[CPAP] CPAP and allergies

[EyesWideOpen]

Welcome SnoreMan2012. I'd like to suggest a nasal irrigation system. There are several of these available on Amazon and elsewhere. I have the Grossan version. In any case, these devices are like an old fashioned water-pic, except for the sinuses. They pump a pulsating stream of saline solution up one nostril and then out the other. You pump half of the solution in one nostril followed by the other. It seem very weird at first, but it helped me a lot. It cleans things out and soothes the nasal passages. These machines costs $75 - 100 but are well worth it. The Beathe-ease XL solution is required for on-going treatment.

I would use this a couple times a day. Additionally, I use a nasal gel that I apply to the inside of my nostril with a cotton swab, and I have an allergy, fine-filter installed in the CPAP machine.

Good luck

[mjbearit]

Sleepster, the RN who performed the sleep study told me I had to breathe through my nose and had to keep my mouth closed.

Ok, thanks again for your response. Let me rephrase one of my responses. I was allowed to only breathe through my mouth only with the full mask. However it was very uncomfortable.

I'm thinking that my nose will never be clear enough to use a CPAP. I wake up some mornings with tons of snot in my nose.

I also have a problem with a lot of plhem in my throat and wonder if it's related to the snot in my nose? Also it's weird how sometimes I can breathe clearly through my left nostril and my right is stuffy, and at other times my left is stuffy and my right is clear. Why is it that when one side is clear the opposite side is congested and later in the day the congested side is clear and the clear side is congested?

Sounds like you may have chronic post nasal drip. That's what I have had pretty much as long as I can remember! I think it is probably pretty common with us allergy sufferers. I wake up every morning and due to the pressure of the CPAP I hack a bunch of crud out of my lungs for an hour or so, but I will take that over not using the CPAP any day! The pressure applied to a stuffy nose really opens up the nasal passages wonderfully. I had the septum and turbinate surgery back in the 80's and it helped for many years, but I believe it has grown back (which I was warned it may) as I have the same old issues with breathing I did before. As long as my machine opens me up to sleep though, I am not going for round 2 of that surgery! I did not find that surgery to be an overly pleasant experience! I keep my humidifier on 2 so I get plenty of humidification and good pressure and I can breathe just fine. Of course you have to get over that initial claustrophobic reaction of something being over your face. Another thing that I find helps a lot is turning off that auto start function. For some reason if I allow the machine to come on when it sense that I have the mask on, I feel like it is fighting me for several seconds. I do not get that when I manually turn it on. In truth it is probably me fighting the machine and not being in sync with it, but... the cure is pretty simple in my book!
Good luck with your therapy!

[SnoreMan2012]

Hi,

Your chronic post nasal drip comment may be right. I went swimming tonight to swim a few laps and I noticed a lot of plem in my throat and I have to clear it quite often. My stuffyness and this plem problem I am having seem to be related.

[/quote]

Ok, thanks again for your response. Let me rephrase one of my responses. I was allowed to only breathe through my mouth only with the full mask. However it was very uncomfortable.

I'm thinking that my nose will never be clear enough to use a CPAP. I wake up some mornings with tons of snot in my nose.

I also have a problem with a lot of plhem in my throat and wonder if it's related to the snot in my nose? Also it's weird how sometimes I can breathe clearly through my left nostril and my right is stuffy, and at other times my left is stuffy and my right is clear. Why is it that when one side is clear the opposite side is congested and later in the day the congested side is clear and the clear side is congested?
[/quote]


Sounds like you may have chronic post nasal drip. That's what I have had pretty much as long as I can remember! I think it is probably pretty common with us allergy sufferers. I wake up every morning and due to the pressure of the CPAP I hack a bunch of crud out of my lungs for an hour or so, but I will take that over not using the CPAP any day! The pressure applied to a stuffy nose really opens up the nasal passages wonderfully. I had the septum and turbinate surgery back in the 80's and it helped for many years, but I believe it has grown back (which I was warned it may) as I have the same old issues with breathing I did before. As long as my machine opens me up to sleep though, I am not going for round 2 of that surgery! I did not find that surgery to be an overly pleasant experience! I keep my humidifier on 2 so I get plenty of humidification and good pressure and I can breathe just fine. Of course you have to get over that initial claustrophobic reaction of something being over your face. Another thing that I find helps a lot is turning off that auto start function. For some reason if I allow the machine to come on when it sense that I have the mask on, I feel like it is fighting me for several seconds. I do not get that when I manually turn it on. In truth it is probably me fighting the machine and not being in sync with it, but... the cure is pretty simple in my book!
Good luck with your therapy!
[/quote]

[PaulaO2]

It is quite common for nostrils to switch being the one stuffed.

I have horrible post nasal drip. I can blow my nose for several minutes and get nothing but breathe in hard and down it goes. Gross, yes.

My asthma medication Flovent has really helped with that. When I remember to use it.

[SnoreMan2012]

It is quite common for nostrils to switch being the one stuffed.

I have horrible post nasal drip. I can blow my nose for several minutes and get nothing but breathe in hard and down it goes. Gross, yes.

My asthma medication Flovent has really helped with that. When I remember to use it.

To give y'all an update, I'm going back to my allergy doctor and see if he can give me some insight. My ENT wants to do turbinate surgery but it doesn't solve the core of the problem in that I am so stuffy.

[Sleepster]

I have horrible post nasal drip. I can blow my nose for several minutes and get nothing but breathe in hard and down it goes. Gross, yes.

Gross? Yes. But since you brought it up ... What could be happening is that your maxillary sinuses are filling with drainage. When you inhale the air flow causes it to spill over into your throat. When you blow your nose, though, it just stays put.

[Sleepster]

To give y'all an update, I'm going back to my allergy doctor and see if he can give me some insight. My ENT wants to do turbinate surgery but it doesn't solve the core of the problem in that I am so stuffy.

The surgery may very well be the cure to your stuffiness.

Here's what happened with me. I had chronic sinusitus. I had a perpetual sinus infection that wouldn't go away with a full round of antibiotics. Combined of course with antihistamines and decongestants.

This meant that I had constant drainage down my throat, and lots of stuffiness.

After the first endoscopic sinus surgery these symptoms were much improved. I would still get sinus infections on occassion, but they could be treated sucessfully with antibiotics. In between sinus infections I still have to take antihistamines and sometimes decongestants. Now I get maybe one sinus infection every two or maybe even three years.

I no longer have drainage or stuffiness.

My ENT says that the purpose of sinus surgery is to turn sinuses that don't respond to antibiotics into sinuses that do.

[SnoreMan2012]

The purpose of the turbinate surgery according to my ENT was to open up the airwaves. However there are a few problems.

First both sides of my nose are stuffy at different times. Sometimes its the left and sometimes its the right. The turbinate surgery was only for one side and therefore the other side would still have the same problems.

Second the ENT never mentioned anything about the surgery improving that issue.

Third, I have had that surgery before and according to my wife, it didn't help solve the problem.

So this surgery may help, but doesn't get to the core of the problem, especially on the side he isn't touching. The X-rays show that only side may need surgery. If that's the case, then I still have serious allergy issues.

To give y'all an update, I'm going back to my allergy doctor and see if he can give me some insight. My ENT wants to do turbinate surgery but it doesn't solve the core of the problem in that I am so stuffy.

The surgery may very well be the cure to your stuffiness.

Here's what happened with me. I had chronic sinusitus. I had a perpetual sinus infection that wouldn't go away with a full round of antibiotics. Combined of course with antihistamines and decongestants.

This meant that I had constant drainage down my throat, and lots of stuffiness.

After the first endoscopic sinus surgery these symptoms were much improved. I would still get sinus infections on occassion, but they could be treated sucessfully with antibiotics. In between sinus infections I still have to take antihistamines and sometimes decongestants. Now I get maybe one sinus infection every two or maybe even three years.

I no longer have drainage or stuffiness.

My ENT says that the purpose of sinus surgery is to turn sinuses that don't respond to antibiotics into sinuses that do.

[SnoreMan2012]

I went to see the ENT and she suggested to do another allergy test to see if my serum is not covering all of my symptoms. I'm not optomistic.

The purpose of the turbinate surgery according to my ENT was to open up the airwaves. However there are a few problems.

First both sides of my nose are stuffy at different times. Sometimes its the left and sometimes its the right. The turbinate surgery was only for one side and therefore the other side would still have the same problems.

Second the ENT never mentioned anything about the surgery improving that issue.

Third, I have had that surgery before and according to my wife, it didn't help solve the problem.

So this surgery may help, but doesn't get to the core of the problem, especially on the side he isn't touching. The X-rays show that only side may need surgery. If that's the case, then I still have serious allergy issues.

To give y'all an update, I'm going back to my allergy doctor and see if he can give me some insight. My ENT wants to do turbinate surgery but it doesn't solve the core of the problem in that I am so stuffy.

The surgery may very well be the cure to your stuffiness.

Here's what happened with me. I had chronic sinusitus. I had a perpetual sinus infection that wouldn't go away with a full round of antibiotics. Combined of course with antihistamines and decongestants.

This meant that I had constant drainage down my throat, and lots of stuffiness.

After the first endoscopic sinus surgery these symptoms were much improved. I would still get sinus infections on occassion, but they could be treated sucessfully with antibiotics. In between sinus infections I still have to take antihistamines and sometimes decongestants. Now I get maybe one sinus infection every two or maybe even three years.

I no longer have drainage or stuffiness.

My ENT says that the purpose of sinus surgery is to turn sinuses that don't respond to antibiotics into sinuses that do.