Stuffy nose when i sleep

[instantneedles]

So this has been a problem since like forever. Ive been to the doctors and all theyve been giving me is medicine such as nasal sprays and even nasal steroids. Its gotten to the point where im considering their option for surgery but i dont wanna do a frikin surgery... I might sound like a whiny bitch complainin bout this but its beem botherin me for quite a bit.. None of what the doctors prescribe to me are working for me, but what i do find to be very helpful is doing high intensity cardiovascular exercises... Dieting for me has always been good and i usually try and stick to a wellbalanced meal throughout the day.. The thing is that, ive tried everything, from medications, to sprays, to fixing up my diet and even sleeping on an elevated surface... The only thing that has worked for me is exercise.. What worries me is the fact that there will be days will be too busy to exercise, so itll show up again.. Another thing is, as i get older, and my bones start to get weak and i cant exercise no more, its gonna start to become a problem.. I still got light years ahead of me before that day comes, but when it does itll become a problem... Sorry if i sound a bit extreme, but it just annoys the hell outta me lol and i cant sleep cus of it.. If anyone has this same problem and knows a better way of dealing with it, let me know.

[krazynuck]

How often do you wash your sheets on your bed an clean the area around your bed?
If this was me i would try to completely clean my sleeping area to clear dust/dry skin and anything else you tracked in off your body to reduce the crap in you air.

[instantneedles]

I have my room cleaned pretty often so the blankets and pillows are always clean. When I sleep, I open the window big enough so that I get some fresh air but small enough so that its not cold. Although it might be a problem with where my room is located, I've had the same problem back from my previous house. It might even be the dry/cold Vancouver air that's giving me allergies because I don't get the problem as frequently in humid climates or during the summer.

[bcrdukes]

Have you ever tried a humidifier? I have the same problem and I bought a cheap/ghetto humidifier from Deal Extreme. I leave it on overnight and it has helped a lot.

I can't explain how or why it works. My co-worker let me borrow his and I was convinced.

[instantneedles]

ill give it a try, thanks!

[SkinnyPupp]

I have had the same problem, all my life. I have occasionally used nasal spray to cope, because it can get so uncomfortable. My advice is don't do that. It really helps, and it feels really good, but it's so easy to get addicted. Not physically, but it feels so much better to breathe easily, you'll want to use it every night. I get 'hooked' once in a while, where I go through 2-3 bottles before quitting. It isn't that hard to quit, since you go back to normal after 1-2 nights, but it requires will power, since you will have a very stuffy nose those first 2 nights.

Other than that, I haven't figured out anything else that helps, sorry. I have slept in a humid room, dry room, cool, warm.. nothing helps.

[bcrdukes]

^
Since you live in HK, I would assume you have access to a cheap humidifier.

I will also assume they can be cheap in HK. Pick one up and try to see if it helps. Worst case scenario - you lose out $20 to $40. Worth a shot I suppose.

[instantneedles]

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

I have had the same problem, all my life. I have occasionally used nasal spray to cope, because it can get so uncomfortable. My advice is don't do that. It really helps, and it feels really good, but it's so easy to get addicted. Not physically, but it feels so much better to breathe easily, you'll want to use it every night. I get 'hooked' once in a while, where I go through 2-3 bottles before quitting. It isn't that hard to quit, since you go back to normal after 1-2 nights, but it requires will power, since you will have a very stuffy nose those first 2 nights.

Other than that, I haven't figured out anything else that helps, sorry. I have slept in a humid room, dry room, cool, warm.. nothing helps.

Yeah, like I said, nasal sprays don't even work on me no matter how many bottles I got through. And LOL, you make it sound like its a drug addiction "getting hooked"

Do you get it all year round or is it a seasonal kind of thing for you?

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

^
Since you live in HK, I would assume you have access to a cheap humidifier.

Yes, it's called opening the windows

Originally Posted by instantneedles

Yeah, like I said, nasal sprays don't even work on me no matter how many bottles I got through. And LOL, you make it sound like its a drug addiction "getting hooked"

Do you get it all year round or is it a seasonal kind of thing for you?

You do get hooked, because once you use it, there is a rebound effect and it is worse once it wears off. The only way to stop this from happening is to stop taking it for a few days, which is really uncomfortable.

It's all year for me. Not allergies, not humidity. Actually one thing I have noticed that makes it worse is when I have too much carbs at night. So maybe it's related to inflammation, I dunno

[nl96]

I've had the same problem until my doctor prescribed an aqueous nasal spray for me to use. It's called Nasonex. What brand do you use? It really helps, just remember to use it every night before you go to bed.

[miss_crayon]

When I have a cold or a stuffy night I rub a little bit of vicks vaporub under my nose and around the bridge of my nose. That seems to do the trick but if this is a more serious problem (which it seems) this method probs won't work for long

[Slif]

2 things you may want to look into:
1 - food allergy
- you can get tested for various allergies, and go from there. I have a very mild gluten allergy that causes me to get phlegmy after eating stuff like white bread/sandwiches
2 - acupuncture
- I've seen it work miracles on stuff Western medicine has absolutely no clue what to do with

[ilovebacon]

Roll onto one side and it will clearly go away!

[Expresso]

Have the same thing as well, sinus inflammation doesn't go away. So far I just attributed to dust allergies. Typically when I spend the day outside I tend not to notice it, but if I'm stuck indoors all day it can get pretty bad. I too find that exercising helps quite a bit.

I'm using Omnaris nasal spray, Singular pills, and rinsing my nose every couple of days with Neilmed Sinus Rinse. I usually do them before I goto bed, pill during dinner. Working on shedding some pounds and hope that works.

Looked into Allergy testing and shots and it looks exhausting so I've passed on it for now. Did you visit an ENT yet?

[pinn3r]

Try the ionic air purifiers?
I've had one in my room for a little over a year now and my allergies have noticeably become less severe; You'd be amazed at the amount of microscopic shit it catches for you
It's a pain to clean though.

[achiam]

Hi guys, throwing my 2 cents in as a pharmacist.

Getting a stuffy nose/runny nose etc is an inflammatory reaction from the immune system -- your body has sensed something it deems as foreign, and is thus activating the cavalry.

All nasonex and other steroid inhalers do, is stop this reaction from occurring or dampening it down -- it does NOT actually prevent the cause. While causes such as pollen are unavoidable, if it is only occurring at night/in bed, this, like the other post somewhere above, points to the house dust mite.

In a nutshell, the dust mite is a microscopic flea like animal. It eats skin cells that you shed off continuously (dust), which is a protein called keratin. The house dust mite doesn't actually cause the reaction, but it eats the skin cells, and has acidic enzymes inside its gut. When it shits out its shit, it is uber microscopic and also has said acidic enzymes, which you breathe in.

The only way to get rid of this is to vacuum your actual mattress, the area around it, and wrap the mattress in a vinyl impenetrable covering. Which leads to point #2.

Most vacuums are actually quite ineffective -- they may have powerful suction (e.g. cyclone types like the Dyson, which I had), but their flaw lies in their physical construction -- they suck air in, the air passes through the filter, but lots of air flies out through loose pipe fittings etc, the result being that LOTS of fine particles actually escape the machine itself. This can be proven via youtube tests where people stick particle counters at the exhausts of the vacuums.

The only recourse you should use, is vacuuming with a machine that doesn't do this -- it would either be an in-home unit where the exhaust ends up in the basement or garage, or the Miele bag vacuum, which is totally sealed.

You should also have an air filter running in the room at the same time.

Hope that helps!

[ShyGuy]

have you tried nasal irrigation? I live in Hong kong and my nose used to be regularly stuffed. A sinus wash usually lasts me half a day. I use a solution of 1/2 tea spoon salt, 1/2 tea spoon baking soda and warm water. Works wonders.

Nasal irrigation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[dinosaur]

I have the EXACT same problem (totally congested...but not like 'blow my nose' congested...like swollen congested) and have tried almost everything:

-pills (OTC and prescription)
-nasal sprays (omnaris, nasonex, flonase, etc)
-sinus irrigation
-i have bought board certified $300 mattress covers, pillow covers, quilt and comfortable covers
-slept with window open.....window closed
-used vicks, drank peppermint tea, stopped eating meat, stopped eating bread, gone vegetarian, gone vegan, stopped dairy, etc...
-given my cat to my mom
-moved to somewhere with hardwood floors
-I have almost no furniture in my bedroom

it happens EVERY night regardless of where I sleep (I use to travel a lot for work).

nothing helps. my ent just scratches his head (I have even had the 1st appointment in the morning and gone to him literally right from bed so he can see it-im lucky i live 2 blocks from his office). i have had CT Scans to rule out cysts and tumors, as well.

it goes away usually 1-2 hours after I wake up and will kick in 1-2 hours before I go to bed. Weirdly enough, I do not get it AS BAD if I just have a short nap (like 1 hour)

i have no idea what to do...