sinus headaches?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
z754103
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sinus headaches?

Post by z754103 » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:47 am

After 2 weeks on CPAP, I suddenly started getting sinus headaches a couple of days ago. Mostly aching above my eyes and over the top of my head, with a sore throat.

No problems breathing through the nose, and no coughing or sneezing.

My question is should I go on using the CPAP unless I'm getting severe pain/can't breathe through my nose?

I've been reading through posts on this forum and the answers have varied from people who got some sinus pain initially and persevered through, to people with serious problems aggravated by the machine blowing infected air up the nose. I don't want to stop using my CPAP but I don't want to end up with these really scary sounding health problems either!

(This came on AFTER I cleaned everything)


ldemmery
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Post by ldemmery » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:51 am

Have you checked with your family doctor? Perhaps you only have a small sinus infection?

Lynne

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z754103
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Post by z754103 » Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:02 am

That would be my preferred solution, but it takes about a week to get an appt to see my family doctor. (And to complicate thigns she's on vacation this week and I'm travelling for the 10 days after that )

Which is why I'm wondering if people know if it's ok to go on using a CPAP with a mild sinus infection or if that is risky as it would make something minor worse?


ldemmery
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Post by ldemmery » Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:46 pm

I'd say make sure your mask and hose are cleaned and disenfected daily as not to reinfect your self over and over again at the very least.

Lynne


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z754103
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Post by z754103 » Thu Aug 17, 2006 3:47 pm

Yes, I cleaned everything last night. Thanks for the suggestion, I think I will keep doing so until everything's completely fine.

BTW when we soak in vingar + water, does that disinfect or just get the oil off? (Why are we adding vinegar to the water anyway?)

woozle
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Post by woozle » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:40 pm

the vingegar is a natural sterilizer or 'decontaminator' per my dme
so after you clean off the dirt or antying with soap, then use the water/ vinegar and that basically sterilizes anything in there and doesn' t harm the equipment, silicone, etc.

I am still having major sinus issues - try not to bore others but sinus probs were not infections, CT scan showed nasal passages just really small
have tried
swift is very painful
hybrid is actually causing pain as well with the nasal (just like swift)'
oracle - too difficult to stop nose leaks after learned to breathe real hard thru my nose for the swift!
umff - hate it - too many leaks
f and p 407 - hurts bridge of my nose - but modifying that tonight
and just got comfort respironics mask to try tonight

am seeing my sleep doc again tomorrow re: still major sinus pain with his suggested 2nd humidifier with swift - he thought was due to dryness and I found ou tnot the case and in a lot of pain again - so trying to get the aveo tsd - tongue stabilizing device as tongue in back of throat appears to be my issue - also have appointment next wk to talk to a dental doc on oral appliances - I am compliant with using the cpap as have osa severely - but still tired as multiple wakenings in the night due to either pain or leaks - and quality of life is pretty bad - that is why spending a lot of money and effort to get treatment down so I can function again - sleep with out pain would be nice - I just decide what pain to live with the next day - anyway - could be anything and seeing your doc is way to go - have realized a lot of people have sinus probs with this - my head hurts real bad w/ it too anyway - good luck


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thisgeek
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Post by thisgeek » Fri Aug 18, 2006 1:08 am

Do you have a humidifier?
It could be that the dry air is causing your problem, or at least aggravating it.

I suffer tremendously from sinus issues (I've had several sinus ops over the years), but I can't say I've had any dramatic problems since I started CPAP in May. I've got a Fisher & Paykel HC608 machine that has a built-in humidifier.


Sleepless in St. Louis
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Post by Sleepless in St. Louis » Fri Aug 18, 2006 7:18 am

BTW when we soak in vingar + water, does that disinfect or just get the oil off? (Why are we adding vinegar to the water anyway?)
I'm not a chemist, but I do play one on TV, or is that I'm not a chemist but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night? Anyway. The vinegar is a mild acid that will lower the pH of the water enough to kill many common microbes, which die when exposed to the acidity. Plus it is mild enough to be used on equipment like this.

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snork1
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Post by snork1 » Fri Aug 18, 2006 9:02 am

good advice above in all posts.

It appears you are already using a humidifier.

Doing a twice a day saline FLUSH is a good way to literally blow out a sinus infection and more importantly a regular FLUSH (not just spritzing with saline spray) is a good way to fend off sinus infections.

But with your sinuses it sounds like you really need to combine a skilled ENT with your regular sleep doc. You wouldn't trust your sleep doc to do heart surgery, so why trust them with your sinuses, which is not their specialty either?

I STRONGLY believe that no matter what approach you take to apnea, you are giving yourself a needlessly uphill battle if you don't get your sinuses and nose working.

Of course the challenge is finding a GOOD ENT.

Remember:
What you read above is only one data point based on one person's opinion.
I am not a doctor, nor do I even play one on TV.
Your mileage may vary.
Follow ANY advice or opinions at your own risk.
Not everything you read is true.

z754103
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Post by z754103 » Fri Aug 18, 2006 11:25 pm

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. I'm going to get a gallon of vinegar! Does it have to be white vinegar, specifically, btw, and what's the correct strength? I've read anything from 1 in 4 to 1 in 10.

I don't have a sleep doctor... sounds like I should get one.

Sleepless in St. Louis
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Post by Sleepless in St. Louis » Sat Aug 19, 2006 7:39 am

Does it have to be white vinegar, specifically, btw, and what's the correct strength? I've read anything from 1 in 4 to 1 in 10.
If you just buy the cheapest store brand white vinegar, that will be good enough for what you are using it for. I would not go much above about a half vinegar half water mix. That works for me and does not seem to damage my cpap equipment.


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z754103
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Post by z754103 » Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:17 pm

Thanks, very helpful. It seems that the sinus/headache thing is slightly worse when I don't clean and soak everything in vinegar each day... not sure if it's a coincidence, placebo effect or what, but I'm going to stockpile vinegar now.


ghmerrill
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Post by ghmerrill » Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:54 pm

Independent of concerns about the sterility of your equipment, you should consider the possibility of a more mechanical effect of CPAP on your sinus situation. I mention this because after about a year on CPAP I visited my ENT guy with what turned out to be a low-grade sinus infection and reported to him how I felt that the CPAP (with heated humidifier) seemed to reduce the incidence of infections for me. He said that yes, it does have that effect for some people, but that he had also seen it have the opposite effect (leading to more congestion and resultant opportunistic infections), and that this seemed to be quite an individualistic response.

A bit over ten years ago I had my sinus architecture fundamentally rebuilt (after decades of fairly regular, but usually low-grade and lengthy infections). That helped a great deal. And I continue to believe that the APAP helps as well. But it is also easy to imagine that the effect of XPAP and its relations to sinus problems is dependent on the patient's individual anatomy.

If you have continued problems, it might be worth checking that out with an ENT specialist.


woozle
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Post by woozle » Sat Aug 19, 2006 10:07 pm

wanted to add that I tried the white vinegar and the rice vinegar and they stink - to me - and the apple vinegar seems to be the mildest -

Missy
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Post by Missy » Sun Aug 20, 2006 7:56 am

ghmerrill-It's interesting that you reported that your doc stated that some sinus problems are initiated by heated, humidified air from the cpap. I have been suffering from headaches every morning for the past month. I made sure I was not having large mask leaks-I didn't. I upped the humidifier, and that seemed to make things worse. I backed off on the heated humidity and used the passive humidity instead. It was the solution to my problem. Just in case someone else is dealing with the problem headaches, maybe the humidity is the culprit. It's worth trying.

Dawn