy it's been 3.5 years since I posted the first message? Made myself laugh when reading it again (especially about the silver ions). Jen, I got rid of my children but kept the dogs ... just kidding! Well, moving from Portland Oregon to Phoenix Arizona was the biggest "cure" for my congestion, except when the dust storms hit. A too dry nose is the issue here but that is better than mouth breathing there. Sunshine is a nice thing as well. I have a steady state 30% congestion now, so I am still on the lookout for improvement.

My personal Rx list should now include Singulair, which is what I am taking daily now for about a year. Now that it is generic, and I have insurance, it's cheap. No noticeable side effects and better than the loratidine.

Dymista works great for my daughter but I didn't want to commit the $40/m copay for me, now that I'm past the 1 year copay helper rebate program. Yes, a bit of nosebleeds but the combo product seemed to work fast. Nose sprays still seem to mess with my nose after about a month or so. Thanks crashnose for tipping me off to try the non-alcohol sprays. I just may try mometasone. Tried Fluticasone again a few months ago and yup, nosebleed.

crashnose (not Jen, sorry for the typo), not to preach or judge, but I just don't know how you can expect major relief while a smoker or being around smokers, but you did say you get some relief, maybe from the nicotine. I was going to suggest e-cigs for the nicotine but you already tried them. I have nose issues just getting a diluted whiff of smoke at the front door to buildings from the outside smokers. And I know what you mean about scents and perfumed stuff. They are so irritating to me. The wife bought plug-in vanilla (usually the only scent that doesn't send me running) air fresheners for all over the house and it nearly killed me. The house stank. Funny thing is that she thought it smelled nice. Funny thing is that she couldn't smell the rotting potatoes in the pantry that smelled like a dead rat.

Related to my xPAP use, I had to use the humidifier in rainy Portland but have not used it in deserty Phoenix. Since loosing 20 lbs (I'm male, 67 inches tall, 190 lbs) I have a lesser need to xPAP and even skip a day or two when I travel. Maybe if I loose another 20 lbs I won't need it at all. But right now I feel more comfortable using it than not. I haven't looked at my data for 2 years so it is just a subjective comment.

Good luck on this journey.

[jencat824]

Sydneybird,

Sorry I posted on an old post. I usually check dates, so oops.

I'm not a smoker nor is my hubby. You may have read a post regarding my brother-in-law who is. He recently set himself on fire while smoking on oxygen. I don't know how I'm going to cope when/if he moves in with us. I'm allergic to cigarette smoke & carry Febreeze in my car for 'destinking' after he smokes in my car (with the O2 turned off).

Anyhoo, sorry I posted on an old thread.

Jen

[Pugsy]

I turned it up....

I thought more humidity was better for nasal congestion.

Humidity needs or preferences is highly individualized and some people do need more to keep the nasal mucosa happy and some people happen to need less.
People who need less tend to suggest turning it down.
People who need more tend to suggest turning it up.
I happen to need more and often suggest more but I always try to explain that some people do happen to do better with less added moisture and make it clear that it is a personal preference and there are no hard fast rules.

Years ago when first starting cpap therapy and a newbie. I followed someone's advice to reduce the humidity or turn it off. Horrible nasal results with turning it down to 1...horrible congestion and drainage and it wasn't a cold or allergies that lasted 3 days. My nasal mucosa just happen to need more moisture and a lot more at that.
Couple of nights forgetting to top off the tank and tank went dry and same nasal symptoms confirmed it was related to humidity delivered and not a cold or allergies....for those of you thinking I don't know what I am talking about.

Most of the time more moisture does help the congestion but not always for everyone.