congestion and altitude

[frozenintime]

does anyone else get congested at altitude?

for me, it’s only noticeable when lying down at night, and seems to get worse the higher up i am: at emigrant, i’m a little stuffed up. but above ~10k, i am awkwardly breathing through my mouth all night.

have any of you found the secret solution?
i wonder if a saline spray might help?
typical allergy drugs (claritin, flonase, etc)?

[KathyW]

I get a bloody boogery nose. It is terrible. I use a neti pot in the evening and that helps. Last trip I also carried Hyalogic Hylamist for dry noses (https://hyalogic.com/product/hylamist/) and sprayed it up my nose a few times a day and that also helped. Using decongestant only makes it worse due to rebound congestion.

[KathyW]

I don't find that the allergy medicines you mentioned help me. The exception is that good old Benadryl will help me fall asleep at night; so, I pop one if I'm struggling to sleep. Peppermint tea helps a little.

[frozenintime]

yeah benadryl is always an option, but a fairly nuclear-level one.

i'll check out hyaluronic acid, thanks for the suggestion

[shawnterustic]

YES! I haven't figured out exactly what altitude this clicks into place for me, but it's pretty routine for me to spend all night mouth-breathing. I started carrying a saline spray last summer (just a generic brand I grabbed from Target or CVS), which absolutely helps - I keep it near my pillow so I can spray mid-evening if I'm particularly stuffy. The bottle is kinda large, but absolutely worth it.

[frozenintime]

yes! that overnight dry mouth thing is so gross. glad to hear saline worked and lol, i have also noticed how large those bottles are

i'm curious what the efficacy difference might be for saline vs hyaluronic acid. i suppose i may have to become a study of one on my next trip.

[Wandering Daisy]

I have the opposite problem. I am often stuffed up at home at sea level (I have allergies) and miraculously my head clears, mucus drains, and I feel great once I get up above 10,000 feet. Could be due to better air quality rather than altitude per se. When I come down, I again get stuffed up.

I take one Benedryl at night, because I am somewhat allergic to down (my sleeping bag). Side benefit is that I also sleep better.

[shawnterustic]

Please post a report if you decide to A/B 'em! My nose (and dry mouth) will thank you!!!

[frozenintime]

well now i just might have to. for science.

are you using the spray throughout the day or just in the evening? (i have no noticeable congestion at all until lying down... for some reason...)

[frozenintime]

now that this is the Official Thread of Nasal Congestion at Altitude, here is a a 2020 study (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32460989/):

"Conclusions: The treatment with micronized nasal douches can improve the sino-nasal symptoms of CRSsNP, in particular nasal obstruction and olfactory ability. No advantage of the use of hyaluronic acid over isotonic saline solution emerged."