Allergies please HELP!!!

So, I need help. I went to take a nap this afternoon and my allergies are acting up REALLY bad and I couldn't stand the mask on my face. My nose is just running and dripping and I'm sneezing every 30-45 min. It's horrible! I finally gave up because everytime I sneezed I would have to take the mask off, blow my nose, and then have to re-adjust it. Not fun! I've taken sinus meds and my daily allergy meds. Any suggestions?


BTW, my son had the swine flu, that's why the dr called. His twin and myself both tested negative for the any type of flu!!!!

best answer... sinus rinse. Should help with both the allergies and if you've caught anything from the sick son.

Yes, sinus rinsing (e.g. http://www.neilmed.com)

Yesteday I also read on a Mayoclinic summing up for doctors that when a person sneezes and drips a lot in response to CPAP, they should make sure to rinse and dry the humidifier daily.

Now - lets not get into this whole "how much do you clean" religious discussion. We have different sensitivities/allergic tendencies, live in different environments, use different water (even when distilled) and different filters. Try - maybe it will make things better.

I would try it - and if my allergic responses were terrible, I would even consider rinsing out the dried humidifier just before filling it, in case pollen fell on its parts as they it dried.

O.

I know how miserable that can be! Aside from the above, you might try taking loratadine (the active ingredient in Claritin) at night. Also, NasalCrom (or some generic form of cromolyn sodium) may help although it will take a few days to kick in. If all else fails, your doctor can prescribe a cortisone-type inhaler.

Thanks. I clean my mask, dry my hose, empty and wipe out humidifier tank every morning. I can't imagine not doing that due to it grosses me out to have any residue left behind. It would be like not brushing your teeth or washing your face.

As far as anything else goes I'm on a nose spray called Rhinocort every day and I was still sneezing. Yesterday the forcast said mold, pollen, and grass allergens were high and I had to be out with my sister wedding dress shopping. I did nothing but sneeze and blow my nose all day.

Dr said whatever I was doing to prevent myself from getting the flu to keep it up. Back in Feb my son had influenza type A also and so did my daughter. I never got it. I was constantly washing my hands and NEVER put my hands to my mouth or nose without washing them first and after. I used lysol wipes all the time.

So I ended up taking 2 benedryl last night but I woke with a sore throat and dried out sinuses. I can't win. I will talk to dr about taking something else for allergies.

Use your cpap to its full capacity - turn your humidfier way up to help with the dry mouth syndrome

Regular sinus rinses! ... the all natural allergy treatment.

http://www.hydromedonline.com/hp.html

Australia is the hayfever centre of the universe! slight exaggeration but it is bad here at times- over the years i have just grown accustomed to constantly conested sinuses, sniffly nose as non of the antihistimines seemed to do much good! i used the nasal sprays etc and it was just more money wasted! it was one of the things i was worried about when i found out i needed Vpap, full face masks just don't seal on me and i have been a mouth breather for as long as i can remember- I started using one of the saline sinus washout kits and i hated the feeling but thought it was worth a try and low and behold, for the 1st time in years can breathe properly though my nose, my hayfever has been non exisitent and i am managing vpap well with a nasal mask- try the saline rinses- i find that i hd to use it daily for a while and now just occasionally unless the pollen count goes up- give it a try

So, I should have thought to use the sinus rinse because I use it regularly on my son. He LOVES it and does it himself. He tells me every night to make his nose water up. He gets in the tub leans forward and sprays it up his nose. It's so cute. Not even 4 years old yet. I have to slightly cool the water for him though because he says it feels better cool. He won't use it unless it is room temp.

I tried it this morning before work and nothing, I mean NOTHING would come out the other nostril!!! I was in so much pain that even my teeth hurt. I called dr and told him that my allergies were out of control and what happened with the rinse.

He had me come in and he did an exam well, with the allergies and other stuff going on I apparently developed a sinus infection. He put me on Biaxin and told me to continue to use the rinse as that will help push the infection out. He said to do the rinse 2 to 3 times a day if I can. Isn't that a lot?

Hopefully this will work. He added Singular to my medications. Since I did have a low grade fever he did test me for the flu which made me sneeze even more and it came back negative again so that was good.

2-3 times a day is not too much. It really helps.

O.

A complexity to this issue is that the nasal symptoms of allergy, and the symptoms which some people experience as a direct result of CPAP itself - nasal drip and sneezing - can be the same, and can be severe. Distinguishing the cause, particularly when both may be contributing factors, can be difficult.

The common recommendations for sneezing and rhinorrhea from CPAP are things which you appear already to be doing:
- humidification
- steroid nasal spray
- mask rather than nasal pillows (the "directed" airflow into the nares may sometimes be a factor)

An relevant article I just found after reading of your ordeal is:

Nasopharyngeal symptoms in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome : Effect of nasal CPAP treatment

Most fascinating is that they found this problem worse in winter (in Finland) than in summer, perhaps suggesting that dryness may be more of a contributing factor than seasonal allergies.

Good luck.

(Ozij, thank you for your examples of the way to display the article title rather than the link!)

You're very welcome, Velbor.
Have you tried google toolbar - and especially the google scholar part of it? I put "BRANDER P. E." in scholar, and got the full article in a cinch.

Its from 1999 -- here is google scholar's list of articles that quote it; 34 today, but the number may grow....

O.