Dry nose treatment not a lot helping

Allergies is what my GP thinks and it was why I was given Nasobec but its side effect is an even drier nose. Decided againt using it today and haven't been stuffy but stilll very dry. Thing is that I have next to no secretions and any I do is clear bar first thing in the morning when its got a bit of colour.

Now I havent suffered with any nasal allergy since birth and thats over 40 years ago. The one bit of litlle relief I get is swabing some almond oil (Only use if you dont have a nut allergy) in my nostril using a cotton bud. Also last night after a good rummage I found a small jar of menthol crystals that must be about as old as me! After giving the bottle a good battering to loosen the contents I droped some crystals into an old mug then added some just boiled water. The methol infused steam was gently inhailed. As long as you dont over do it or scald yourself with the steam it does give some relief for the stuffiness and a little bit of moisture.

So some of the old remedies do give some relief but would love to get back to a near normal nose and then you dont then have to think about it

To follow up I managed 4½ hour sleep last night and have struggled through today. Went with a co-codamol as I was nice and relaxed prior to bed after a long chat to good old friend on the phone. Sinus wise they have eased a bit more throughout the day and so has the nose eased from being so inflamed but still quite dry. Mucus is now less blooded. Breathing is little better too. On the down side it feels as if I've sniffed it all back to my ears and into my throat. Though the ears are realy only the worst after sleeping. Headache most of the day but thats more from the sleep problem.

Cheers the noo

Slight improvements and some not. First day in a long time the headache is almost gone but had really bad fatigue mid morning but punched through it. Nose has been off and on all day but had a very minor bleed from the right nostril afer a nose blow at teatime. It stopped within a few minutes. Felt as if the sinuses were draining better today as could taste a fair whack of nasal goo. Also the ears are less dulled. So abit up and down.

Today it feells If the sinuses are definately clearer but that may be due to the fact that I had a change of attack. Decided to go down the route that I possibly should have done before now. Basically a combo of antihistamine and oral decongestant. Now the decongestant is phenylephrine 12.5mg. Its not the strongest but its just enough to help as I have high BP I need to be carefull with these sort of decongestants. As for the antihistamine rather than spending more money on some thing new I have used a ½ tablet of 25mg Nytol (diphenhydramine), I know newer second and third gen AHs are out ther which dont make you drowsy but as its only a ¼ of the normal dose for a sleeping aid Its been fine. Well felt no worse than I have been with my poor sleep. Also nose is less dry and have very little blood stained nose blows. My biggest problem nose wise is the post nasal drip. Its thin and clear but just a bit excesive most likely due to the fact that my sinuses are clear and are flushing themselves again. Ears are certain better for the most part. Only feeling a bit thick when the lack of sleep headache starts. Not had any painkillers either which is good. As I say I think I've turned the corner on the sinus and nose problems but not counting my chickens just yet. Hopefully if I can get some decent sleep even if its in two chunks then thats going to help too. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome and if your going through similar symptoms try and hang on in there as it can be bloody hard going

Ok the weekends here again and a long one with it being the May day holiday on Monday. Not sure if I've cracked root cause but have ease the symptoms. However here goes. Rather than using the phenylephrine 12.5mg which was only minimally touching it I popped to my local chemist for some advice. I was given Sudafed Decongestant (pseudoephedrine). Now both me a the Chemist know that it should be used with caution in pitient with high BP but it was worth a try to see how long through the day I could get without the nose being stuffy, post nasal drip and sinus ache. Well took the 60mg tab at 0930. By 11am suffy nose gone, post nasal drip gone and sinuses easing. The headache was also starting to clear too. However by 12 I was staring to get a bit jittery and spaced out. This carried on till around 1600 but other than that no reduction in it effect on my main symptoms.

So had dinner at 1700 and about 30 to 45 mins later I could feel the positive effects wearing of and started to get that little burning tickle in the bottom of the left maxillary. By coincidence its just above a tooth extraction done 4 weeks ago. However no pain directly at site and has healed well but I'm begining to think its either nerve damage to the base of the sinus wher the root was or theres been a small cut thats not healing and is still infected. What ever the cause its making the sinus there inflame which then spreads to the rest of the nose. The burning sometime also goes accross the cheek the up to the temple. Now I could continue with the pseudo but suffer the space out jittery feeling. Not great for later for getting to sleep. Or go back to using the phenylephrine with its minimal effect. Now as I'm needing some good sleep I dont fancy risking the pseudo so have gone back to the phenyl. Might try a little clove oil on the site of the extraction and hope that it penitrates and numbs it a bit. So far at least nothing has got any worse than since coming of the steroid spray (not had any bloody deposits today) so just got to manage till Tuesday till I can see my GP.

The quest continues

Hello Kenneth, I am wondering with all of this you have lost your sense of smell or taste, or had trouble hearing? Also have you had a CT scan of your sinußes?

Hi there. Sense of smell still there as is taste. Only slight dulled hearing of and on but its no worse than when you get your tubes blocked when you have a cold. No CT scan yet and not been reffered to either ENT.

Been a little better over the last week and have managed to get some resonable sleep. With the sleep easing my stress levels a bit too. Nose is still dry especiallly to the back but clear most of the time. The sinus ache and dryness across the eyes/cheeks/forehead comes and goes but never completely clears. Was at GP during the week to get other meds not on my repeat presciption yet. However it was a locum so thought a new pair of eyes and ears would maybe come up with something new but alas no further forward. Also was at the dentist on Thursday for a check up. It proved a little fruitfull. She had a good press at my maxillaries from inside the mouth and asked if I felt pain at any particular point. Both side were mildly painful but not sharp. She suggested I get back to the GP to pester them to get my sinuses X-ray'd. Plus to come back in to carry on with getting several more of my busted teeth extracted to lessen points of infection and discomfort. Anyhow trying to soldier on just now over the the weekend and we'll see what a new week brings.