Swollen sinuses, plugged nose... Any suggestions?

If I happen to stay up late, or have had a tough physical day, I may start yawning before I go to bed... Or, my eyes water. Either one starts a chain reaction that ends up with my sinuses swollen and my nose plugged shut. It's MUCH worse if I am lying in bed. It's so much so, that I have to stay out of bed until I'm pretty much ready to sleep. If I have my mask on, it seems to be prevented and I don't ever notice it coming on.

Also, if I happen to sneeze after I've gone to bed, or anytime real late, the same thing happens, the old schnozz just plugs up and I can't breath - just like the stuff above does to me. Usually, getting on my feet and drinking some water and moving around helps. Sitting up sometimes helps. But if I stay horisontal, never an improvement. I've struggled at times for hours, desperately exhausted after a long day, only to be unable to sleep because my nose is plugged.

No, I'm not aware of any natural allergies.. .but I do live in dusty country and often work outside during the day and get a good share of dust and whatnot.

I can't take any anti-allergy meds, or decongestants, I have very dangerous reactions to them.

I'm thinking if I had the right idea, I could probably prevent.. or possibly relieve this rather quickly. It's bad, but once it starts to clear, it takes 5-10 min and I'm in bed and asleep, like nothing happened. When it goes away it's just gone like "poof!", vanishing in 3-5 minutes.

Have you tried a neti pot?

I had to look that up. It sounds far worse as it concerns discomfort than the condition...

markk wrote:I had to look that up. It sounds far worse as it concerns discomfort than the condition...

Try it it works and its not as bad as you think......have you ever coughed or choked when drinking and the water or drink came out your nose? Didn't hurt did it...... Same reaction.

If you get the water just about body temperature and the salinity right it feels darn good.

You may have allergens on your body that are irritating you. If you are not doing so already, I would be sure to shower every night a couple of hours before bed, taking care to wash face and hair thoroughly.

Nasal irrigation with a NeilMed squeeze bottle or neti pot may help A LOT. Since you can't use drugs I would definitely not discount this before trying.

A prescription nasal spray like Nasonex or Flonase could also help if you are open to trying it.

Also this is a no-brainier but washing all of your bedding weekly In HOT water is essential. There are also anti-allergen pillow and mattress covers you can buy at stores like Target to cut down on possible allergens in the bed.

I'm glad you guys are encouraging a trial of neti pot (or the squeeze bottle, either way). I had the same reluctance and misgivings as the OP before I tried it, but I was encouraged to try it by my sister who claimed she could breathe easier immediately when she used it. Just relax, and breathe gently through your open mouth while rinsing with it. I use it (the NeilMed squeeze bottle) every evening now to moisten my nasal passages and rinse out dust/allergens before masking up. It has been so helpful to me, it's drug-free and it really does feel better when I do it. Use distilled or filtered water with a packet of the NeilMed saline mix, as another poster said, warm the water just a bit, and give it a couple of tries.

NeilMed was recommended by my ENT doctor. Have you tried the Breathe Right strips, they help too. I use the Advanced.

Have you tried increasing the humidifier setting on your machine. I tried it for the first time last night and my nose did not block. I have always left it on "auto" so I dont really know what level it has been running at but last night I set it at 3.5 and no blocked nose. Yes i know its only one night so we will see. If it blocks again I will increase further.

kaiasgram wrote:I'm glad you guys are encouraging a trial of neti pot (or the squeeze bottle, either way). I had the same reluctance and misgivings as the OP before I tried it, but I was encouraged to try it by my sister who claimed she could breathe easier immediately when she used it. Just relax, and breathe gently through your open mouth while rinsing with it. I use it (the NeilMed squeeze bottle) every evening now to moisten my nasal passages and rinse out dust/allergens before masking up. It has been so helpful to me, it's drug-free and it really does feel better when I do it. Use distilled or filtered water with a packet of the NeilMed saline mix, as another poster said, warm the water just a bit, and give it a couple of tries.

I add a little Alkolol to the mixture. Alkolol is a mucus solvent with great smelling natural extracts and essential oils. Earl

nanwilson wrote:

markk wrote:I had to look that up. It sounds far worse as it concerns discomfort than the condition...

Try it it works and its not as bad as you think......have you ever coughed or choked when drinking and the water or drink came out your nose? Didn't hurt did it...... Same reaction.

Oh, yes it did! Hurts like having your face smashed.

Even just one drop of water in my nose from condensation in the mask... and I'm in misery for many hours.

It isn't the humidity level from the CPAP, since it happens BEFORE I put it on.

The most effective thing it appears I can do is to simply try to avoid the situation in the first place. Although sneezing is a fact of life. Everyone does it now and then. I'm guessing that you've got the cause right (improper chemistry), caused by tears, or in the case of sneezing, simply caused by the irritation that caused the sneeze in the first place.

I went through two weeks of really bad issues with this and then it began to subside... If, rather than getting stressed about it, I just sit up and read and try to forget about it, it seems to go away faster.