Chronic Rhinitis

Pianist2891

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Tedious Bore

I've had a bunged up head for years now but never bothered doing anything about it til recently.
my doc referred me to an ears/nose/throat specialist who says I may (or may not?) have chronic rhinitis. Gave me an inhaler thingy to try. Said it only works for some people and to come back to him if it didn't.
But at 200 squid a visit, I just can't afford it if he'll only be having another stab with some other 50/50 prescription.

thinking of trying nasal irrigation now maybe.

anyone have any interesting info on any of this?

sushisushi

How did you get on with the inhaler, in the end? What was in it?

I've been through a few prescribed treatments (nasal sprays, creams, etc.) and to be honest, the thing that I found the best is doing the nasal irrigation with a neti pot. It's an Indian pot, like a teapot, which you fill with warm salty water and off you go. Feels really odd, but seems to work really well - doesn't clear it totally (I reckon you'd need a suction pump for that!), but keeps the sinuses pretty clear, without drying them out horribly, like some of the medication does.

Tedious Bore

sushisushi wrote: »

How did you get on with the inhaler, in the end? What was in it?

I've been through a few prescribed treatments (nasal sprays, creams, etc.) and to be honest, the thing that I found the best is doing the nasal irrigation with a neti pot. It's an Indian pot, like a teapot, which you fill with warm salty water and off you go. Feels really odd, but seems to work really well - doesn't clear it totally (I reckon you'd need a suction pump for that!), but keeps the sinuses pretty clear, without drying them out horribly, like some of the medication does.

hi,

I haven't noticed any improvement using the Rhinocort inhaler my GP gave me (containing budesonide), but I did wonder if possibly my nose was so stuffed up that I wasn't able to inhale the full benefit of it maybe?

The ears/nose/throat specialist prescribed Sterimar (an iodized saline solution) and Nasonex (another inhaler with mometasone furoate). My pharmacist said I might want to use the Sterimar for a while before starting on the Nasonex to flush out any blockage that might diminish the effects of the inhaler. I've only just started a couples weeks ago, so I don't know if it should be improving yet, but so far nothing.

I did a bit of internet research, and ordered a neti pot last week. So I'm hoping that might help. Did you just use plain ordinary sea salt?

sushisushi

I'm not a doctor, but I would think that you should have had an improvement after a couple of weeks! I've never used anything in an inhaler for it, but I have a thing of Sterimar, which had an effect within a couple of days when I started it originally. It's basically the same thing as using the neti pot, but not as, erm, thorough, I found. I've only been using the neti pot for about three weeks now, so I think I'll hang on to it for backup, as it's a lot more portable.

On the neti pot mixture, I do indeed just use ordinary sea salt. There seems to be lots of mixtures that you can refine it with, but the basic recipe works just grand. It's kind of counter-intuitive to do, but the important thing is to just keep breathing through your mouth and not panic if it tickles :> It's doing a good job keeping my sinuses in decent condition, so I hope it works for you, too!

rollerdisco

I have bad rhinitis and know it is related to mold as it is worse when it rains. There is alot of literature on the net about this, what I think is main cause is yeast , and unfortunately beer and wine made from brewers yeast the modern diet has too much yeast in it. Cut down on beer wine and bread with yeast in it, cut down on refined sugar and dairy products. Doctors over here dont know about it. They stick to medication. Ask for clutures from your nose and test for mold sensitivities, try antifuingal drugs and give up the beer for good

Tedious Bore

rollerdisco wrote: »

I have bad rhinitis and know it is related to mold as it is worse when it rains. There is alot of literature on the net about this, what I think is main cause is yeast , and unfortunately beer and wine made from brewers yeast the modern diet has too much yeast in it. Cut down on beer wine and bread with yeast in it, cut down on refined sugar and dairy products. Doctors over here dont know about it. They stick to medication. Ask for clutures from your nose and test for mold sensitivities, try antifuingal drugs and give up the beer for good

thanks for this info, but the specialist I saw told me my rhinitis is not allergy related (that's if it even is definitely rhinitis, - his opinion was "probably").

my Dad had to have nasal polyps removed years ago, and I expected to be told I had the same or that it was something allergy-related. I'm still not ruling it out, - doctors can be wrong.
how long do you think I might have to lay off yeast and dairy to feel an improvement if they are affecting me?

cheers

hallelujajordan

Have suffered from Chronic Allergic Rhinitis for years and only over the last couple of years have I found a combination that works. .

Antihistamines are a good start, but you need to take them for the entire season. I am on Xyzal which is a stronger version of Zirtek and only available on prescription.

I also take Nasonex which is a steroid nasal spray, again it is only on prescription and only works if you take it continuously.

To irrigate, I use a bottle called Neilmed. It is really superb and I couldn't recommend it highly enough. It is like a netipot but it pushes the water through your sinuses at low pressure so it is easier to use and has more of a 'washing' effect. It also comes with pre-measured salt sachets which means the salt concentration is always correct.

sushisushi

rollerdisco: Yes, there seem to be a number of things that can set it off, varying from person to person. Mine is triggered by dust mites, which is kind of impossible, because you'd have to be the boy in the bubble to avoid the little beggars.

GPs might not have the specialist knowledge or equipment to give you a specialist diagnosis, but that's why they refer you to a consultant. I got referred a couple of years ago and he did a set of allergy tests, as well as an exclusion diet, to work out exactly what was causing the permanent snotty nose. You could maybe try to avoid yeast for a few weeks and then do the same for dairy, but you need medical supervision to do the proper full exclusion diet, because it is not in any way a balanced diet and you need advice on how to do it properly. In my case, the diet turned up an issue with dairy, but nothing much else. Sticking to herbal tea and soy milk in the mornings helps a lot, I find.

hallelujajordan: How do you find the anti-histamines? I have a prescription for Xyzal as well, but three days worth turns me into a complete zombie. I sleep really well, but can't wake up enough to do any work during the day. I end up just keeping them for dealing with that auld kicked-in-the-nose feeling, when it starts.

hallelujajordan

sushisushi wrote: »

hallelujajordan: How do you find the anti-histamines? I have a prescription for Xyzal as well, but three days worth turns me into a complete zombie. I sleep really well, but can't wake up enough to do any work during the day. I end up just keeping them for dealing with that auld kicked-in-the-nose feeling, when it starts.

I have heard that reported by others but I've never had that problem. I usually take mine first thing in the morning with a Berocca so maybe the Berocca counters the effect When the new generation antihistamines first came out I tried Clarityn and it had the sleepy effect on me.. Have you tried Clarityn or neo-Clarityn ?

BTW, there is some evidence that daily high dose Vitamin C (1g per day versus the 60mg RDA) can have a positive effect.

sushisushi

I think I did try the Clarityn and it was even worse. I have a terrible knack of conking out on anti-histamines, I even fell asleep during the day once after taking (I think) Piriton! And don't even ask about the effects of the Solpasinus...

Will have a go with the Berocca and see if it helps with being tired, cheers.

hallelujajordan

sushisushi wrote: »

I think I did try the Clarityn and it was even worse. I have a terrible knack of conking out on anti-histamines, I even fell asleep during the day once after taking (I think) Piriton!

When I was a kid the only options for antihistamines were wither Piriton or Triludan (long since taken off the market) . . either one knocked me out. . On the plus side, the rhinitis isn't so bad when you are unconscious

rollerdisco

Tedious Bore wrote: »

thanks for this info, but the specialist I saw told me my rhinitis is not allergy related (that's if it even is definitely rhinitis, - his opinion was "probably").

my Dad had to have nasal polyps removed years ago, and I expected to be told I had the same or that it was something allergy-related. I'm still not ruling it out, - doctors can be wrong.
how long do you think I might have to lay off yeast and dairy to feel an improvement if they are affecting me?

cheers

There should be gradual improvement over 2 weeks depending on how good your diet is but if you go back to beer alcohol etc it will come back so its a lifestyle choice really Try some natural antifungals like garlic and grapefruit seed extract AKA the key. Hope it does the biz for you

Tedious Bore

anyone here been told that their rhinitis is non-allergy related?

if so, have you found neti pots (or indeed anything else) helpful?

thanks all.

babaloushka

I suffer occasionally from post nasal drip (sounds gross, and I suppose it is). When I get a cold, the increase in mucus and that blocked feeling nearly drives me mad. I am very happy with the neti pot as a day-to-day solution for this - I also use steam inhalation/eucalyptus alternately with the neti when things are really bad. Although I haven't been diagnosed with an allergy, I do find that dairy and/or chocolate (:() exacerbates the problem. As with most things, your mileage may vary.
I suspect that a lot of the medications available for rhinitis-like complaints ultimately create a rebound effect, so I avoid them now for all but the worst possible outbreaks or when I'm away from home - even then, I just use something like Otrivine nasal spray for the absolute minimum amount of time.

Geog

Chronic rhinitis - you poor thing!!!!

E.T.

I've chronic allergic rhinitis and I switched from Nasonex spray to Avamys spray earlier this year and I've noticed a big difference - I think the doc said it's the same/a similar drug but the dosage frequency is different. I also changed antihistamines to xyzal last year and this made a huge improvement. If I'm very bad I take an extra xyzal at night (I usually just take one in the morning). I get chronic sinusitis from the rhinitis and I've used the squeezy bottle of warm saline solution for some relief although it's not exactly the most practical idea for during the day!

evolving_doors

Diagnosed with rhinitis a few years a go..dull pain and blocked nose...about 3 years after I went to the Dentist and he showed me an x-ray of an absess above a bad tooth..as soon as he took out the tooth sinus cleared up..

Have that nasal drip thing now though:mad:

cormie

Hi folks, I've had a sneezing problem now for a while and it's recently gotten worse. Seems to be related to dust for sure. Doing furniture removals, I'm exposed to a lot of dust and I nearly always start sneezing when I'm moving an old sofa or wardrobe with dust on top. I used to always start sneezing once I started to hoover my place. I could sneeze 10 times in a row and it would completely drain me. Then I'd be sniffling for ages after. I now have to get a cleaner in as I just can't handle the hoovering.

Before I change my bed sheets, it seems to be bad, then if I happen to sleep without bed sheets on the duvet/pillow, it's still bad but then once the clean bedsheets are on, it seems ok. This all points to a dust alllergy/rhinitis by the sounds of things.

I've started doing netti pots which seem to help, but if I sneeze once, it seems to start the nose sniffling and it takes a while for it to stop. I seem ok in fresh air but seems that when I change temperature (say stepping outside) I might sneeze once or twice.

My eyes get a bit red too and itchy.

How could something like this have been brought on I wonder? I seem fine in nature, around pollen and everything thankfully but I was at the doctor today and he took a blood test to do an allergy test for pollen and dust anyway so it'll be good to get some clarification.

Anyway, besides keeping the place hoovered and doing netti pots, I was thinking to change from a synthetic duvet and pillow, to just using heavy blankets. I know there is allergy specific bedding like what's available here: http://www.mitex.ie/duvet-covers but I was thinking maybe just getting decent natural blankets would be a better option and I could wash them frequently (unlike a duvet) so it's not a case of covering up a duvet full of dust mites with a allergy blanket, but having no dust mites at all (or fewer) by JUST using blankets.

I started a thread on boards trying to find some suppliers in Ireland or even UK/EUROPE of decent natural bedding but no luck so far. Looking for something like the selection here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056741323

Any other tips on coping with the symptoms? I don't want to take any drugs, over the counter or prescribed. I think changing bedding, keeping the place hoovered and the doors open and netti pots would hopefully be enough?

cormie

Just doing a bit more research into this and it seems that having a good vacuum cleaner can make a big difference to the air quality in the house too. I currently have a bagless cleaner, just a cheap one I got off Jumbletown years ago. I see heavy recommendations for Miele bagged cleaners but hear bagless are coming on in Technology with regards filtration.

Any suggestions on the above? The website I linked to above also stocks Miele vacuums which is a good sign if they are on an allergy website. I prefer bagless myself but would be willing to put up with the hassle of bags if it meant much cleaner air...