[HN Gopher] Everything I Thought I Knew About Nasal Congestion I...
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Everything I Thought I Knew About Nasal Congestion Is Wrong
Author : yarapavan
Score : 39 points
Date : 2023-11-06 15:49 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theatlantic.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theatlantic.com)
| yarapavan wrote:
| https://archive.ph/CqyEX
| cedws wrote:
| I had some kind of horrific infection in nose/sinus a few months
| ago. Decongestant, saline, and Fisherman's Friend together worked
| so well it really did feel like I had a second nose.
| throwaway920102 wrote:
| Only semi-related, but Intake Breathing strips have been life-
| changing for me, even if expensive I find it worth it and just
| hope their success would lead to competition and price decrease.
| Lutzb wrote:
| Which strips do you use? The ones that go on the nose or the
| strips that go inside?
| crossroadsguy wrote:
| I have DNS in one nostril (I guess, you don't get in both anyway,
| do you?) and otherwise as well I am very allergic to dust etc.
| Somedays it'd be tiny amounts that'd be like thick traces of
| stubborn glue stuck to the nostril wall and I'll keep blowing,
| inhaling steam, even spraying with saline (non steroidal) nasal
| spray jet and what not but finally I get tired and try to just
| get distracted.
|
| It's hell! I wish there was a simpler cure or non-addictive spray
| or just a pill that will make it go away.
| malfist wrote:
| Can't you just switch to OpenDNS?
| Ographer wrote:
| I also quite liked the linked article about why decongestant
| medicines don't seem to do anything!
|
| https://archive.ph/0eT0e
| inglor_cz wrote:
| When we are talking about noses, here is my personal anecdote.
|
| Several years ago, I went down with a hardcore cold that just
| didn't want to end. For weeks and weeks. A lot of heavy, dry
| cough. (That was well before covid.)
|
| After several weeks of such misery, I went to a specialist who
| tried to cultivate something from my sputum. Nope, normal flora.
| "That must be of viral origin," he said, "and the only thing I
| can recommend you is nasal irrigation with a plastic Rhino Horn.
| It worked well for many patients. Use this particular mineral
| water (Czech) and do it twice a day."
|
| I already knew what nasal irrigation was and I was determined to
| avoid it for my entire life, but that illness brought me down to
| the "what do I have to lose?" condition. So I bought the horn and
| started flushing.
|
| Yeah, it was awful at first, but my symptoms were gone 36 hours
| later. I started doing it regularly. My frequency of colds
| dropped significantly and so did their duration if they happen at
| all. I can sing better (some three semitones gained at the top of
| my range), I can breathe a lot better. And after the initial
| phase, where old nasty stuff was getting rinsed out of my
| sinuses, it is not even unpleasant anymore.
|
| Can only recommend. My youth could have been a lot more healthy.
| I suffered from colds fairly often.
| tabtab wrote:
| Thanks for the tip! Everyone's physiology is different so one
| has to try many different things to see what works for them.
| I'll add this to my list of suggestions.
| nvarsj wrote:
| I've had a life long struggle with nose breathing. It manifests
| itself with very dry mouth at night, waking me up frequently.
|
| At one point I went to a prolific ENT surgeon who wanted to align
| my septum and remove turbinoid tissue (I'm guessing to fund a
| recent yacht purchase). Most painful surgery I can imagine and
| did nothing at all except permanent numbness on the bridge of my
| nose.
|
| I then discovered the breathe right nasal strips (and cheaper
| clones) which made a massive difference. In allergy season it
| wasn't enough though, and nasal steroid spray does the job
| (fluticasone propionate or similar). I find decongestant tablets
| (pseudoephedrine) not very useful unless I'm suffering from a
| proper cold.
|
| I've been wanting to stop using the nasal strips after many years
| because I noticed it was making my nose puffier looking (slowly
| stretching the skin out).
|
| In the last year I started reading about mouth taping and tried
| that. It's actually really great and way cheaper than the nasal
| strips. A small roll of medical tape lasts 6 months and I just
| tape my mouth close each night. I was finally able to give up the
| nasal strips, but still use the steroidal spray if I need it (but
| cognisant it can cause cataracts so not something I want to use
| every day forever).
|
| Anyways that's my story in summary. Not a single doctor helped me
| and one even injured me. And in the end a small roll of medical
| tape is all it took.
| vlovich123 wrote:
| I was the opposite. Tried nasal strips, sprays, tape on mouth
| etc. nothing helped my nasal valve collapse. After the
| septoplasty, turbinate reduction, and sound waves to reform the
| nasal passage (forget the technical name of the procedure)
| haven't really had any issues.
|
| This is a huge problem in medical care where treatment isn't
| personalized and there's not even quantitative measurements for
| determining procedures so it's a total crapshoot of trial and
| error.
| lm28469 wrote:
| Your comment is basically a summary for this book:
|
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breath:_The_New_Science_of_a...
| FFP999 wrote:
| My big takeaway:
|
| > phenylephrine is very effective if you spray it into the nose
|
| I have bad allergies and, what with global warming, pollen season
| here is most of the year. Pseudoephedrine does the job but it's
| expensive and a hassle to get, especially since the chronic
| understaffing common at pharmacies today means it's often a long
| wait in line. I'm definitely going to at least give phenylephrine
| spray a try.
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(page generated 2023-11-06 21:02 UTC)