I've got a cold.

[Maureen913]

This is the first time that I've had a cold since I got my machine about a month ago. I have the mask with the little pillows and a pressure of 13. I haven't been able to wear it the last three nights because I'm too stuffy and have post nasal drip so I'm coughing real bad. Needless to say, I'm also exhausted and am falling asleep at work today. Any suggestions?

[oldgearhead]

Only a full-face mask will work with a bad head cold. If you like nasal pillows, may I suggest the Hybrid?

[OwlCreekObserver]

This is the first time that I've had a cold since I got my machine about a month ago. I have the mask with the little pillows and a pressure of 13. I haven't been able to wear it the last three nights because I'm too stuffy and have post nasal drip so I'm coughing real bad. Needless to say, I'm also exhausted and am falling asleep at work today. Any suggestions?

Man, does this hit home today!

I've been suffering with a bad cold for about three days now. I normally use the ComfortCurve nasal interface but wasn't comfortable taping my mouth shut while I'm ailing, so switched back to the ComfortFull full-face mask. I didn't feel like I slept well at all and the numbers on my chart the next morning confirmed it.

Last night I decided to take a chance with the mouth taping again and slipped on the ComfortCurve. It was okay until I had to sneeze and cough several times during the night. I took it off after about four hours (gotta have those *#$*@&^ compliance numbers, right?), and spent the next hour or so sleeping fitfully with no mask at all. Woke up feeling like crap, of course, but after three days I'm sort of used to it.

I rarely get colds and when I do, they're usually gone in three or four days. That's what I'm holding on to for now.

Anybody else have a battle strategy for these things?

OCO

[roster]

Just One Man's Recipe to Keep the Air Passages Open When Suffering With a Cold

Here’s a tried and true procedure that has worked well for me for many years. Hopefully it will work well for many of you.

A “cold” in this document is defined as the common cold which is a viral infection of the upper respiratory system. If you have a sinus “problem” or a sinus infection, see a doctor because a bacterial infection of the sinuses usually requires antibiotics for effective treatment. Nonetheless, I believe the treatment below will work well as an adjunct to antibiotic treatments your doctor may prescribe for sinus infections.

Upon Arising In the Morning

1. Clear the nostrils with a warm salt water rinse using a neti pot. If you don’t already own a neti pot, the neti system I prefer is SinuCleanse® (http://www.sinucleanse.com/ - print the $2 off coupon) which is available from several large pharmacy chains listed on the SinuCleanse web site. I like the SinuCleanse system because it is simple and cheap. I prefer to use their prepackaged salt as I am more likely to get the right ratio of salt and water compared to measuring out my own salt. The ratio of salt to water seems important, because too much salt feels uncomfortable and too little is probably not as effective.

2. Take a twelve-hour capsule of Pseudoephedrine HCL (Sudafed is one brand but there are much cheaper generics carried in most pharmacies). Pseudoephedrine HCL is a behind-the-counter oral nasal decongestant. It does not require a prescription but you will have to sign for it.* It is important to use exactly this drug and not a decongestant with antihistamine properties (such as Phenylephrine HCL). Most antihistamines will dry out your nasal passages and make a cold more uncomfortable. Please read the cautions on Pseudoephedrine HCL and if you have hypertension consult your doctor before taking.

3. After you have finished showering, eating breakfast, and brushing your teeth, use a prescription steroid nasal spray such as Flonase, Rhinocort, Nasonex or Nasacort following your doctor’s directions. This product can take up to two weeks to be effective. Generally my colds are gone in 4 to 5 days but the irritation can hang around for weeks. The steroid spray helps get rid of the irritation.

Evening

4. About one hour before retiring, repeat the neti pot rinse.

5. After your passages have been sufficiently rinsed, use an over-the-counter nasal decongestant spray containing Oxymetazoline (Afrin Original 12 Hour Nasal Spray, Nasal Relief 12 Hour Nasal Spray, Neo-Synephrine 12 Hour Spray, Vicks Sinex 12-Hour Nasal Spray or others). Very important: You should only use this product once a day for four consecutive nights. If you use it any longer you will experience a type of dependence on the product that will become very unpleasant. You should discontinue use of the product after four nights and not use again for at least seven nights.

I used this procedure for many years before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and so did my friend. Since I started cpap therapy I have not had a cold. My friend has had one cold and reports that the procedure worked even better with cpap therapy. He uses the Swift nasal pillow.

I once mentioned this procedure to my general practitioner and he said it sounds like a good approach. If you try it please let us have your comments.

Notes: I do not use the steroid nasal spray or the Pseudoephedrine HCL decongestant in the evening because each of them interferes with my sleep. The neti pot rinse is perfectly safe to use additional times during the day as you like.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): nasal pillow, swift, CPAP, Prescription

[TXKajun]

On the encouraging side, I've found in my 19 months on the hose that my colds/flu catching has decreased dramatically. Last year, not a single one and this year, Sweetie and Bunny both had a roaring case of the flu for about 8 days and I was a tad stuffy/sniffly/feeling-off for only 3 days. Don't know if it's the filter or what, but I've sure felt better and had less sickness since I started my APAP therapy.

Kajun

(This therapy WORKS!)

[CollegeGirl]

For me, it's crucial to have a Full Face mask on hand for times when I'm sick and can't breathe through my nose. No, my treatment isn't great, but it's better than no treatment at all.

[btturner]

I had a cold for the first time in 18 months of using my CPAP and I followed the suggestion of the sleep study tech (also a OSA sufferer). Put on your mask and start it without using the ramp up feature. Lay down and breath through your mouth for a couple of minutes. Then switch to breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth for a couple of minutes then close your mouth and breath through the mask. The pressure has a tendency to clear the nose allow you to breath. I did this the first night of the cold and along with using Zicam nasal gel spray, my cold was gone in three days and I didn't have to reschedule some surgery on my foot because of a cold.

[Alisha]

Rooster wrote:

"Take a twelve-hour capsule of Pseudoephedrine HCL (Sudafed is one brand but there are much cheaper generics carried in most pharmacies). Pseudoephedrine HCL is an over-the-counter oral nasal decongestant. It is important to use exactly this drug and not a decongestant with antihistamine properties (such as Phenylephrine HCL). Most antihistamines will dry out your nasal passages and make a cold more uncomfortable. Please read the cautions on Pseudoephedrine HCL and if you have hypertension consult your doctor before taking."


Thank you, Rooster, for this information. I have a cold and the OTC's I was taking for daytime and nighttime both contained Phenylephrine HCL. For the past two mornings I had awakened with increasingly dry nose, mouth, and eyes. I read the above yesterday and stopped taking both OTC's. This morning, I awakened without the dry nose, mouth, and eyes.

The valuable info I gain from this forum continues to amaze me!!!

Alisha

[snork1]

The twice a day saline nasal FLUSH can do wonders for clearing out your congestion AND making the cold pass through faster since you are basically eliminating its place to "hide" and gather strength. (Note I am NOT a doc)

Make sure you drain your head well after the rinse. Let your head "dangle down" and then swoop up a few times to really empty it out.

The regimen described above also does wonders for allergies.

Keep in mind that the pseudoephedrine is a STIMULANT, that wires up some people. I can only use it during the day.

[JeffH]

I've gotten through colds with only nasal pillows. I don't believe that a FF mask is a requirement to get through a cold.

I've noticed that if I relax and let the air do it's work, it seems to break thru the congestion. I have taken an extra nasal decongestant pill during colds, but have gotten thru the night OK on several occasions.

Of course, I use the Adams system that seems to be out of style, but works well for me.

[roster]

The twice a day saline nasal FLUSH can do wonders for clearing out your congestion AND making the cold pass through faster since you are basically eliminating its place to "hide" and gather strength. (Note I am NOT a doc)

Make sure you drain your head well after the rinse. Let your head "dangle down" and then swoop up a few times to really empty it out.

The regimen described above also does wonders for allergies.

Keep in mind that the pseudoephedrine is a STIMULANT, that wires up some people. I can only use it during the day.

snork1, You make more sense than anything any doctor ever said to me about a cold.

[telly]

The twice a day saline nasal FLUSH can do wonders for clearing out your congestion AND making the cold pass through faster since you are basically eliminating its place to "hide" and gather strength. (Note I am NOT a doc)

Make sure you drain your head well after the rinse. Let your head "dangle down" and then swoop up a few times to really empty it out.

The regimen described above also does wonders for allergies.

Keep in mind that the pseudoephedrine is a STIMULANT, that wires up some people. I can only use it during the day.

snork1, You make more sense than anything any doctor ever said to me about a cold.

Thanks to your guys' advice for controlling colds too, I was able to get through the night with my mask (not a full face mask). I had one passage open and the other partially open so I masked up and made the best of it. I only woke up once last night.

Before bed did the Neti Pot treatment and that really relieves the congestion. I also have some saline spray for in between Neti Pot treatments during the daytime.

I'm staying away from Sudafed as it keeps me awake. I'm stayin away from harsh nasal sprays, as I don't want the rebound effect.

Hot and Sour Soup (somewhat spicy) seems to do the brain and body good, as well. Suggest you go for some Tom Yung Gung soup if you have access to Thai Food.

Above all, try not to abandon the machine. If you can get at least one nasal passage open, it's doable.

I also did some Nyquil Gel Caps to knock me out and that really helped compared with the night before when I woke up 12 times and got very little machine assisted sleep. Robitussen CF is my daytime maintenance medicine. It's working pretty well for those killer body aches.

Hopefully in a day or two I'll be back in action as well.

Thanks for your support of us newbs. Much appreciated my brothers and sisters.

[Alisha]

Telly, please see my posting above. The NyQuil Gel Caps are what I was taking at night. You might also want to check the Robitusin ingredients. They will help for a few days, then turn on you.

Hope you feel better soon!

[telly]

Telly, please see my posting above. The NyQuil Gel Caps are what I was taking at night. You might also want to check the Robitusin ingredients. They will help for a few days, then turn on you.

Hope you feel better soon!

Hi Alisha.
The Gel Caps worked great last night. Woke up once at 6AM, then got 2 more hours of sleep. I feel pretty good considering the circumstances.

It's weird feeling both sick and well-rested. I also feel that I am definitely over the hump today. One passage is still half-closed, though. I've done one neti pot treatment once today.

BTW I googled neti pot just 'cause I like to write the word "neti pot" over and over (and in fact, secretly wish my handle was Neti Pot) and I found out it was actually a YOGA technique– called Jala Neti and yours truly is so down with that.



There's a lot to the neti pot, so I thought I'd post the link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jala_neti

Stage 1 is strange enough.
But how 'bout that Stage 2 and Stage 3 stuff? .

[deebatt]

BTW I googled neti pot just 'cause I like to write the word "neti pot" over and over (and in fact, secretly wish my handle was Neti Pot) and I found out it was actually a YOGA technique– called Jala Neti and yours truly is so down with that.

Hey Telly, thanks for the Link .....i went out and got a neti pot today and just did the first treatment. Now i was justsitting down to do some net research......guess i put the cart before the horse LOL.

Glad to hear your feeling a bit better!!!!!