The title is how I sound when I talk right now, no matter how hard I try to speak normally. Tonight at a party most people thought my dog was called Bolly and it took a friend to translate. I zoudd udderly ridulouz.
This has been going on since at least early December; there are no new allergens around, it’s definitely not dust and I am definitely not going to the doctor about a blocked nose, so please don’t suggest that. No temperature or any other symptoms, just a blogged doze.
Well, cue all the concurrent warnings about possible dependency arising from their use, but nothing but a true decongestant nasal spray like Afrin, etc. ever helped me. Saline sprays and neti pots are temporary fixes at best (for me).
We’re now putting requests for medical advice in IMHO [whither I am moving this], to emphasize that the people responding are offering opinions, not actual diagnoses. Remember that the people responding may or may not be qualified to do so.
When my sinuses were stuffy for months (and I can’t sleep properly when I can’t breathe properly!), I asked my doc for Flonase, which was new at the time. He said no, because I needed an antihistamine as well. So he gave me Zyrtec (which was 'script only at the time) with prescription-strength Sudafed in it. Didn’t work. I went back, asked for Flonase, he said no, because I needed the Zyrtec, too, and gave me a different brand of Zyrtec with prescription-strength Sudafed in it. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Finally, I got sick and tired of not being able to freakin’ breathe, and went to see a doc I knew (he was my best friend’s husband) who worked at the local doc in the box. Not only did he very willingly give me a 'script for Flonase, but he said that docs prescribe Flonase and Zyrtec together all the time, and he even gave me a bag full of samples of Flonase! It worked like a charm.
One warning: if you don’t have prescription coverage in your insurance, Flonase can be pricey!
I tried using a Neti pot last year on occasion whenever I had a stuffy nose. I used it maybe 3 times. It didn’t seem to work for me.
But this year, as soon as the furnace started coming on, I decided to just start using it every night before bed. It’s been GREAT and I haven’t been stuffed up once. I’ve slept like a baby.
Even this past week, when I got a cold that led to bronchitis, I still never had a problem sleeping due to stuffy nose. My sinuses are WIDE OPEN, BABY!
Try the Neti pot. If it doesn’t work at least you haven’t done any damage.
Fine by me. It’s just sympathy and folk cures I’m seeking, so either MMPSIMS or IMHO is fine by me.
Onomatopoeia: I mean blocked nose. Also, I can type your name but just imagine saying it out loud with a blogged doze?
I’m in the UK and don’t really know about the brand-name stuff mentioned. Vic’s (the main brand-name decongestant in the UK) seems to be making it worse if anything.
A Neti pot is a very good idea; I have a friend who might have an unused one to hand.
b) Buy one of these irrigator tips to fit your Water Pik
c) Dissolve the powdery inside contents of one of those Benadryl caplets in a cup of warm (not hot) water. Dissolve slightly less than 1 tsp of plain salt and a pinch of baking powder in the same water. Then after running some plain warm water through the Water Pik to warm up the hoses, pour the cup of water with the dissolved ingredients into the Water Pik basin. Lean over the thing so as it runs back out your nostril it will run back into the basin, turn the pulse tip to low and start the motor on low as well and jam the tip against the nostril of your choice.
d) Feel the water under pressure washing out all your sinuses and nasal passages and watch it come down the other side. After a moment or two feel the Benadryl start to hit. Don’t fall asleep. After about 20 seconds, turn the Water Pik off, switch sides, turn it back on and give it another 20 from the other direction.
e) Spend the next hour and a half blowing salty water out your nose. Just keep a roll of paper towels and a big trash can handy. You’ll feel better almost immediately even with this rather awkward nose-blowing side effect.
Oh, and make sure you stay hydrated. Hydration is important for lots of things, among them keeping up the viscosity of your mucous and keeping your mucous membranes from becoming dried out and inflamed.
Have you tried Sudafed? The real stuff that you have to sign for at the pharmacy counter, not that useless “PE” version. While I loathe the stuff (makes me jittery and unable to sleep) it can be a real godsend. Afrin and similar products (nasal sprays) are supposed to be good but there’s the rebound problem if you use it for more than a few days.
A neti pot might be VERY helpful, though it might not flow too well at first if you’re utterly blocked.
You say “don’t say see a doctor” but if OTC stuff isn’t working, that’s the best advice I’ve got for you. Also, with such a complete and unresponsive change as this is, you might need bigger guns, drug-wise (Flonase or its less smelly first cousin Nasacort - egad, who in HELL thought it was a good idea to put SCENT in those products??? I made the doctor switch my husband and kids to Nasacort because I couldn’t stand the REEK of Flonase). Maybe even a brief course of oral steroids to shrink stuff enough for the sprays to get where they need to go.
And of course there’s always the risk that maybe something more serious is going on, as unlikely as that is.
FWIW, this is just a “more power” (insert Tim Allen grunts) version of a neti pot. I tried the water-pik approach years ago and had trouble getting used to it; I can tolerate a neti pot better (not to mention, a neti is maybe 10-15 bucks at the health foods store).
The mechanics of pouring a gravity-fed stream of water up your nose (and not drowning) was, for me, something that took more getting used to than the Water Pik method. And I like the “more power”. Yeah baby. Insert a fire-hose and wash all that hideous nasalgunk and sinusgunk OUT of my HEAD!
Steam inhalation? Gently steaming water, blanket over the head, possibly some Vicks in the water. It’s always worked for me. You can get fancy-schmancy steam inhalers, but I prefer to do it the old-fashioned way, like my mother taught me.
Don’t do it over the stove, of course. Take the pot of water off the stove.
Sudafed decongestant nasal spray works like a miracle for me, in literally a couple of minutes. But I’d run to the doc’s if I were you - it’s not like we have to pay for it!
