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Nasal conjestion and AHI
#1
Nasal conjestion and AHI
I have some allergies, and some days I wake up with a headache, somedays not.

I find that if my nasal passages are clear , I have a lower AHI reading.

Also, I find that if I use a nasal spray or some other inflamation reducing agent, my AHI tends to be lower.


Can someone help me understand what may be going on?



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#2
RE: Nasal conjestion and AHI
I had similar problems with nasal blockage being a constant bane to my apnea treatment until I started using Nasacort on the advice of my ENT doctor. He said it was OK to use it continuously for as long as I felt the need. It's a non-prescription drug that has been released from "prescription only" status recently (October '13 I think). It's a glucocorticoid (class of corticosteroid) and works well to relieve my congestion so that the CPAP is more tolerable and effective. All of those other OTC nasal sprays can be harmful if used over three days.

http://www.medicinenet.com/triamcinolone...rticle.htm

If you haven't tried it yet, I suggest you do so since it has helped me greatly.

Best regards, Dude

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#3
RE: Nasal conjestion and AHI
Touch wood, been a while since waking up with a headache
For me, something to do with "nasal cycle", usually one side get blocked and to make the matter worse, the other side congested too

I tried all sort of sprays, OTC and prescription and none of them helps much and I don't like taking any medication long term

The two things helps me more than anything else, figure out the best humidity setting (23 C for now) and doing saline sinus rinses at night
Last night was one of my best nights, slept solid 7.5 hours, AHI 0.3 and waking up feeling good about myself and everything else

Tonight, might be totally different
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#4
RE: Nasal conjestion and AHI
As for the AHI being lower, if your nasal passages are swollen, then probably the tissues in the back of your throat are too. That adds to the stuff that creates OSA events. So when it is bad enough that you need to use a nasal medication, it relieves the swelling. This then removes enough of the tissues from the OSA picture that it must be decreasing your OSA events.

Try doing nasal rinses in between your bad bouts to see if that helps with the AHI too. My bet is it will. Maybe not as noticeably as much as with the medication but you will see a trend over time of it dropping. It may take a while, probably several days or even a week, for the passages to get enough relief to settle down.

After that, look into what is causing your long term allergies, if you don't already know.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#5
RE: Nasal conjestion and AHI
I had some issues as well and have used cetrazine, xertac, or however they spell it, also off prescription now, but has helped me now and in the past.
If everyone thinks alike, then someone isn't thinking.
Everyone knows something, together we could know everything.
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#6
RE: Nasal conjestion and AHI
I do nasal rinses and my AHI has come down. Nasal rinse moves the excess mucus out and also has the effect of reducing the swellings in the turbinates. All ultimately improving air flow thru the nose.

From what I have read online, the corticosteroid sprays and other meds are not a permanent solution and will come back to haunt you in other ways. YMMV
PRS1 Auto & Dreamstation Auto w/ P10 and straight pressure of 8cm
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#7
RE: Nasal conjestion and AHI
(11-19-2014, 10:15 AM)u2canbuild Wrote: I find that if my nasal passages are clear , I have a lower AHI reading.
Just this morning, get up to pee, the screen shows 7 hours, put the mask back on and tried to sleep a bit longer but could not stay in bed more than 4 minutes due to congestion. During the 4 minutes had half dozen of apnea scored which is more than the entire 7 hours. The machine misread the situation and score an apnea and increase pressure in repose to nasal obstruction

If slept 4 or 5 hours instead of 7 hours, I would rinse my nose with saline solution during the night and that helps me go back to sleep somewhat

The manufacture solution is to use the humidifier and if problem persist, see your doctor
Actually the problem is more than just see your doctor, the nose reaction to CPAP air flow and begin to produce excess mucus as a way of flushing out whatever is causing the irritation in the first place

The choice for me is simple one, use CPAP and learn to cope with the problem or suffer the consequences of untreated sleep apnea

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#8
RE: Nasal conjestion and AHI
Lots of great information given here, thanks!Thanks

So decades ago I remember using vicks vapour rub for congestion; so this get me thinking...............

So how effective might it be if we added some "vicks" or other "anticogestion" agent............ (chemical) too my humidifyer tank?


Any buddy do this?

Thoughts?

Yes, I am pushing the limits of "experimentation" ..........Big Grin

But I am alive and doing fairly well because I was willing to try new things............ Life is an experiment.......


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#9
RE: Nasal conjestion and AHI
I have nasal congestion but dont use a nasal at the moment. Wife however does. If you want to use Vicks it will work with humidity to make breathing feel easier but dont put it in the tank.

Take a qtip. dip it in the vicks salve and place it up next to the air intake on your machine. Youll get the vapor pulled thru but not mess up your tank or machine.
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#10
RE: Nasal conjestion and AHI
I don't think Vicks salve is a good idea. It has been proven that it doesn't do anything to relieve congestion and may actually cause you to produce more mucus. It contains camphor which is toxic. It may give the sensation of breathing better but the actual air volume is not changed. I can't gainsay the good feeling it produces but you must weigh the risks when considering breathing any toxin for long periods of time. Lung damage is rarely reversible as many find out too late.

Stick around for other opinions and consider all of them before making your decision. There is a long standing dispute as to the value of Vicks salve vapor inhalation and I would prefer to err on the side of safety. My advice is, don't use Vicks salve in your humidifier and perhaps not anywhere else for long periods of time.
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