Newbie help with allergic rhinitis

Hi everyone,

New user here. I’ve been on resmed cpap machine for 3 years. I use a nasal pillow as I breathe thru my nose asleep and awake. Here are my facts:

1. Serious allergic rhinitis.
2. I use Azelastine nasal spray.
3 Olaptadine nasal spray.
4. Rhincort nasal spray.
5. Montellukast 10 mg.
6. My AHI is good every hour.
7. I use the gray filter and the apria ultra fine filters part no. CF-1029331-2

I still wake up 5-9 Times a night. I’m still exhausted when I wake up. My nose is still clogged and irritated. I’m angry and tired all day.

Are there any good suggestions for pillows pillow cases sheets ie microfiber versus 100%cotton versus bamboo fiber versus polyester samewith blankets and sheets that will help with allergic rhinitis?

I’ve been to Kaiser andseen 4 allergists 5 pcps and I’m still suffering.

Right now I’m using Pima cotton sheets and cotton pillows and I’ve changed actual beds 3-4 Times.

Any sheets material pillow case material suggestions would really help a very tired and angry sufferer.

Thank you. Very desperate Mark

Welcome to the forum.

Did you have the allergic rhinitis symptoms long before starting cpap or did they just pop up when you started cpap?

I’ve always had allergy problems and suffered from rhinitis, it’s just really bad over the past year and I wish I could wake up refreshed. My allergies I’ve suffered 20 years.

It's possible you've dialed the humidifier way up (or down, depending on your local climate) and given yourself the symptoms... so try playing with the hum. settings to see what works... I don't use it at all because of where I live, others like lots of hum. all year round... it's up to you.

Increasing or decreasing the humidity setting may or may not help but might be worth a try if you haven't already.
Sorry, I am no help with ideas about linens and stuff like that.

I find that maxing the humidity out will actually help any congestion I might have.
Julie does better with little or none added humidity.
It's one of those things that is highly individualized and really only is a factor if the humidity (or lack of) is part of the problem.
Since your symptoms didn't start with cpap therapy it is unlikely that cpap therapy caused them and changing the humidity may not help but might be worth a try anyway.

Have you "allergy-proofed" your bedroom? There is a lot you can do to keep your sleeping environment clean to help prevent alllergies. Do you know what you're allergic to? I have also had allergies all my life.

At a minimum, do you have your pillows, mattress & boxspring completely enclosed in a non-hypoallergenic dust mite proof covers? For me, the material for sheets & pillowcases have not been an issue but it is important to wash weekly in HOT water. How about your flooring? Carpet? Hardwood floors? Any pets? Curtains? This is all obvious stuff but important.

Are you waking up because you can't breathe because your nose is congested? I use a full face mask, can't imagine using a nasal pillow when I'm having bad allergies. I'm a mouth breather, probably because of allergic rhinitis, can't get enough air in.

AND I just saw the suggestions on humidity settings - definitely look at that too!

Hey guys,

I’ve allergy proofed my bedroom. Hardwood floors, no pets, wash all bedding once a week with hot water allergy settings on washer. I never knew I had humidity settings on my respironics cpap machine! System one. The humidity has been set at 3 of a max of five. I just changed it to 0 but will still fill the distilled water tonight for passive humidity. I also don’t have a heated hose. I live at the beach in Southern California and it’s very humid but I moved from Pasadena where it was very dry. I hope messing with the humidity settings I can get it right! If passive humidity doesn’t work then maybe a 1 then the next night a 2 all the way up to 5. Plus I just ordered the generic outlet bacteria filter too. Plus a couple of months ago I ordered generic Amazon white fuzzy filters versus the Apria better quality white filters. I just ordered more Aprias today.

This forum is a wealth of information and I appreciate the responses so far thank you everyone!

Ps I had turbinate reductions 3 years ago and tonsils and upper palate removed too about 20 years ago.

Are you waking up because you can't breathe because your nose is congested? I use a full face mask, can't imagine using a nasal pillow when I'm having bad allergies. I'm a mouth breather, probably because of allergic rhinitis, can't get enough air in.

I’m waking up not being able to breathe, breathing thru my mouth with a super dry mouth and my turbinates are swollen and dry not wet or mucosy.

Pugsy thank you. I read about your humidity settings suggestion from another post. That’s how I found I find that maxing the humidity out will actually help any congestion I might have.

Are there any other settings on the System One that I can mess with? I see this 4.0 reading but don’t understand what it is?

“Julie does better with little or none added humidity.
It's one of those things that is highly individualized and really only is a factor if the humidity (or lack of) is part of the problem.
Since your symptoms didn't start with cpap therapy it is unlikely that cpap therapy caused them and changing the humidity may not help but might be worth a try anyway.my settings. “