Just One Man's Recipe to Keep the Air Passages Open When Suf

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.

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

Rooster, that is a good strategy and pretty close to the one that follow. For whatever they're worth, here are my thoughts....
Get a Full Face Mask -- when you're congested and can't breathe through your nose a FF mask can be a savior.
Using the Afrin type spray can help, but it can also keep you awake. I've tried to do without during a couple of recent colds and have managed. The key is rest and allowing your immune system to recover. But if you can't breathe, you can't sleep, and Afrin can keep the passages open.
To irrigate your sinuses, there is a machine that works like a water pik. You mix salt, baking soda, attach to your nose and you have an incredibly effective cleansing. I do this 3-6 times a day while suffering. What gets flushed out of your nose is amazing...and disgusting.
Pseudoephedrine seems to keep me awake, so I only take it -- like Afrin -- when I have a gnarly cold.
Guafinasin is a must, for me. It maintain mucous viscosity (heh heh) and helps avoid sinus infection and congestion. You can now buy this over the counter and I recently purchased a big bottle at Costco after having paid out the wazoo at the local pharmacy for years. Thanks, Rooster...just wanted to add my thoughts. Your program is incredibly similar to mine.