Nasal congestion

[summersolstice]

I've had a chronic problem with blocked sinuses for a long time, though one side is usually always clear. Does this pose a problem or minimize the effectiveness of my ResMEd FX Swift?

[Pugsy]

If you can get enough air through the one good nostril and you can sleep comfortably without opening you mouth to supplement air intake, I see no reason not to at least try it. Perhaps you can do what some of the others do to help open up the one side that is most congested...Neti pot rinses..saline spray often...RX nasal spray to help minimize swelling like Flonse or something similar. Add oral decongestant to help...

I doubt the effectiveness will be compromised because enough air will go up one nostril. My concern would be your comfort and possible need to mouth breath. Mouth breathing will surely compromise things.

Some people have discovered that the added humidity in the air along with the force of the air actually helps clear out the congestion and they wake up breathing easier than when they went to bed.

[robysue]

I've had a chronic problem with blocked sinuses for a long time, though one side is usually always clear.

Does the "clear" side switch from time to time on a semi-regular basis? If so, you may simply be noticing something called the nasal cycle, which is actually a pretty normal part of how our bodies function. Google "nasal cycle" and you'll get lots of hits. The basic idea, however, is that your two nostrils shift their workload back and forth in a delicate dance. At any moment, most of the air you inhale travels through just one nostril, while a much smaller amount seeps in through the other. At some point, the nasal cycle reverses course and the workload shifts to the other nostril. The length of time between nostril switching varies, depending on the individual and various other factors, but each cycle usually lasts from 40 minutes to several hours.

Does this pose a problem or minimize the effectiveness of my ResMEd FX Swift?

As long as you are breathing through your nose (and NOT your mouth) it really doesn't much matter which nostril you are breathing through or if you are breathing predominantly through one nostril or breathing equally through both nostrils. But if you routinely open your mouth when one nostril feels stopped up, then you might indeed have some real problems with the Swift FX.

For my tips on getting ahead of the nasal congestion in the first place, see my blog post: Dealing with nasal congestion