Sinus Congestion

[OctopusGirl]

I've been having the worst problem getting through the night with my cpap because of sinus congestion this fall. I've been using the nasal pillows mask, but one of my sinuses gets congested and I feel like I'm suffocating and I end up taking off the mask. If I don't get use my cpap, I get bad migraines. I've tried over the counter sinus pills, flonaise, and a histamine, but nothing is working. Is anyone else going through this and do you have any suggestions??

[.mike]

Good morning. Please fill out " user control panel" "profile" "edit equipment". This will help a lot for us to be more specific.

I get this occasionally and can get thru it by using vicks vapor rub on my nose, and that is about it.
I hope you get lots of suggestions.

[RandyJ]

Do a search on this forum for ""sinus rinses" and "nasal irrigation." You probably need to be doing this 2-3 times a day until you're better, then once per day or every other day to maintain.

Having a back up full face mask for when you are very congested is also a good idea.

[kkb]

I'm very new to CPAP myself...less than a week using it, but I do find the NetiPot very helpful for my sinuses! I love my NetiPot!

[squid13]

Neti Pot is great but I prefer the squeeze bottle Neti Rinse. Gives you better control over what your doing by allowing you to control the amount of pressure you may want to use from gentle to what ever it takes.

[Pugsy]

What setting are you using on your humidifier? Some people added moisture will help with congestion and some people less moisture helps with congestion. You might try some experiments with humidifier settings to see if changes there will help any.

[OctopusGirl]

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I'm going to try the Vick's Vapor Rub and maybe turn up the settings on my humidifier. I'm going to look at the nasal irrgation, too.

[Lizistired]

I turned my humidifier off.
I try to drink a couple of glasses of water an hour or so before bedtime.
Use the NetiPot at least an hour before bedtime if congested.
If it's bad I take sudafed and/or use a Vick's inhaler.
Just try stuff till you find out what works for you.

[Gaga58]

My allergies have been worse than normal this year too and I kind of blame it on the cpap!! I use the nasal pillows so figured with all that direct blowing into them they're not sure how to respond. One thing I found was turning UP my humidity...I need all the extra moisture I can get and so far I've not had trouble with any rainout. I also use the neti pot and love it! About an hour before bedtime, then I coat my nose with the Ayr gel before masking up and throughout the day I use a saline spray to keep the extra moisture up in there. Another thing I found has helped to keep me open with the pillows is using the PurSleep aromatherapy...I use the Clear, kind of ecuplytus/something which opens me up, but I would think you could take some Vick's and put it on a cotton ball or something and put it behind your machine. I had a couple weeks of really bad stuff, including seriously bad bloody nose for several mornings, but seems to be all behind me now thank goodness! Good luck!

[TalonNYC]

I'm right there with you. My allergies are so bad this year that even the FFM is causing dry mouth (a sign that I'm mouth breathing a lot more than usual).

Setting the humidity at a moderate level seems to help, but I may just have to wait it out for another week until frost kills off all the ragweed =)

You may want to talk to your doctor/DME about a Full Face Mask to use during periods of heavy congestion like allergies and occasional head colds. They're take a bit of getting used to, but they can let you breathe through your mouth when you need to do so.