I have the kind of head cold where my nose was running constantly yesterday, to the extent that if I tried to do something with both hands it wasn’t long before my nose was dripping. I don’t remember the last time I had a cold like this, but it was before I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.
So I was a bit concerned last night when I put my CPAP mask on that I would have trouble breathing. Instead I fell asleep within a few minutes. When I woke up around 5am to go to the bathroom, my nose wasn’t running at all. By the time I got into the bathroom I needed a tissue ASAP. When I went back to bed, I had to blow my nose before putting the mask on, and had to remove the mask after a couple minutes to blow again. After that I was fine.
So how did the CPAP prevent my nose from running? I get that the air pressure could keep the mucus from running out my nose, but then where would it go? No, I think it must have prevented the generation of more mucus. But how?
I’ve used a CPAP for 25 years, and when I’m having extreme runny nose problems (illness or allergy related), I make sure to sleep on my back. When I wake up in a different position, I roll back to supine position.
Coincidentally, last week I had a monster of an allergic reaction that gave me the most severe miserably runny nose I’ve ever experienced. Even lying on my back the mucus would be coming out of my nostrils. Face down, sitting, or standing I had to have one hand to my face at all times. Clear and runny mucus, fortunately, but no less debilitating.
Lying there on my back, CPAP operating normally, I could feel the congestion/fluids in my nasal passages flowing (slowly) to the backward into my throat, where it was easily swallowed automatically. As we do normally anyway, to a much lesser extent.
Sidetrack: it fascinates me that when mucus in in our nose or even back of our mouth, we swallow it without a second thought. But the moment mucus emerges from any orifice and becomes visible it instantly becomes profoundly disgusting. That’s how it is for me, anway.
Coincidentally enough, I also have a head cold. My CPAP headgear is nasal-only (nasal “pillows”), but nevertheless when the machine is on, my nose generally stays clear.
I did keep a couple of the old full-face masks that I got when I first started using my machine. If my nose ever completely blocks due to a cold and won’t clear, I figure I can always switch to those for a few nights, if necessary.
The machine would change the differential pressure between your bloodstream and your airways, lowering the differential by raising the lower pressure in your airways. To some degree this differential pressure may be what is driving mucus production, I think, because the biggest component of mucus is water (or serum actually) from your bloodstream. So, that would let CPAP reduce mucus production, I’d think.
Would it have the same effect on someone without sleep apnea? In other words, could a CPAP be used “off label” by anyone suffering from a runny nose, to lessen the mucus production?
I think it probably would, but don’t know if it would be recommended - IANAD but I suspect it might impact one’s blood pressure. In any case, you can’t legally acquire a CPAP machine without a prescription. Nitpicky reminder- the CPAP isn’t reducing the amount of mucus being produced/secreted- it’s just pushing the stuff back toward the throat. (I think.)
I was told, for what it’s worth, that using a CPAP with too high a pressure for one’s airway needs can cause central apnea which is when the brain tells the lungs to stop breathing (as opposed to obstructive apnea where breathing is prevented because the airway is, well, obstructed). For that reason, I would probably avoid using a CPAP without the guidance of a medical professional.
Another nasal pillow user here. Whenever I’m congested at bedtime, I’ll hookup to the CPAP, lie on my back, inhale though my nose and exhale with my mouth. My head usually clears within a few minutes.
