Hows A/C for you with stuffy noses?

[ShelaghDB]

I recently sold out condo that had Central air and over into a rental that has window style AC boxes, which I hate but am learning to live with.

I am wondering how AC units affect the stuffy nose set?
I am not yet sure if its helping or hindering me so wondering if there is by rule of sorts that they are not good or they are, etc?

Last week, the night after all those tornadoes in the US, the weather came up this way and we had a small tornado touch down and ruin about 10 homes, about 90 miles or so north of me.
Here in Toronto we had a torrential rainstorm.
There was a ton of humidity in the air, naturally.

Went to bed and forgot to t urn off the AC in my bedroom

I woke up maybe 2 hours later as my machine had stopped....so I got up, half asleep and took off my mask and as i a couple of little puddles of water hit the floor at once.
Turned on the light and was surprised at the amount....wandered off to the loo since I was up, came back, wiped off the mask, threw a small towel down on the floor as i did not want to really wake myself up by wiping it dry then and got back into bed ( turned off the AC)

Woke up about an hour later and i could hear an unusual noise and it was my nose....LOL I was getting stuffed but i could tell my nose inside was very damp from the moisture so i took off the mask again and gave up sleeping with it on for the night.

Since then its been fine but that was a very unusual night ,temperature wise/humidity wise, etc

Since then I can't seem to figure out IF this AC is causing me to get stuffed up or not.
Ive read solutions here that people have had but i don't want to go there until I absolutely must for i don't think the stuffiness has been a huge problem.
Lets put it this way, I can see now that i do get stuffed sometimes at night but its never been something i was really aware of, which tells me it wasn't that bad.
I never once felt the need to take spray and spray it in my nose or any other treatment once does for it

But it is the one problem that does affect my sleep and allows it to be good or bad but i just can't yet tell if it is the AC..Still testing...

SO WONDERING how the rest of you stuffy nose people notice you are affected poorly or well for that matter, by AC units?
Admittedly mine is fairly close to me as I love a freezing cold room and sleep better under my duvet when the room is cold....

???

[zonk]

Most nights, we turn AC to heat the bedrooms for short time before going to bed
Congestion is one of the side effects of CPAP. I have tried all sorts of sprays, OTC are not long term solution as not supposed to be used for more than 3 days because of the rebound effects and not sold on the idea of using steroid nasal sprays for ever, sinus rinse at night most helpful. Everyone is different, I prefer slightly higher temperature settings, Climate Control on "Auto" protects against rainout

For discussion on 'stuffy noses' scroll down to 'Possibly Related Threads...'

[woozie38]

I am wondering how AC units affect the stuffy nose set?
I am not yet sure if its helping or hindering me so wondering if there is by rule of sorts that they are not good or they are, etc?

woozie38.
Many people misunderstand the function of A/con. It cools the air, sure, but its main function is to reduce the humidity of a room so that its occupants feel comfortable. The comfort they feel is because of a drop in the ambient temperature of around 4deg C, but more importantly, the lower humidity causes water to dry from our skin which removes heat from our bodies. This drying effect also applies to noses. So in short, having the A/con on whilst you sleep will dry the air in your room along with your nose and mouth. During times of high humidity, this could be just what's needed, preventing or reducing "rain-out".
woozie38
For years I believed I had a "stuffy nose" and struggled to get much help from CPAP therapy. Eventually after five years on the waiting list, I got an appointment with an ENT. Your turbinates are huge, he said having examined my nose and booked a resection for 3 months time. I've had the op which involved an overnight hospital stay. The op itself was not all that bad, far less testing than a septoplasty, & I have to declare I am very glad I had it. I can breathe freely now, something I haven't done for as long time. So if you think your turbinates may be your problem, have the op. Go for it!
P.S. Another member has comprehensively covered the matter of turbinates and resection elswhere on the forum.

[PaulaO2]

Woozie said what I was gonna say.

You'll need to run the humidifier almost as high as if you had the heat on.

We don't have A/C here at the house but I love it when I travel. The first night, I really crank up the humidifier to make up for the difference. Especially if I flew to my destination. Depending on how much water I used and how much was in the mask and hose, I usually can turn it down.

[Sleepster]

One of the issues here is the change in the humidity and temperature. When a weather front or storm comes through these change, and that can wreak havoc on the sinuses.

We live near the Gulf Coast so the central air conditioner in our home stays on from mid-May to mid-September, with plenty of periodic use both before and after that four-month period.

We also have a large HEPA air filter machine in our bedroom and a humidifier. When we try to go without either of these my wife's asthma flairs up, and without the HEPA filter allergy symptoms get worse for both of us. I have to listen to her cough and snore. We don't want that!

Since I started CPAPping she no longer has to listen to me snore, but without the HEPA machine to drown out the noise, we both hear the CPAP machine. She says I "whistle".

If you live in a climate that's dry and hot you can use a "swamp cooler" instead of an air conditioner. It will lower the temperature and increase the humidity. Air conditioners lower the temperature and decrease the humidity.

I also had the sinus surgery that reduced the tubinates and breathe much better because of it, especially at night when I'm horizontal.

[ShelaghDB]

Interesting.
I don't personally feel i am anywhere needing surgery, etc but am reading up about it all to see what i can do.

The rain out I experienced that night I didn't think I was supposed to as I use a ResMed ClimateLine ™ Heated CPAP Tubing for the S9 ™ CPAP Machine.
As well the machine is on a night stand beside my bed which is lower than my head...not much but it is lower.
But thats the only time I have experienced it.

I had an appointment with an ENT just a year ago where he suddenly put some camera tube up my nose and down my throat and according to him I was in perfect condition.
I cant remember why I was sent to him. I will have to remember the reason but right now i can't....but it hadn't anything to do with having a stuffy nose for i only have just started noticing this since starting on the CPAP machine BUT maybe its the reason I have been breathing out of my mouth for years when i sleep.......I think since i was a kid but during the days i don't notice any problem.

I had climate control on that night as i do every night but it was an extremely humid night with the tornado and rain as i haven't experienced since i lived in Negril Jamaica for a year at 23/24

I am like Sleepster.
Im not on the Gulf Coast but I am in the city of Toronto in Canada and my AC needs to be on since Mid May until about the beginning of September when summer ends and fall begins.
I have the same weather as one would have in NYC

So in short, having the A/con on whilst you sleep will dry the air in your room along with your nose and mouth. During times of high humidity, this could be just what's needed, preventing or reducing "rain-out".

I found the opposite as that night was full of the highest humidity I can recall and that is exactly when the "rain-out" happened so I suppose for me its opposite of what you experience

I thought my room seemed to have more humidity in it when I use the AC.... The odd time I can remember waking up and feeling as if my sheets were a tad damp and I have had to turn it off and allow the natural air to dry the sheets so I am thrown by your comment......again mine seems to feel as if is the complete opposite that.

So if I read the comments correctly, plus Paulas, WHEN i crank up that A/C unit, I SHOULD AS WELL be using a humidifier, correct?
I don't own one so I want to make sure its needed before laying out $$ for it...........????

[Sleepster]

I had an appointment with an ENT just a year ago where he suddenly put some camera tube up my nose and down my throat and according to him I was in perfect condition.

Then in his opinion you're not a candidate for sinus surgery.

I found the opposite as that night was full of the highest humidity I can recall and that is exactly when the "rain-out" happened so I suppose for me its opposite of what you experience.

As the air conditioner runs it cools the air and removes the humidity, but it does so using a fan to pass air through a cold coil. Depending on the coil size and the speed of the fan it may be that it's better at cooling the air than removing the humidity. After the air conditioner has been running for a while, if it's recycling the same air, it'll eventually remove the humidity.

Meanwhile, the cooler air will be more likely to condense. This behavior is accounted for by the notion of relative humidity. If you cool the air and don't remove enough moisture, the relative humidity can go up, meaning the liklihood of condensation goes up.

This is why I mentioned the changing of the air's temperature and humidity. These problem arise when you are making those changes. Like your bedroom feels warm so you turn on the air conditioner. The better thing to do is to keep the air in your bedroom conditioned by running the air conditioner for at least a few hours before you go to bed.

[ShelaghDB]

Thanks Everyone, I FINALLY got through the night as I was doing before but haven't been able to do the last 3 weeks +......Couldn't figure out why but last night i turned off the AC for the first time when I went to bed and it was the first time in the past 3 weeks that i have not found myself waking up having taken off my mask in the middle of the night.

Then in his opinion you're not a candidate for sinus surgery.

I don't personally believe I am anywhere needing surgery for anything as of yet but that said, I had a lump on my neck at the time so they sent me to an ENT to double check for cancer for I was a smoker at the time.

Quite 9 weeks ago but at that time it was naturally a concern as a smoker so they were looking for cancer and he said I hadn't any sign of it and was in perfect condition. That said he wasn't looking for anything but cancer I would assume.


Thanks to all for the AC answers........It didn't occur to me until I posted this thread that the AC could be harming my sleep when in the past its only ever made me sleep much better, due to the cold.......

[ShelaghDB]

I had an appointment with an ENT just a year ago where he suddenly put some camera tube up my nose and down my throat and according to him I was in perfect condition.

Then in his opinion you're not a candidate for sinus surgery.

I found the opposite as that night was full of the highest humidity I can recall and that is exactly when the "rain-out" happened so I suppose for me its opposite of what you experience.

As the air conditioner runs it cools the air and removes the humidity, but it does so using a fan to pass air through a cold coil. Depending on the coil size and the speed of the fan it may be that it's better at cooling the air than removing the humidity. After the air conditioner has been running for a while, if it's recycling the same air, it'll eventually remove the humidity.

Meanwhile, the cooler air will be more likely to condense. This behavior is accounted for by the notion of relative humidity. If you cool the air and don't remove enough moisture, the relative humidity can go up, meaning the liklihood of condensation goes up.

This is why I mentioned the changing of the air's temperature and humidity. These problem arise when you are making those changes. Like your bedroom feels warm so you turn on the air conditioner. The better thing to do is to keep the air in your bedroom conditioned by running the air conditioner for at least a few hours before you go to bed.

The first night I turned off the AC and did sleep better.
The second night and third night I ended up putting it back on again because I am just not used to living in an apartment and I am forever being awakened by neighbours, the ONE child in the building unfortunately lives right above me and I hear it jumping up and down on the floor very early in the morning, etc so although i slept well with the AC off in that I wasn't as stuffy, I am not yet sure if it was just that one night or not.....BUT i can't deal with all the noise so I turned on the AC again as it works as great white noise and i don't hear a peep out of anyone when its on.

That of course defeats the purpose so I am now willing to try getting a humidifier to see if that will help.

These AC window units are not at all like the Central Air that i am used to. I believe Central Air releases LESS humidity into the air whereas I think that these AC window units release far too much humidity.
Case in point: The Window directly to the right of the AC is now falling apart. All the plaster over the cement is crumbling due to the moisture.
Im not having it fixed until I have this situation under control in case i ruin it again


So all you Humidifier Experts. I am in a 2 bedroom apartment so although its bigger than most over all the bedroom after a Queen Size bed, Chair, 50" TV, dressers, etc are installed I don't have a lot of room left.
I really need to get by with the smallest humidifier i can use.
I don't want to have to deal with the huge ones I used to see in my mothers homes that were big with drums in them that would go around and pick up the water at the bottom........I am hoping I can get away with something small enough i can put it down on the floor beside a dresser, or underneath one, etc?

Would one that size be enough?
And if you happen to know the specs so I would know what to ask for if I go buy one such as how powerful it is, it would be greatly appreciated.

Otherwise I cant see any this going away and will have to consider that operation if my "turbinates" are too high.
No offense to anyone so please don't take it this way for i haven't any idea how old anyone here might be or their physical shape but up until 3 years ago when I deliberately put on weight for chemo i was supposed to undergo but didn't, I was physically very fit, rode a bike everywhere walked miles per day and didnt have an inch of fat on my body so in 3 years although I can see how badly my body has been affected by the extra weight, Ive never been heavy, all of my life and know i can get right down to being my regular fit and thin self and also consider myself yet, still to young to start having elective surgery. SO going the route of surgery is truly the LAST OPTION i would consider if they told me it would benefit me.
I just bought a new bike again yesterday and will be racing around on it getting in shape ASAP ( I hope. If I fail you will hear about it LOL )


Right now I am willing to try a humidifier and somewhere in one of these threads, someone has mentioned a nasal wash or something they rinse their noose at night with. I am presently looking for the name of it and will
use that faithfully if it works........

So, first, it is a humidifier and the smallest size i can get away with please???


Thanks in advance ( T.I.A.)

[Sleepster]

We use the Walgreens Cool Mist Humidifier. It works great and keeps me from waking up to my wife's coughing or snoring. That, combined with the HEPA filter in the bedroom, has been a miracle treatment for her asthma and allergy symptoms.

As to that kid bouncing off the bed onto the floor in the morning, I would call the super. And I'd get some ear plugs, too. I always wear ear plugs when sleeping away from home. Keeps all those strange noises from waking me up.