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Comment by ranger47 | Hacker News Reader

What opened things up for you? I suffer from allergies, and have a slightly deviated septum, and I've tried so many sprays (caused dependency), breathing strips (falls off in the night), and even 3D printed a small cradle that would force my nose to open wider as I slept, which proved to be nothing short of annoying. I'm always open to trying new methods.

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What kind of sprays - Afrin type (oxymetazoline)? The dependency on those can be pretty awful. My ENT prescribed Azelastine, an antihistamine nasal spray that has worked wonders for me. It appears to raise the threshold for allergic reactions which can include swelling of the nasal passages. I knew I needed it in the Spring but I've found that if I don't use it daily I snore really badly, so I think that general house dust is causing some trouble. My wife is much happier now that I'm using it again.

Yep, Afrin and the like. They open things up nicely, for a time, then I have to keep using it or I spend a week feeling extremely blocked before returning to my baseline of annoyingly blocked.

I have not heard of Azelstine, and will bring that up to my doctor, thanks!

I use to use sprays but at some point just stopped, because they were nor really helping. For some years I just accepted that my nose does not work properly. There were always some moments were I could use my nose but then it would get blocked. It was only after I read a book (Breath by John Nestor) that I started really trying. And it really worked! I wouldn't say that it will work for everyone, since I have no data and this is not my field, but many things from the book make sense and it is worth a try.

I had the surgery to have my deviated septum fixed and it was a good decision. First, I could breathe through my nose. Another huge benefit, though, was that all those sinus infections that couldn't drain kept turning into ear infections -- that just stopped.

The recovery from the surgery wasn't too bad for getting back to work -- I think I missed two days and the weekend. But the healing process gave me incredible headaches for about two months which went away entirely. Mine was badly deviated, though.

Ok, but did you try exercising?

I mean this seriously:

your body naturally dilates your entire respiratory system in response to oxygen demand - and not by a trivial amount.

As someone who has a suspected less than perfect septum, and experiences allergies from time to time, I have gone from simply noticing the dilation effect to actively pursuing it as a remedy.

Which is to say, if I stay the night somewhere with indoor cats, I alleviate the symptoms by going for a run …

YMMV. IANAD. HNY!

It sounds like you need a CPAP machine or the like.

CPAP is nice, but it can be a pain in the ass ; 9 months in I'm still struggling to use it consistently, with heavily deviated septum, allergies, seasonal sniffing. When I can consistently keep the mask on (nose) without feeling like I'm drowning, for at least a week, I get quite the refreshed feeling. Quite rare though... Tried all possible machine tunings, products, herbs, massages, activities... Still not there yet. And the surgeon isn't convinced I'll get better sleep even with deviated septum surgery, says he'd need to correct stuff 'behind' too. There's the 'mouth and nose' mask option but that leaks far more and is even more harder to sleep with...

Seems if you breathe from your mouth when you grow up, your tongue isn't parked up, pushing on your palate, and your jaw and face bones don't grow up correctly and it's very hard to correct as an adult. I get bone and articulation pains with the CPAP machine, since my tongue is now parked correctly it pushes hard...

Get your kids looked at. It's all hereditary for me (deviated septum) and I regret no-one telling me to get it looked at seriously when younger.

I had that surgery, more than once, and I have trouble breathing when I sleep. I'm finding it hard to get a CPAP (I'm abroad in a non-English speaking nation so that's probably a factor). Have you tried taping your mouth closed? If you're definitely safe using the CPAP then you might try it, that's my plan.

Aside from that, I've found yoga and meditation that uses the breath as an object helps with my breath quality when awake, and recently I'm trying hot/cold contrasts (a hot bath and cold shower) as outlined in this Huberman Lab podcast[1]. I've noticed that my sinuses are clearer afterwards. That could be the steam or another reason, it is hard work though!

> I regret no-one telling me to get it looked at seriously when younger.

Me too, I had terrible advice, from medical professionals too. They didn't seem to care so I'm heartened by the recent findings which, even though they scare the hell out of me because it underlines all the problems I face and most likely will face, those walking behind us may have an easier road.

[1] https://hubermanlab.com/the-science-and-health-benefits-of-d...

Oh getting a CPAP was a breeze here in France and I didn't/don't have to pay a cent, neither for diagnosis nor for renting the machine nor the quite serious tech support and follow-up. So, while the rest of the French health system seems to be collapsing, this still works.

And it's (IMO) clever, since it's such a game changer for most of the people I met who use it, many costly ailments disappear. It's probably a winner for overall productivity and a great reducer of sick days and late-life healthcare.

You can get surgery that will open things up.

Naturally, this and a CPAP are in consideration, but getting to that point is profoundly difficult without health insurance in the US. I am seeking solutions for relief in the meantime.

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