congestion and altitude

[CAMERONM]

High altitude mountaineers routinely run into problems when the nasal lining gets overly dried out. That leads to bloody noses. Virtually anything that you use to prevent the dryness will help, like Vaseline.

I think that some who suffer at night may be actually be suffering from (1) dry nose (2) trail dust in nose (3) paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, where people wake up suddenly during the night feeling shortness of breath. I would assume that the decrease in oxygen at high altitude would exacerbate this. It can also be caused by the head not being supported enough, which you may only notice when sleeping with a marginal camping pillow setup. I used to suffer from (3) until I dialed in a better pillow.

[kursavwilage]

I used to get stuffed up pretty bad lying down to sleep and started using Breathe Right strips. They worked pretty good until I started tearing the top layer of skin off my nose when removing them in the mornings. I now use 1 Benedryl every night which also helps me sleep better with no morning effects.

[Mtncaddis]

Having lived many years in a very wet and humid mountain range, I always get very dried out in the Sierra, though after a week or so my nose and sinuses seem to adapt a bit. The nose bleeds come on easily at altitude, so easily that I hate to sneeze and am cautious about blowing my nose. Saline spray works wonders for me. I keep a bottle of it in the pocket of my shoulder strap and use it at least a few times per day. The dry air also occassionally leads to dry cracked skin on my fingers so I also cary some salve goop. Minor inconveniences for the great rewards of being out there.