Rhinitus Help

[boro carper]

Hello,

I'm a 22 year old male, non smoker, i seem to suffer from Rhinitus, i have had this all my life and im getting to the point where i need to do something about it.

I have visited my GP number of times and he seems to prescribe me similar medication which doesn't work.

One nostril is completely blocked and theres usually a small amount of discharge. I seem to suffer alot worse during the winter months with my nose constantly blocked.

nasal sprays ive tried with no effect -

Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride
Beconase

Oral Pills -

Bendryl (all types)
cetirizine
and Fixofenadene ( What my current precription is, used for a week not much effect)

My gp also suggested i inhailed steam when my symptons are bad.

Is there any other medication i could try over the counter to combat this? I work in an office environment and its not ideal.

[CarolineN]

Hi there

Having suffered allergies most of my life, I know how debilitating they can be!

What helped me was 1000mg vitamin C with 15mg zinc three daily - you can get this from the supermarket as tablets that make up into a fizzy drink (tho' they contain aspartame which isn't all that good) or you can get some of these. Along with this I'd take a quality multivitamin/multimineral like this, to support your general health.

Probiotics can be helpful too as allergies often develop after antibiotic use or after gut infections when the gut lining becomes less functional due to non-supportive bacteria taking hold. With this possibility in mind I think it would be a very good idea to absolutely avoid all dairy produce for 3 weeks and see if it makes a difference - this includes milk, cream, butter, yoghurts, cheeses, and anything that contains whey (you need to read labels carefully) and check any white sauces. If at the end of this time there is no difference then you are probably not suffering from milk intolerance which is often linked to rhinitis - do let us know.

The other thing is to eat as many vegetables and fruit as you can - 5 portions a day is a minimum - 8 or 9 is better. A portion is 100gms (a LOT!) and it is not that easy to get through this much - fruit smoothies for breakfast, snacks such as apple, pear, carrot sticks, celery sticks, big salad for lunch (take a lunchbox with you) as it is best to eat about 50% raw), and 3 veggies for supper. This will help to supply the countless micronutrients not available in a vitamin pill that most of us are desperately short of when we live on the current Western diet. Do have a look here for an overview on the difference diet can make - it can change your life!

In the short term, to relieve blocked nose, do avoid nasal sprays unless absolutely necessary as they have a rebound effect, actually blocking the nose up after a while. Using an old-fashioned method can help - take a bowl half filled with boiling water, add a couple of drops of olbas oil or some vicks paste. Cover your head with a towel while leaning over the bowl and inhale the vapours until the water has cooled (10 minutes). However, I expect the dietary method should help in due course - but not immediately as it has taken many years to develop and may take a while to go.

I would also like to point out that long-term use of antihistamines can suppress the production of stomach acid which in turn can lead to overgrowth of 'bad' bacteria in the bowel and all sorts of unpleasant consequences down the line - see this book for full details.

It is also possible for something around your house to be causing the problem (animals, bath products, aerosols, carpet treatment products, perfumes - the list is endless! - but I'd try the dietary route first by building up your immune system to react normally again.

Hope this helps, but if not please do see a qualified nutritional therapist who will be able to help sort out the root cause of your problem.

[Finalshine]

I've just ordered some amazing multivitamins from healthspan's website. Although I thought that professionals were starting to be wary of recommending 5 portions of fruit a day as there are so much natural sugars in them? Of course I'd rather have 5 portions of fruit then a slab of chocolate (...sometimes) but there we go :P

The only thing that really clears me when I'm stuffy is eucalyptus oil in an oil burner with some water in a smallish room to really let the vapours take hold. Eucalyptus is an expectorant and will clear the airways, just like a menthol vaporub (which usually contain eucalyptus)

[BreathingRemed]

Buteyko Nose Clearing Exercise
1. Sit back, upright and relaxed on a dining room chair.
2. During this Nose Clearing Exercise keep your MOUTH CLOSED at all times even after the exercise is finished, if you open your mouth you have ruined the exercise and you'll have to start again.
3. Mouth closed !!!
4. Breathe OUT though your nose (recomended) or your mouth if you have to.
5. Now HOLD your breath by pinching your nose.
6. Gently move your head back and forward (nodding)
7. At this point your Mouth is closed, you're holding on the out breath and you're nodding your head.
8. Keep going untill you feel a slight discomfort and the need to breathe (DO NOT keep going to you go blue in the face and fall off your chair, this is not good for you)
9. At this point, let go of your nose and take a in breath in through your nose keeping your mouth closed.
10. Thats it, one bigish breath in and then breathe a bit slower and calmer for the next couple of minutes sitting very upright in your chair.
11. Repeat if necessary keeping your mouth closed at all times.

[NicholaReid]

Hi, after suffering myself for years with this, I began using a sea salt nasal spray (STÉRIMAR ® nasal cleansing that suits every nose type). You can buy it at Tesco for about £7, and Superdrug for about £5. I used it about 6 times a day for the first few days, now I am just using it in the mornings. Because it is natural, it doesn't sting your nose or make it bleed. Nic

[amyuro]

I have dealt with allergic and non-allergic rhinitis all my life. For some reason, I have a lot of extra stuff going on in my nose, so that when the membranes swell, I have NO room to breathe out of. In the past two years, I have moved and became allergic to a lot of trees/mold/grasses. I also found that I am allergic to eggs, which can cause swelling and inflammation (in the nose!) Through several trips to the ENT, I tried anti-histamines and nasal sprays and neti pots. But the problem is that if you nose swells at all like me, then you just do not have any room to get air through. After months of these ENT trips, we decided to go the surgical route. I got a turbinate reduction and septoplasty. I am day 11 coming out of the surgery, and it's been a horrible 11 days. BUT I can tell you that it is already going to be all worth it! I can tell that there is so much more room to breathe inside my nose. Of course this treatment is the extreme route, but if you have suffered as long as I have (and had a lower quality of life because of it) you may want to look into it. Once the swelling from the surgery goes down in about a month I won't even need antihistamines or sprays or shots anymore. Good luck!

[selenegreen]

Hi There,

my daughter has Allergic Rhinitis. Hers did seem to get a lot better after cutting out dairy but we found out she is allergic to dust mites. If you are getting it during the winter months this could point to a Dust Mite allergy.

I steam clean her bedroom carpet once a month to kill off the mites and damp dust her bedroom 3 times a week, also she has the anti allergy bedlinen that zips around your pillow, duvets and mattress.

She is taking a natural homeopathic remedy called Histamine - works the same as an antihistamine but doesnt inflame liver .

Also, she takes vitamin c to switch off the allergic reaction

hope this helps
x

[TracyAnn]

Hi

Could I ask what type of steam cleaner you use? I am thinking of getting one as I have rhinitis and think I am allergic to dust mites. Did your daughter have an allergy test? I am trying to get it confirmed but i seem to feel a lot better after I've used the Dyson and aired my bedding. Would like to try and improve it further. Thanks.

Originally Posted by selenegreen

Hi There,

my daughter has Allergic Rhinitis. Hers did seem to get a lot better after cutting out dairy but we found out she is allergic to dust mites. If you are getting it during the winter months this could point to a Dust Mite allergy.

I steam clean her bedroom carpet once a month to kill off the mites and damp dust her bedroom 3 times a week, also she has the anti allergy bedlinen that zips around your pillow, duvets and mattress.

She is taking a natural homeopathic remedy called Histamine - works the same as an antihistamine but doesnt inflame liver .

Also, she takes vitamin c to switch off the allergic reaction

hope this helps
x

[selenegreen]

Originally Posted by TracyAnn

Hi

Could I ask what type of steam cleaner you use? I am thinking of getting one as I have rhinitis and think I am allergic to dust mites. Did your daughter have an allergy test? I am trying to get it confirmed but i seem to feel a lot better after I've used the Dyson and aired my bedding. Would like to try and improve it further. Thanks.

Hi Tracy, I use the Karcher steam cleaner

My daughter did have an allergy skin prick test but, it took me 8 years to get one lol! It was only because she had a reaction to peanuts that I managed to get an allergy appointment at a hospital however, I think I knew deep down that she had a dust mite allergy.

We are now desentising her to the dust mites with homeopathy. I have found that if you ring a company called ainsworths they give you free advice over the phone as to which remedy to use and how often to take it