Morning congestion?
July 20, 2024 6:11 AM Subscribe
Why am I waking up with morning congestion and sneezing? This has been going on for months. It goes away after an hour or so, but I’m tired of having to blow my nose every 5 minutes for an hour. I have cleaned my air conditioner, my bedding is clean, my carpet is clean. Help me brainstorm, I need this to stop.
When you say your bedding is clean does that include your pillows?
posted by sciencegeek at 6:18 AM on July 20 [4 favorites]
posted by sciencegeek at 6:18 AM on July 20 [4 favorites]
Any new items in your bedroom? New pillows, blanket, mattress, laundry detergent? Could be an allergy. If you try an anti-histamine and if clears if, that'd be an easy test.
posted by lookoutbelow at 6:21 AM on July 20 [1 favorite]
posted by lookoutbelow at 6:21 AM on July 20 [1 favorite]
Are your pillows down? I developed a down allergy a couple of years ago and it took a while to figure out that’s what my problem was.
posted by telophase at 6:26 AM on July 20 [3 favorites]
posted by telophase at 6:26 AM on July 20 [3 favorites]
If you don't have dust-mite proof covers on your pillows and your mattress, it could be dust mites in your pillows and your mattress.
Changing your pillowslips/sheets won't solve this,
only dust-mite proof covers.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 6:27 AM on July 20 [12 favorites]
Changing your pillowslips/sheets won't solve this,
only dust-mite proof covers.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 6:27 AM on July 20 [12 favorites]
It sounds like allergies. Zyrtec fixes this for me.
posted by Amy93 at 6:35 AM on July 20 [2 favorites]
posted by Amy93 at 6:35 AM on July 20 [2 favorites]
Do you shower before bed? I used to only shower in the morning, but I realized that allergens from outside were on my hair, and if I showered before bed, I was a lot less congested. It's a pain because I don't want to go to bed with wet hair, but then I'm drying/styling it more than I want to. But when allergies are really bad, this helps, along with clean pillow cases.
posted by banjonaut at 6:48 AM on July 20 [3 favorites]
posted by banjonaut at 6:48 AM on July 20 [3 favorites]
If a couple days worth of Flonase spray fixes it (it's OTC) you'll know it was allergies.
(this is what happened to me) It nay take a week to be sure, but for me, 48 hours later it was like a miracle. Good luck.
posted by mmf at 7:06 AM on July 20 [3 favorites]
(this is what happened to me) It nay take a week to be sure, but for me, 48 hours later it was like a miracle. Good luck.
posted by mmf at 7:06 AM on July 20 [3 favorites]
Another vote for allergies (probably non-seasonal, if it's been going on all year), which can develop at any age. You have a carpet; does your vacuum cleaner have a HEPA filter?
Things you might be allergic to, other than pollen, include dust mites, mould spores (not suggesting your house is mouldy - they exist in the environment outside) and pet dander. Do you have furry pets, and do they ever come into the bedroom?
Unsolicited advice in case you find you either can't narrow down the cause or can't address it:
I take antihistamines year-round for similar symptoms, but for me they don't eradicate the symptoms, they just reduce them. Nasal sprays are more effective than pills, but the one that works best for me is only intended for short-term use, so I keep it for emergencies only. So, a couple of other tools in the arsenal: I tend to wake up less congested if I run an air purifier in the bedroom overnight; Breathe-Right strips overnight also seem to make for a better-functioning nose in the morning.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:40 AM on July 20 [1 favorite]
Things you might be allergic to, other than pollen, include dust mites, mould spores (not suggesting your house is mouldy - they exist in the environment outside) and pet dander. Do you have furry pets, and do they ever come into the bedroom?
Unsolicited advice in case you find you either can't narrow down the cause or can't address it:
I take antihistamines year-round for similar symptoms, but for me they don't eradicate the symptoms, they just reduce them. Nasal sprays are more effective than pills, but the one that works best for me is only intended for short-term use, so I keep it for emergencies only. So, a couple of other tools in the arsenal: I tend to wake up less congested if I run an air purifier in the bedroom overnight; Breathe-Right strips overnight also seem to make for a better-functioning nose in the morning.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:40 AM on July 20 [1 favorite]
For sleeping propped up, I recommend tilting the whole bed — 5cm risers under just the head end, frex. Bending yourself in the middle can introduce new symptoms.
posted by clew at 7:59 AM on July 20 [3 favorites]
posted by clew at 7:59 AM on July 20 [3 favorites]
Are you keeping the windows open at this time of year? If things are blooming where you are, pollen settles on everything (including clean pillows and bedding) and can aggravate allergies. Running an air filter helps.
posted by corey flood at 9:30 AM on July 20
posted by corey flood at 9:30 AM on July 20
For me what helps is an air purifier in the bedroom plus antihistamine plus flonase 2x a day plus pataday eye drops. Vastly better. Climate change is making all allergies worse too. Reading above I think it's time for dust mite pillow covers too.
posted by leslies at 10:15 AM on July 20
posted by leslies at 10:15 AM on July 20
Nasacort + saline spray before bed if the air is particularly dry basically fixed this for me. Now I only get a bit of one-sided congestion that clears up after a shower, which I assume is because I'm a side sleeper (i.e., I wake up congested on the side I've been sleeping on, and it clears up once I've showered and I'm up and moving around).
posted by yasaman at 12:06 PM on July 20
posted by yasaman at 12:06 PM on July 20
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posted by eekernohan at 6:16 AM on July 20 [8 favorites]