Un-stuffing Your Stuffy Nose

[bigdawgfiveo]

If you suffer from allergies , hayfever , dust etc like I used to..............
i tried everything across the pharmacy counter, to no avail , and some nasty side effects.

I Kept at the GP and was eventually sent to ENT Hospital Clinic.

The ENT Surgeon prescribed me (1of 2) Neo Clarityn tabs 5mg one in the morning another in the evening if really bad , Told me to ignore the 1 a day instructions, no side effects whatsoever, AND
(2 of 2) " Nasonex Nasal Spray" a nasal desensitising mild steroid.

He Stressed BOTH must be used together. for it to work.

That was way back in 1994 and I never looked back. Wish I'd pushed the GP harder and got to see the ENT guy way before that and avoided all those years of suffering hay fever.
I was in the surgery and out again in under 10 minutes.

I take the combination all year round as dust , chlorine in swimming pools etc also lead to blocked sinuses / stuffy nose.
I've just joined this forum tonight as I am awaiting the Hospital Sleep Clinic and a CPAP machine etc:
These are available by script from GP.
Everyone I've told so far ..... It has worked brilliantly for all of them.
Hope it works for you too !

[Numbat]

Hi Zonk.
Thank you for your articles on 'Unstuffing your stuffy nose', I found them full of value and very interesting but they have led to a question.

With my return to CPAP after a 20 year gap I have been using a CMS-50E Oximeter with spO2 graphs firstly to determine my need for CPAP and now to monitor my progress since then.
Using nasal masks or pillows I get a fairly constant graph around 93 to 95% until blockage occurs and I wake up.
Therefore two or three times a night I have to revert to a full face mask from my nasal mask or pillows because of sinus blockage (although I have been using saline spray).
My oxygen saturation graphs show many spikes to 80% and below when using the full face mask but I am not aware of this until I see the spO2 graphs the next morning.

I use the oximeter for recording every night and it has an alarm facility so do you think setting this to say 88% or 85% so that I wake up and start breathing is a reasonable idea?
A couple of GPs have said that this would be a bad idea, mainly I think, because the startle effect could be harmful.
My main aim though would be to reduce organ damage.

Do you have any thoughts on using the alarm on a regular basis?
Thank you.

[youchy0]

my mistake - can't delete post

[Peter_C]

Hi Zonk.
Thank you for your articles on 'Unstuffing your stuffy nose', I found them full of value and very interesting but they have led to a question.

With my return to CPAP after a 20 year gap I have been using a CMS-50E Oximeter with spO2 graphs firstly to determine my need for CPAP and now to monitor my progress since then.
Using nasal masks or pillows I get a fairly constant graph around 93 to 95% until blockage occurs and I wake up.
Therefore two or three times a night I have to revert to a full face mask from my nasal mask or pillows because of sinus blockage (although I have been using saline spray).
My oxygen saturation graphs show many spikes to 80% and below when using the full face mask but I am not aware of this until I see the spO2 graphs the next morning.

I use the oximeter for recording every night and it has an alarm facility so do you think setting this to say 88% or 85% so that I wake up and start breathing is a reasonable idea?
A couple of GPs have said that this would be a bad idea, mainly I think, because the startle effect could be harmful.
My main aim though would be to reduce organ damage.

Do you have any thoughts on using the alarm on a regular basis?
Thank you.

I am not Zonk - but hello

I have lung scarring (from PEs), so my O2 levels aren't the best.

88% is the magic number, and you want to look for the line that tells you how many minutes you had below 88% - my Docs tell me to keep it under '5' minutes or less.

My low O2 alarm is on, but it is set to 74% as a one second spike/glitch is a non-issue, and the alarm will go off on a 'noise' spike.

So those are my thoughts and actions with my CMS50F. I typically run between 89-91% at night, a touch on the low side, but again I do have lung issues.

Remember - check your leak rates, as I found when my leaks rates were high, my O2 stats were lower.

[Thegirls]

A great read - thank you Zonk.

Thank you!!!

[Visitor]

Quick question about the internal nasal dilator: can it be used in combination with a nasal pillows mask?

[Sedaray]

re: saline irrigation

(I personally prefer a larger proportion of soda.)

Fill up a nostril, then hold your nose an bend over, turning your head upside down to get the solution into your sinuses.
Return to upright, blow your nose, and repeat on the other side.

Or, try a squeeze bottle such as NeilMed Sinus Rinse which propels the liquid directly up into sinuses.  It's great!


There is a product called Alkalol Sinus Rinse which is great when you have a cold, and have to sing or speak, but is definitely too strong for daily use.

[Nightynite]

Great info on the sinuses