Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with nasal

I can't get no sinusfaction.

spec80 — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:33:44 -0800

What was your post nasal polyp surgery experience like? I've asked a bunch of these questions to my doctor already but I wanted to know if any of the hivemind have gone through this procedure. Would I be okay for work on Monday if I had this done the previous Wednesday? Would the swelling have subsided? What is it like with the splints and packing? How often did you have to get them redone and for how long? What is sleeping like? How are you doing now?

Due to my sinus problems and the attempts before to make it better, I really want to do this. However, I keep on thinking about the scene in the Mummy when Evelyn explains how Egyptians got the brains out.

ew.

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:45:11 -0800

Why do I get severe nasal congestion after I have, um, stomach problems? Horrific details follow. I have a sensitive stomach (lactose intolerance, fatty foods, overindulgence, etc), leading to various degrees of diarrhea almost every week. Immediately after, or during the 'evacuation,' I get severe nasal congestion. I blow my nose - conveniently, with the toilet paper close-by - but the congestion lasts for hours. After I leave the restroom my stomach is totally fine, I feel fine, but the stuffy nose remains for a long time afterwards, sometimes even into the next day.

My questions are 1) what is going on? and 2) what can I do to stop this double jeopardy? I really am only concerned about the congestion, the stomach problems are controllable.

note: I have a history of nasal allergies mostly with animal dander and mold, but nothing as immediate or severe as this.

Stuffy Nose

deeman — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:56:34 -0800

Permanent stuffy nose? One day I got a stuffy nose, and almost a year later it hasn't gone away. What's wrong with me? One week during the winter I got sick and thought I got a sinus infection. I took nasal decongestants just so I could breathe all week. I haven't recovered in almost a year. My nose just hasn't been the same. I don't have a history of allergies and never needed any medication. It's usually at its worst in the morning and in the evening. What the heck is going on? I live in the Boston area. Is there a nose professional I can visit to take a look?

Jala Neti recommendations

adipocere — Thu, 17 May 2007 09:55:33 -0800

Neti pots - good idea before nose surgery, and how do you heat the water to the correct temperature? I'm soon due for a course of rhinoplasty and septoplasty, as well as a general reaming out of the old airway.

Should I begin jala neti prior to surgery? I know I'll have to do nasal irrigation as part of the recovery, anyway, but it seems like a good idea, is it? I know there's a Lancet study indicating that jala neti is definitely beneficial - should I pass this on to my surgeon, or would I seem like a quack?

Also, I've got the neti pot on order. I've got a little filtration jug so I'm not snorting our hard, chlorinated water. I've got the little packets of salt on the way. But how does one heat the water to the optimum temperature in a practical and efficient manner? I do not have access to a stove. What's the voice of experience on this? Electric kettle? Hotpot? Is there a specialty item that goes "ding!" when the water reaches 98.6 F, then shuts off, and I simply haven't found it in Google?

How can I clear my sinus problem?

jackypaper — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:36:54 -0800

Help me breathe! The older I get, the more sinus trouble I have. Almost every morning I wake up with a semi-headache because one of my nasal passages is entirely blocked. This isn't a seasonal thing, nor does it seem to be allergy-related. During the day it clears up, but at night, I must depend upon nasal spray (the kind you're not supposed to use too consistently). Should I take the plunge and go see a doctor? Or is there some miracle drug I can get over the counter?

How do I get food out of my sinus cavity?

Mister Cheese — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 19:18:14 -0800

Food in sinus cavity, need help extricating it! Kind of icky... Last night while eating spicy ramen I had some noodle go the wrong way... not down, else I'd be choked to death, but up somewheres. Usually this is not a problem, I can snort stuff back down from there, which I did for some of the noodle. I was hoping the rest would work itself out today, but it hasn't. I'm having difficulty breathing out of my right nostril and there is a constant pressure that feels like something is still in there. I've tried sucking up salty water through my nostril; it gets through, but didn't push out any noodle or other stuff. By comparison, my other nostril lets water through just fine.

The main question:
Does anyone have any suggestions as to getting the noodle out?

Also, can foreign objects in the sinuses cause inflammation of the lymph nodes, because I'm now feeling achey in those areas. Can it cause an infection if left in there too long? Is it possible that the irritation of the earlier noodle has just plugged up that part of my nose? I'm worried, as I don't have the health insurance for a doctor to conduct nasal probing/irrigation.

Homesickness at home.

tmcw — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 12:52:17 -0800

Nasal congestion on waking... A few possible causes, but a lot of them are ruled out. All right - here's the deal.

I've moved back home for a break from school, and in the past week, on almost every morning, as soon as I wake up - and a lot of times I'll wake up early (before 9 in college-speak), and I'll have a pretty congested nose. A few minutes after waking it gets a lot worse, and eventually I can't breathe out of my nose well enough to go back to sleep. Possible things that affect this... I have an ancient radiator in my room which I thought was drying out the air, but after turning it off and using a humidifier that still persists. There's a cat in the house, and I'm allergic to cats, but I don't have itchy eyes, so I don't know if it could be that (also, I've lived here before, with that cat, and the radiator)

Flu? Cold? Other stuff? I'm not sure what's going on, and thinking of having a doc appt, but any help beforehand would be cool (my doctor... is on his mark on some things, but I doubt the breadth of his knowledge)

Neti Pot Nose Nuisance

oflinkey — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:38:22 -0800

Neti pot users- what am I doing wrong? I got a neti pot a few days ago. I am primarily using it for nasal irritation due to the heating in my building, and general cold weather nose crappiness that happens to me. I am not stuffed up, per se, so I am not backing the water up into my sinuses.

Although I sort of have the technique down (at least I think I do- I did use one a few years ago in my yoga class, but that was once), I am getting that "snarfed too much pool water" feeling, and it has not really gone away. I do lean forward pretty far, and tilt my head so one nostril is above the other. I do the whoofing afterwards to clear out the water, and then a minute or so later, touch my toes.

I am using an even 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt in 8 oz. of warmed water. Is this just a process that my nasal passages will get used to? If not, what am I doing wrong?

My dose is bocked

Happy Dave — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 17:08:14 -0800

EndMyPermanentStuffedNoseFilter: I've had an on and off stuffed up nose for pretty much my whole life, meaning I'd estimate my nose is clear maybe 10% of the time. What can I do to fix this? Basically, I've got recurring nasal congestion that just *won't* go away. I've still got my tonsils, but have had my adenoids out. It's a real problem, because I can't breath through my nose at night, and end up with a mouth like a birdcage every morning, and feeling like utter doom. I also snore like an earthquake, apparently. I've tried those nose-strip things, but they didn't seem to do any good. To answer some of the main queries, I've always been relatively fit (I was in the military reserve a couple of years ago), I now do an office job and spend half my life in air-conditioned buildings. Any one have any ideas what could be causing this? Or anything that could relieve the symptoms? (Not overly keen on drugs, and definitely not on surgery). Any help appreciated!

cure for the morning snots?

de void — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 10:06:25 -0800

Help me stop the morning snots. Invariably, every morning my sinuses go into overdrive about 5-10 minutes after I wake up. My nose gets completely congested and I'll have to honk wads of clear mucous into several tissues to clear it out. If I don't blow it out, it will actually build up to the point that it will start to run out my nose.

Yeah, I know. Ick.

Most times after I blow it all out my sinuses will still be swollen and it will be hard to breathe for my nose for the next hour or so, after which it goes away.

Sometimes though, the blowing starts sneezing fits that may follow me through the whole day.

This has been going on for several years and I finally "woke up" to the fact that this may not be normal.

I used to think that I have a slight allergy to cats (had 2 up until a month ago, now down to one), but I've noticed that nothing changes when I go on vacation or am otherwise away from the cat.

How do I stop this? Am I a candidate for a turbinectomy ?

Question number 11335

ferociouskitty — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 15:53:26 -0800

My voice has a nasal sound to it - not high-pitched-nasal, more like it sounds like I have a perpetually stuffy nose. Anything I can work on to change that, or am I stuck?

Question number 9691

internal — Thu, 26 Aug 2004 11:50:48 -0800

Surgery for a Deviated Septum? Is it worth it? What are your experiences?