Stomach symptoms instead of respiratory symptoms with a normal head cold
February 16, 2016 3:52 AM Subscribe
Over the past couple of years I've found I get gastro symptoms, not respiratory symptoms when I catch a cold. I'm looking for home remedies and self-care, and as it's gross, it's behind the jump.
Sorry for the tmi but the gist is that instead of sneezing and coughing when I'm bunged up, I find I have a constant post-nasal drip. In some ways it's more convenient, but when it's bad I do get gastro symptoms - hunger pains and nausea (sometimes to the point of vomiting) mostly. This is often worse at night and disrupts my sleep. YANMD, but I'm an otherwise healthy 30-something with a good diet, and I only get sick a couple of times a year; but I would like some home-remedies or advice for dealing with the sickness. Ginger doesn't seem to make any difference, I already eat pretty regularly, and googling just gets me stomach flu, which is not the problem here. Obviously the symptoms are caused by me having gross amounts of phlegm sitting in my stomach overnight, so decongestants will make it worse; any ideas? I'm not suffering from indigeston at all.
Sorry for the tmi but the gist is that instead of sneezing and coughing when I'm bunged up, I find I have a constant post-nasal drip. In some ways it's more convenient, but when it's bad I do get gastro symptoms - hunger pains and nausea (sometimes to the point of vomiting) mostly. This is often worse at night and disrupts my sleep. YANMD, but I'm an otherwise healthy 30-something with a good diet, and I only get sick a couple of times a year; but I would like some home-remedies or advice for dealing with the sickness. Ginger doesn't seem to make any difference, I already eat pretty regularly, and googling just gets me stomach flu, which is not the problem here. Obviously the symptoms are caused by me having gross amounts of phlegm sitting in my stomach overnight, so decongestants will make it worse; any ideas? I'm not suffering from indigeston at all.
Oh yes, I get this and the respiratory symptoms! You swallow enough snot and it's gonna give you problems.
Neti pot, sleep with your head and shoulders propped up on pillows, bend over and touch your toes for a couple minutes once an hour or so and definitely before bed, blow your nose frequently, take sudafed--all of these things help me.
posted by phunniemee at 4:12 AM on February 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Neti pot, sleep with your head and shoulders propped up on pillows, bend over and touch your toes for a couple minutes once an hour or so and definitely before bed, blow your nose frequently, take sudafed--all of these things help me.
posted by phunniemee at 4:12 AM on February 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
You don't by any chance end up taking sugar-free cough drops, do you? The ones made with sugar alcohols will eventually cause gastric distress if you take too many of them or also eat food made with sugar alcohols at the same time.
posted by XMLicious at 4:13 AM on February 16, 2016
posted by XMLicious at 4:13 AM on February 16, 2016
Response by poster: The neti pot sounds counter-intuitive to me, as it's about encouraging the movement of phlegm rather than what I want which is for it to, um, stay in my nose? come out in another direction? (I try not to take decongestants too often because of the damage they can do to cillia & the fact that they quickly become ineffective with use.)
posted by AFII at 4:49 AM on February 16, 2016
posted by AFII at 4:49 AM on February 16, 2016
Drink more water and warm liquids to break up the snot. Avoid all cold food and liquids during this time. It would also be good to stick to the BRAT diet. And no dairy!
posted by myselfasme at 4:53 AM on February 16, 2016
posted by myselfasme at 4:53 AM on February 16, 2016
Response by poster: (OK gonna stop threadsitting but the dairy=mucus thing is a myth. Which I'm glad of, because as a veggie the idea of being sick and not having cheese makes me very sad).
posted by AFII at 5:06 AM on February 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by AFII at 5:06 AM on February 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I get this when I don't take sufficient sudafed during colds or antihistamines+sudafed during allergy season.
There's more than one kind of decongestant.
Sudafed, unlike Afrin, supposedly doesn't cause rebound congestion.
There are also steroid nasal sprays but those may be only prescription and have their own side effects. (I don't know anything about the cilia effects you mention, and I'd suggest you ask a physician here rather than randomly googling.)
That having been said, your best bet is to stay as hydrated as possible; thinner phlegm will bother your stomach less (and decrease any associated cough, too). And staying hydrated is even harder to do on sudafed. For me this trade off is worth it, as I usually want to drink tons of water when I'm sick anyhow.
The neti pot may also help; it is for a) encouraging the phlegm to come out your nose, and b) hydrating the nasal passages. I personally find it more helpful for allergies than colds though.
Last suggestion is to make sure your sleeping space isn't too dry; you might benefit from a humidifier, or even just warm tea/hot shower where you inhale the steam before bed.
posted by nat at 5:08 AM on February 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
There's more than one kind of decongestant.
Sudafed, unlike Afrin, supposedly doesn't cause rebound congestion.
There are also steroid nasal sprays but those may be only prescription and have their own side effects. (I don't know anything about the cilia effects you mention, and I'd suggest you ask a physician here rather than randomly googling.)
That having been said, your best bet is to stay as hydrated as possible; thinner phlegm will bother your stomach less (and decrease any associated cough, too). And staying hydrated is even harder to do on sudafed. For me this trade off is worth it, as I usually want to drink tons of water when I'm sick anyhow.
The neti pot may also help; it is for a) encouraging the phlegm to come out your nose, and b) hydrating the nasal passages. I personally find it more helpful for allergies than colds though.
Last suggestion is to make sure your sleeping space isn't too dry; you might benefit from a humidifier, or even just warm tea/hot shower where you inhale the steam before bed.
posted by nat at 5:08 AM on February 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
I've had wonderful results using the Neti, but only in the morning when I'm getting ready for a day of work or errands (not laying around and not before bed). You're flushing out all the irritants and gunked up mucus that's stuck up in your sinuses, and it should be flowing out of your nose.
posted by lootie777 at 5:11 AM on February 16, 2016
posted by lootie777 at 5:11 AM on February 16, 2016
Best answer: I tend to get annoyingly persistent postnasal drip after a cold. The steroid spray Flonase, which recently became OTC, puts a stop to this rather quickly, as does Nasonex, which is stronger and does require a prescription.
posted by thomas j wise at 5:17 AM on February 16, 2016
posted by thomas j wise at 5:17 AM on February 16, 2016
I have respiratory symptoms due to acid reflux. It took a analysis of my diet with help of a naturopathic doctor (who had the time to work through this with me) to alleviate the issues. I still have problems with dairy, alcohol and sugar.
That being said, I have the best results with a decongestant with ibuprofen. It really attacks the inflamation in my sinuses that close everything up. Neti pot is great, but if you aren't comfortable with the procedure, you can buy saline spray to moisten things up. (I know that doesn't sound good, but it is, really! It will thin out the mucus so you can get rid of it.)
posted by Gor-ella at 7:33 AM on February 16, 2016
That being said, I have the best results with a decongestant with ibuprofen. It really attacks the inflamation in my sinuses that close everything up. Neti pot is great, but if you aren't comfortable with the procedure, you can buy saline spray to moisten things up. (I know that doesn't sound good, but it is, really! It will thin out the mucus so you can get rid of it.)
posted by Gor-ella at 7:33 AM on February 16, 2016
Best answer: Try Vicks Sinex for the worst congestion days. Mucinex D during the day. And get Flonase when you can't use the Sinex anymore (can only use Sinex for 3-4 days due to rebound congestion).
Sinex is a miracle drug that is the only way I can sleep at night with a bad cold.
posted by christiehawk at 7:37 AM on February 16, 2016
Sinex is a miracle drug that is the only way I can sleep at night with a bad cold.
posted by christiehawk at 7:37 AM on February 16, 2016
Best answer: I pretty reliably throw up at least once every time I have a cold due to post nasal drip. I try to reduce the likelihood of it happening by taking at least 2 showers a day when I'm sick. Morning and evening, hot as I can stand, with a full assortment of menthol-ish soaps and body washes. I'm sure it sounds absolutely awful but I try to get as much phlegm as possible out during the shower. I actually prefer not to have a humidifier on for this because even though it's uncomfortable when I wake up, drying out a bit keeps things from flowing as much during the night. I then get up and have to cough up a bunch of junk, but it isn't sitting in my stomach.
posted by brilliantine at 7:41 AM on February 16, 2016
posted by brilliantine at 7:41 AM on February 16, 2016
I use the squirt bottle Sinus Rinse instead of the Neti pot because I find it easier to use, but it's more or less the same thing. Ideally the water should go in one nostril and out the other, and then you also blow your nose in between the rinsings (don't blow too hard; I find it helps to be bending over when blowing your nose during this process). It may still cause some problems with nausea, but it helps if you make sure to lean over the sink while doing the rinse then that can help minimize anything going down your throat.
For me, the Sinus Rinse continues to have an effect on helping me clear out my sinuses for a while after I do it (an hour or two maybe? I don't pay that much attention to the timing) so I would recommend that you don't use it right before you go to bed so you can make sure to keep blowing your nose and get out as much phlegm as possible that way before bed.
Mucinex can also help thin out the congestion. Again, you'll still end up swallowing some, but it does help, especially if you take the mucinex a couple hours before using the neti pot. As mentioned above, make sure you drink plenty of water to help thin out the post nasal drip.
Showers are also very helpful! In fact, I often take mucinex, then shower, then use the neti pot. Neti pot and then shower would probably work too.
I have chronic sinus problems and acid reflex, so at night, I use a wedge pillow to raise my upper body up. I find this is helpful for breathing and for encouraging sinuses to clear out, but if anything this might encourage more post nasal drip to flow into your stomach at night, so not sure if it will be helpful in your case. You may just want to stick with the decongestants.
Also, maybe eating smaller meals and eating them more often throughout the day could help with the nausea. For whatever reason, I find the post nasal drip makes me more nauseous on a completely empty stomach. (Or maybe that's just the acid reflux! It's hard to tell.) You probably want to avoid eating right before using the neti pot if you do use it, since it could irritate your gag reflex.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:10 AM on February 16, 2016
For me, the Sinus Rinse continues to have an effect on helping me clear out my sinuses for a while after I do it (an hour or two maybe? I don't pay that much attention to the timing) so I would recommend that you don't use it right before you go to bed so you can make sure to keep blowing your nose and get out as much phlegm as possible that way before bed.
Mucinex can also help thin out the congestion. Again, you'll still end up swallowing some, but it does help, especially if you take the mucinex a couple hours before using the neti pot. As mentioned above, make sure you drink plenty of water to help thin out the post nasal drip.
Showers are also very helpful! In fact, I often take mucinex, then shower, then use the neti pot. Neti pot and then shower would probably work too.
I have chronic sinus problems and acid reflex, so at night, I use a wedge pillow to raise my upper body up. I find this is helpful for breathing and for encouraging sinuses to clear out, but if anything this might encourage more post nasal drip to flow into your stomach at night, so not sure if it will be helpful in your case. You may just want to stick with the decongestants.
Also, maybe eating smaller meals and eating them more often throughout the day could help with the nausea. For whatever reason, I find the post nasal drip makes me more nauseous on a completely empty stomach. (Or maybe that's just the acid reflux! It's hard to tell.) You probably want to avoid eating right before using the neti pot if you do use it, since it could irritate your gag reflex.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:10 AM on February 16, 2016
To pile on the Neti Pot evangelism, I'll add a slightly different angle. I couldn't stand the Neti Pot but I like the NeilMed sinus rinse. Same concept, but with a squeezy bottle so you don't have to practically hold your head upside-down.
posted by radioamy at 8:13 PM on February 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by radioamy at 8:13 PM on February 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by The Toad at 3:58 AM on February 16, 2016