I have a miserable cold. Need tips.

[Stormynights]

I slept without a mask for the first time since starting cpap. Does anyone have any tips? Last night it felt like the air was burning my nose so I just pulled off my mask. I tried full face and my whole mask drawer. It was just miserable. I am sure some more experienced users know how to make this easier.

[Jaylee]

I would try neti pot, full face mask and cranking up or down the humdifier *do the opposite of what you normally do*. I find the full face mask made it easier to get through the one cold I did have this year.

[Muse-Inc]

12-hour, generic Afrin! To prevent rebound, use it this way

• 1st night, both nostrils, 1 spray
• 2nd night: pick 1 nostril, 1 spray
• 3rd night: same nostril, 1 spray
• 4th night: other nostril, 1 spray
• 5th night: same nostril, 1 spray

If you've never used it, you might get an additional few nights by rotating back to the original nostril for 2 nights, then shifting.

European Stoss Protocol for use of vitmin D -- investigate online before using, works like a charm for me for viruses if ya think that's what ya got.

[BlackSpinner]

I slept without a mask for the first time since starting cpap. Does anyone have any tips? Last night it felt like the air was burning my nose so I just pulled off my mask. I tried full face and my whole mask drawer. It was just miserable. I am sure some more experienced users know how to make this easier.

Crank up your humidity - as far as it can go. Use over the counter meds to address your symptoms. You will get over it faster if you get enough O2 and sleep.

[lktnky]

Sinus rinse (neti pot or NeilMed squeeze bottle) with saline solution.
Don't be afraid to use your mask as the pressures generally help with the stuffiness.
Drink lots of fluids during your waking hours and take zinc if it's still within the first couple of days of symptoms.
Feel better soon!

[BlackSpinner]

Also some people up their pressure a bit to overcome the swelling in the sinuses.

[chunkyfrog]

I used my new full face mask, which worked fairly well--even when coughing.
Nose itches more when I can't reach it--go figure.
I had to pull the mask off a few times a night to blow my nose--always put it back--can't sleep without it!
The worst night I took a single pseudoephedrine before bed so I could breathe.
I already take so many RX meds that I avoid much of anything else.
I have yet to use my neti pot--probably should have.

[Jaylee]

Nose itches more when I can't reach it--go figure.

Mine too

[herefishy]

Breathe Right helps.

[kempo]

When everything else fails I use Claritin D. http://www.drugstore.com/qxp78906/clari ... dpid=78905

You have to show your Drivers License to buy it, but it works.

[sister]

Hi, I don't have a cold but I have terrible year round allergies that make me miserable,some days are worse than others. I use claritin,a neti pot,and flonase every day.
When I put on my c-pap at night however,I get instant relief from all the sneezing,congestion and runny nose! Can't explain it but the c-pap gives me relief and I can sleep.
Sometimes if it's really bad I use my c-pap in the daytime for awhile to feel better.
Good luck to you and hope you feel better.

[Stormynights]

Thanks for all the tips. I think I tried them all last night. I cranked up the humidity and put on my snake heater. I don't think the increased humidity worked very well for me. I got a horrible headache and still took of the FF mask. This is working way different than just my allergies. I think I should have switched to a set pressure instead of auto. The pressure kept trying to open my airways and it wasn't going to budge even with a cold pill and the nettie pot.

[DocileDiva]

I have really bad sinus problems and seasonal allergies. ... for the burning in my nose I now use Ayr Saline gel and occasionally a saline spray. The saline gel works wonders for me. My turbinites in my nose swell and stuff up my nose my ENT doctor prescribed me Pantanse. It reduced the swell and now I don't even have to use it every night....I started with a combo of claritan d, flonase, and pantase for a few days as instructed by the doctor. Now I occasionally use the claritan d when I feel stuffiness coming on and Pantanase. Good luck.

[infntyx2]

Sinus rinse (neti pot or NeilMed squeeze bottle) with saline solution.

My pulmonologist suggested a Neti pot or NeilMed squeeze bottle since I suffer from seasonal allergies as well. I've been using the squeeze bottle daily for the past few months and have gotten a favorable result. I'm much less congested than I used to be with allergies. As a result, I can primarily rely on my Resmed Swift FX. It did seem to take 2-3 weeks of daily use with the NeilMed bottle before I was noticeably less stuffy at night. When I'm completely congested with a cold, I'll use Afrin to help. Also, using a nasal mask (rather than nasal pillows) sometimes helps at those times of sickness.

[larry63]

I slept without a mask for the first time since starting cpap. Does anyone have any tips? Last night it felt like the air was burning my nose so I just pulled off my mask. I tried full face and my whole mask drawer. It was just miserable. I am sure some more experienced users know how to make this easier.

DISCLAIMER:: But I'm not a doctor, so this is not medical advice!!! What follows is from my own experience, and I'm not suggesting a course of action for you.


Well it's miserable enough sleeping with a CPAP, so if I were in your situationI would go without, so at least your body gets some good mask-free rest. Of course, you'll snore like a fiend but so what? Of course some people with OSA actually stop breathing entirely in the middle of the night and wake up gasping for air without CPAP, so if you fall into that category it might be different.
Me, I just snore heavily but steadily.

I'm getting over a cold myself, and I've been roughly alternating CPAP and without. After the CPAP nights, I have the pleasure of going the day with sweats, toothaches, sinus pain,aches all over, and earaches (in addition to the brain fog that CPAP cause in me). I think the CPAP just blows the cold up my ears, sinuses, and eyes. If I go two days without I feel better, until I decide to go a night with the CPAP again ...

I'm going to try to call my ENT with in a few days, but I'm sure the advice I'll get would be to do without untill the cold is gone (even the literature from the CPAP manual or DME or someone says that I think).