congestion

[momexp5]

There've been a few posters that have talked about being congested, who felt that it was because of the CPAP. I thought about something this morning. It is possible, I think, that the humidifier running pure water into one's sinuses could cause the sinuses to swell ever so slightly, but enough to be perceptible. Here's a solution, I think, which I used this morning and which I think worked for me - flushing the sinuses with salt water first thing in the morning should help any swelling to go away. If you haven't tried nasal irrigation, it's like when you swim in the surf and the salt water gets into your sinuses and you have to blow the water out of your nose. Recipe: 1 quart distilled water (boil it for 5 minutes if you're concerned about germs), 1 Tbsp NON-IODIZED salt, 1 tsp baking soda. Use about 4 to 8 oz for each irrigation session, blown in with a big syringe or bulb squirter thingie.

[Severeena]

Momep5, I do this in the morning and at night before going to bed. The one at bed time really helps to eliminate the one in the morning.

Sinuses are working instead of causing headaches.
[/quote]

[DewRider]

I am a very new member (this is my first post) and I was immediately interested in your discussion.

I have only been on CPAP a few nights (3 to be exact), but have some problems with congestion. Your suggestion of salt water sounds painful. Is it? Or is it just one more thing that we poor sleep deprived people have to learn to get used to?

Thanks.

[momexp5]

Dagnabbit, don't ya hate it when you write a post and then lose it when you access another page?

It's not painful at all - getting water up your nose from jumping off a diving board feet first can really hurt, or getting tumbled in the surf really bad - but not this. It takes a little getting used to, because at first you think you're going to choke or something - but it's really easy.

It's not a CPAP thing - it's more of an allergy and preventing-sinus-infections thing. But it just makes sense that it would work here, too.

You know how your fingers turn into raisins if you soak in the tub? That's because they're getting super soaked by the straight water, the water is soaking into your skin tissues. Sufficiently salty water draws water (gunky junky) *out* of your tissues. You know how you gargle with salt water when you have a sore throat, and not with straight water? Same reason.

When I had to do this after my sinus surgery, my ENT gave me a 25 (30?) cc syringe that works great. You can probably get them online (something for cpap.com to carry??? Throw a few in for a buck each when you buy a mask? Somebody suggest it to them) - here's a picture of a 60cc syringe

http://www.medicalsupplygroup.com/Share ... =BND309653

I'm not happy with what I'm coming up with for syringes, actually - anyone know anything about syringes?

Google "sinus irrigation" (or what I did "sinus irrigating syringe") - lots comes up. (God bless Google...) - you'll see tips like "make it the right temperature, like a baby's bottle" and "do NOT use iodized salt". The recipe above, my ENT gave me after surgery.

[DewRider]

Momexp5

Thanks for the reply. I think I will give it a try.

[fnorette]

Syringes can be obtained mailorder from horsehealthusa.com (put "syringes" into the search bar; e.g. 60-cc $1.39. Happy hunting!

[momexp5]

what the heck is a "luer tip"?

[Severeena]

You can also buy what is called Ocean. My nose doctor had me using that after my nasal surgery.

[fnorette]

Momexp5 - a Luer lock is like a standard tip for a normal syringe (sans needle) that has a slight twist to enable like needles to lock on. Not a factor when using the syringe for nasal irrigation.

[snork1]

I am a firm believer in the saline rinse as described above, ever since I HAD to do it following sinus surgery. I kept it going twice a day ever since. It is AMAZING how it keeps allergies down to a minimum. Normally I would be dying from allergies this time of year, but so far I hardly notice them.

I use the blue squeeze bulb found in ear wax removal kits or used for newborn babies.

It is not at all painful, but certainly could take getting used to it for some people. The nice thing is you can work into it gradually and gently.

I keep it simple though. I use the same salt I ingest, which is iodized "sea salt", although most salt is from the sea, usually "sea salt" means it doesn't have aluminum in it, which I would be more worried about ingesting than iodine, since iodine is a necessary supplement that is meant to ingest.

[dsm]

I have only been on CPAP a few nights (3 to be exact), but have some problems with congestion. Your suggestion of salt water sounds painful. Is it? Or is it just one more thing that we poor sleep deprived people have to learn to get used to?

Hi,

I am a newbie (both here in this forum and on CPAP - 3 nights). Every night before I go to bed I am experiencing a congested nose. When I went in for the fitting out sleepover I could hardly breathe with any nasal mask & this got worse when I went horizontal. The sleepover helper I had that night, tried a few different masks then suggested I try a nasal spray. I had avoided these before because I am one of those folk who tries to take as few pills and drugs as I possibly can. Anyway it worked and I progressed with the sleepover (not a really good night).

Now after 3 nights with my own machine & using a tiny puff up each nostril from a standard nasal spray seems to clear my nose up enough to get me underway & I then seem to have no further congestion problem overnight even though during the day my nose may still be a bit congested. It is mid winter where I am so the cold weather is probably a major contributor.

Anyway, last night I was so confident about happily nose breathing all night that I stuck a 3inch strip of 2inch wide Johnson & Johnson tape over my mouth & had my best nights CPAP ever. No characteristic mouth leaks *at all* . Now, it is not my long term plan to plaster my mouth shut every night but I still have to figure out just how to learn, or manage, to keep my lips sealed using some less drastic approach (but can't think of 1 yet). I have a ResMed full face mask but don't even want to open it until I have exhausted use of the ACTIVA nasal mask I am learning to admire (very very clever & practical design).

My CPAP machine is a RemStar AUTO set to CFLE mode (Fixed pressure mode) at 14cms. I have the heated humidifier & set to heat 3. (I may try heat 2 tonight). I hace CFLEX active at 2. My mask is the wonderful ResMed ACTIVA & the straps are so loose that until I lie down the mask membrane doesn't even fully touch my face.

I have gathered from several other people here that it is normal for some people to suffer nasal congestion & need a spray, until the whole CPAP process becomes second nature at which time most folk seem to be able to do without the nose puffs before going to bed.

Anyway, hang in there you are not alone.

Cheers

DSM

[dsm]

Your suggestion of salt water sounds painful. Is it? Or is it just one more thing that we poor sleep deprived people have to learn to get used to?

Also, Re sniffing salt water. I am a long term sinus sufferer & years ago used to 'sniff' salt water daily in spring season or when my congestion got really bad.

My approach was to have a plastic disk (like a soup bowl) & a container of kitchen salt, both kept in the bathroom. At night or morning when bathing (usually showering) I would squirt about a teaspoonful of salt into the dish, top it up 3/4 full with warmish water from the shower, then holding the bowl & one nostril shut, would breath the mixture in one nostril after the other until the water was flowing freely into my mouth (do spit it out at that point ). It didn't take me long to guess the minimal amount of salt needed to prevent gagging or discomfort but it sure helped during the day. Once I had the right saline balance, the experience was easy and caused me no anxiety at the time of the flushing.

I am not doing this at the moment as the use of a tiny puff of a particular nasal spray seems to be doing the job. HOWEVER with using the saline wash I used to find one very disturbing side effect. Up to some hours afterward I might lean forward with my head down then suddenly have a rush of stored salty water tumble from my nose !!! - this could be embarrassing and messy depending where I was and what I was doing.

Because of the above side effect, I am not game to use a saline wash with CPAP just before going to bed (esp so if I may have taped my mouth shut ).

So my message is, check out the effects on your nose before taking the 'plunge' before bed time.

Cheers

DSM

[momexp5]

You can also buy what is called Ocean. My nose doctor had me using that after my nasal surgery.

I've used Ocean, too - I think it's different - Ocean will moisturize the lining of your nose, but it's not really enough for flushing everything out. Like... if you've got a dirty 3yo on a hot day, you can either spritz some water on him to keep him cool, or you can squirt him with the hose to get some of the dirt off of him.

[momexp5]

I used to find one very disturbing side effect. Up to some hours afterward I might lean forward with my head down then suddenly have a rush of stored salty water tumble from my nose !!! - this could be embarrassing and messy depending where I was and what I was doing.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that! lol - surfers get that all the time - hey Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, now you can be a surfer dude too <eg>

[ozij]

Abput three weeks ago snamvar posted a link to the following site:
http://www.sinucleanse.com/ I don't know about the poduct, the point is, they have a movie showing a flushing technique -since doing it that way I no longer find saline pouring out of my nose at unexpected moments.

O.