Nasal congestion at night

Been on a CPAP now for about 3 years and I average an AHI reading of 1.38 for the past 18 months.
Since I had a cold this past winter I noticed that I still get nasal congestion each night, would a menthol additive to the water in the humidifier be helpful?
I had a bad cold this winter and I had to use a nasal spray ( Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride .05% ) to breath at night and it seems each night now at least one
nostril closes, once that happens I never fall back to sleep. I know nasal spray would quickly address the issue but it is addictive.
Would love to get more sleep time, any suggestions?

It's never a good idea to add anything directly to the water but you can put it on a cotton ball or disc outside the air intake and let the incoming air draw in the aroma.

There are aromatherapy products design just for helping with congestion.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/cpap-a ... us-blaster

Or I have used a cotton ball (placed on a dish so oils don't harm wood of my table) and place a few drops of whatever essential oil I want to enjoy on the cotton ball and I regulate intensity of the aroma with distance from the air intake.

Lower your humidity setting (or even try it off altogether) for a few nights... if local weather/climate doesn't warrant it, you may not need it, or only at a lower setting for part of the year. Too much will cause congestion/cold symptoms.

Try saline spray instead of the decongestant. You may need a few shots to get breathing, and patience. If you've been a heavy user of decongestants, it can be a real struggle to get off them. I've had success with diluting the decongestant with saline spray. Good advice about adjusting your humidity, although in my case, raising the humidity and the heat in the tubing helped. Depends on climate and other factors. Allergy sprays like Nasacort may help. I just had my second consecutive full night's sleep with no decongestant, which at some points I would have thought impossible. One other tip: A strong dose of Benadryl will get you breathing and keep you asleep. It's not something to do regularly, but it can break a bad cycle when nothing else will. Good luck.

Golf016 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 4:10 am

Would love to get more sleep time, any suggestions?

flonase nasal spray. or if you are a costco member, the kirkland generic equivalent.

(shout out to dogslobber and his recommendation of the kirkland spray!)

zonker wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:44 am

flonase nasal spray. or if you are a costco member, the kirkland generic equivalent.

(shout out to dogslobber and his recommendation of the kirkland spray!)

It's the Costco Poutine recommendation that I'm most proud of. Although putting it up one's nose is of limited benefit.

Golf016 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 4:10 am

... nasal congestion each night ... each night now at least one
nostril closes, once that happens I never fall back to sleep....

Would love to get more sleep time, any suggestions?

Have you had a consultation with an ENT?

No use suffering when there are so many good treatments available these days.

Breathe Right strips--"flesh tone" in the red package.
The clear ones (green package) are not nearly as sticky, so get the red box.
The bullfrog uses them every night.
I sometimes "borrow" one if my Mucinex spray fails to open up my schnozz.
Mucinex works better for me than Flonase. Different stuff.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 11:16 am

Breathe Right strips--"flesh tone" in the red package.
The clear ones (green package) are not nearly as sticky, so get the red box.
The bullfrog uses them every night.
I sometimes "borrow" one if my Mucinex spray fails to open up my schnozz.
Mucinex works better for me than Flonase. Different stuff.

I never thought about using breath rite strips and CPAP... i have some in my bathroom might use them tonight. idk..

Dog Slobber wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 11:06 am

zonker wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:44 am

flonase nasal spray. or if you are a costco member, the kirkland generic equivalent.

(shout out to dogslobber and his recommendation of the kirkland spray!)

It's the Costco Poutine recommendation that I'm most proud of. Although putting it up one's nose is of limited benefit.

hey! maybe it could be used in place of mouth tape???

zonker wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:44 am

flonase nasal spray. or if you are a costco member, the kirkland generic equivalent.

(shout out to dogslobber and his recommendation of the kirkland spray!)

That is an allergy spray and won't do much for decongestant.

What is needed is Flonase Sensimist - different product and no knockoffs yet.

Rexlan wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 13, 2019 8:56 am

zonker wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:44 am

flonase nasal spray. or if you are a costco member, the kirkland generic equivalent.

(shout out to dogslobber and his recommendation of the kirkland spray!)

That is an allergy spray and won't do much for decongestant.

What is needed is Flonase Sensimist - different product and no knockoffs yet.

No, Aller-Flo is a steroid. Note the Fluticasone listed as an active ingredient.

https://www.costco.com/Kirkland-Signatu ... 95245.html

Rexlan wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 13, 2019 8:56 am

That is an allergy spray and won't do much for decongestant.

Flonase and generic equivalents are steroid sprays. They reduce allergic reaction and swelling which reduces congestion.

Rexlan wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 13, 2019 8:56 am

What is needed is Flonase Sensimist - different product and no knockoffs yet.

Wrong. The active ingredient in Flonase Sensimist is identical to the active ingredient in Flonase. Sensimist has some inactive ingredients which help to create a finer mist. It's all marketing. They want to convince consumers that Sensimist is a different, more effective product. They have it patented to avoid competition. Some people will be impressed by the finer mist, but it will cost them much more and improve the gross margins of GSK company.

Dog Slobber wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 11:06 am

It's the Costco Poutine recommendation that I'm most proud of. Although putting it up one's nose is of limited benefit.

Export it down here then!

Rexlan wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 13, 2019 8:56 am

zonker wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:44 am

flonase nasal spray. or if you are a costco member, the kirkland generic equivalent.

(shout out to dogslobber and his recommendation of the kirkland spray!)

That is an allergy spray and won't do much for decongestant.

What is needed is Flonase Sensimist - different product and no knockoffs yet.

yet, somehow, i've used it and the generic equivalent for YEARS as a decongestant.

huh.