Colds: Just One Man's Recipe To Keep the Air Passages Open

[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/) 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 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.

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. 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.

Note: I do not use the steroid nasal spray or the Pseudoephedrine HCL decongestant in the evening because each of them interferes with my sleep.

[MandoJohnny]

This is all decent advice, with some caveats. I have been down this same road for many years.

1. The neti pot system seems very convenient. I recognize it from Aruvedic medicine popular in India. But you don't need the product to do nasal washes, and personally I feel the method I use is a better solution that gives me more control and costs less. My doctor gave me a handout many years ago that outlined the following method that I have used for a long time: Take a cup of the purest water you can get. Tap water is OK in most areas, but if you can get purified or distilled water, do it. Get it to body temperature. A digital fever thermometer is handy here. Add 1/4 teaspoon of table salt and 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda and mix. Use a rubber bulb syringe and gently draw the solution into a nostril and then gently exhale it out the other nostril. Then reverse. BTW, I much prefer distilled water and getting the water at exactly the right temp. I also have neck problems and I wouldn't want to crank my neck in the position shown on the neti demonstration.

2. I used Flonase for years, but it never seemed to help. Finally my doctor took me off of it because it was thinning my nasal membranes, which is a common side effect.

3. Be careful of Sudafed. It can cause insomnia, really bad. Only take it the morning, and if you get insomnia, discontinue. Also, it is rapidly becoming a controlled substance in many areas, because it can easily be converted to a powerful amphetamine. Here in Missouri, it is strictly behind the counter and you have to show a driver's license and fill out some forms to buy it.

[krousseau]

Question---Has anyone found that using nasal steroids sprays with decongestant sprays like Afrin prevents the rebound effect?

[MandoJohnny]

I did not find that, but it makes sense that it might work. I have definitely experienced rebound, but I did not notice any more or less when I was using Flonase as after I stopped. You do not get rebound fron the nasal washes, though, so it is a good solution. (no pun intended!)