Stuffy nose?

Any suggestions to using a cpap with a stuffy nose? My allergies kicked in last night and it was tough to breathe through my nose. Any advice for a newbie?

I'd do a couple of saline nasal rinses a day and keep saline nasal spray handy. That should help keep you opened up.

I've noticed that if I'd just relax and not fight it, (hard to do) that my air pressure seems to work itself thru the congestion after a while.


JeffH

As a fellow stuffy nose sufferer, I might have a couple of suggestions that you would like to try.

First, too much or too little humidity can both cause a stuffy nose, and that has been true for me. In fact, I had set the humidity a bit higher to warm the water when filling it before bed. I then forgot to put it back to the correct setting and had a stuffy nose this morning. That also explains the rainout.

I've had the same thing happen if the humidifier chamber runs (almost) dry overnight. In my humidifier, the warming plate will become dry with a bit of water around it in a sort of moat! So, there is still a bit of passover humidity. Even so, I will be stuffy that morning, too.

Another thing that I do is to use a saline nasal wash (supposedly) twice a day. I more often get in one washing. According to my doctor, the nasal wash cleans the nostrils, and clean nostrils allow the cilia (hairs, basically) to move more freely in order to keep the passages as clean as can be. Obviously, if the movement of the cilia is hampered then they cannot move as much and then cannot perform as well.

There are several ways to do this--I use a needle-free syringe, using 3-10 cc in the syringe for each nostril and sometimes I wash each nostril twice. A child's dosing syringe is ideal, which the Target pharmacists will give to you if you say that you are looking for one but cannot find it. Dosing syringes may also be purchased at many drug stores.

Others use a Neti pot, as shown on Oprah by Dr. Mehmet Oz. There are also some other ways, using an irrigator (is it Dr. Grossan's?) which may be purchased, and an irrigating tip is available for a water pik from the same source. And, an ear/nose bulb irrigator is another way that some favor. I asked my doctor if one was better than another, and he immediately said that it made no difference.

A normal saline solution may sometimes be purchased from a pharmacy, although they may have to order it. I used to use the bottled type, but my doctor prescribed that with 3 low-dose antibiotics included. Now, I make my own fresh daily. There are some products that are to be mixed with water such as SinuRinse and others. Many Forum Folk prefer these, finding them convenient.

I find that making my own normal saline solution is so easy and inexpensive that any other method just seems to be WAYYYY too much trouble. So, here is my recipe, garnered from the University of Michigan pediatrics web site: 1/2 cup of warm water, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, a scant pinch of baking soda, and stir until dissolved. This is enough for me; you may wish to double the recipe if a 1/4 teaspoon is easier to find in your drawer or if using the Neti pot or bulb irrigator. They seem to take more saline.

The last thing that I do is use Flonase. 2 sprays in each nostril twice a day keeps much of the swelling that causes stuffiness down to a minimum. It is ideal to use the nasal wash, blow the nose gently to "dry" it out, and then use the Flonase. Of course, there are other prescription nasal sprays for congestion and swelling. I have had the best results with Flonase, but we are all different. Others prefer a different spray, and we all need to do what works best.

Be careful when using over-the-counter sprays for more than recommended on the label, as there can be a rebound effect. Then you will be stuffier than ever!

I hope that this is helpful. It has been discussed before, so if you use the search function, you may find MORE than you ever wanted to read on the subject!

Best of luck,
Karen

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Ditto what JeffH said about the saline... Sam's Club sells Member's Mark 3-ounce bottles of saline for about $1.50, which beats $3 for a 1-ounce bottle of Ocean.

Lots of people swear by neti pots:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neti_pot

If I turn my head to one side or the other for a few minutes, I noticed that whichever nostril is on top clears up. When I found this was true, I was able to adjust my octopus accordingly and benefit.

Zyrtec has done wonders for my allergies, but it's also $150 per month (I am self-pay). Loratadine 10mg (Claritin) has helped a lot of folks, but unfortunately doesn't do anything for me--but since it's cheap and available over-the-counter it's worth a try.

Afrin No-Drip Severe Congestion is a necessary evil when nothing else works, but naturally it is not recommended since after a couple of days I'm hooked on the stuff.

My name's Bill and I'm a recovering Afrin addict.