I started getting allergy symptoms when I was young. I had bad nasal allergies as a teenager. I would get chronic sinus infections and would often find myself going to the doctor atleast a couple times a year. I also am prone to nose bleeds and have had many bad ones due to my allergies. I am going to share some of the things that have helped me over the years of trial and error. Everyone is different and has varying severity of symptoms so I will say that what works for me may not be necessary or not work for you. I'm sure a lof of my habits will benefit everyone though.
When I started seeing doctors in the early 1990s they had some good tools for treatment but their advice was limited. It took years to find what works the best for me. Back in those days they would simply recommend a corticosteroid nasal spray and a saline mist spray squeeze bottle like the "Ocean Brand" in conjunction with an antihistamine. For some people that can be enough. There were allergy shots as immunotherapy available too. I found out later the corticosteriod sprays had alcohol and would dry my nasal passages. I would find myself using the saline spray bottles every couple hours some days to control the dryness and crusting. I stopped using the little squeeze bottles years ago and do a full sinus irrigation with a NeilMed brand saline wash instead. It is like a Neti Pot but it is a squeeze bottle. It flushes atleast 8 onces of saline water through your sinuses. This is superior to the little squeeze bottles. I can't stress enough doing this regular flush with squeeze bottle significanly improved my symptoms. It has improved my quality of life better than any medicine did. It gets rid of my symptoms like post-nasal drip and the relief lasts all day.
I do a sinus rinse with my Neil Med squeeze bottle in the morning and at night before bed. The bottle is much gentler than an actual neti "pot" with the spout on the side that looks like a flower watering pot. There was to much pressure with those pots and it gave me nosebleeds. The gentle squeeze bottle removes all the allergens like dust from your nose and my sinuses instantly open up after using it. When you use it you want to keep your head straight down over a sink and squeeze gently from the bottom of the bottle. The water runs in one nostril and out the other. It keeps the crusting down in my nose too and prevents nosebleeds. I still will get bleeding from time to time but they are way, way less now especially in the winter. In years past in the winter I would get atleast a nosebleed once or twice a month.
Helpful Tips
I will now talk about what I am currently doing as treatment and prevention. I drink a lot of water everyday. Most people do not drink enough water. In the summer I will carry around a gallon water jug and usually drink about a gallon a day even if I'm not exercising. The water helps hydrate the mucosa in your nose and sinuses. If you are properly hydrated you should have the urge to urinate upon waking up in the morning. During the day you should be urinating every couple hours also. For me two to three hours is aobut right. I take an antihistamine daily. I take Allegra 24 hour. Everyone is different but I found Zyrtec to make me a little dizzy and Claritin gave me too much dryness. When allergy symptoms are severe or in conjunction with a cold Mucinex maximum strength is beneficial. The main ingredient is guaifenesin. The maximum daily dosage in studies was shown to work the best.
Running a bedroom humidifier at night especially in the winter time when the heat is drying out the air works great to prevent nasal dryness. I have a portable Thermo Pro humidistat that reads the humidity level in the room. My humidifier is a cool mist that doesn't have a filter. It is the CVS brand and it works great. I found the lower priced ones with filters wouldn't last longer than a couple days before mildewing. The CVS one is low priced too but it works great for my bedroom.
I use the NeilMed nasal gel spray bottle sometimes too. Every night before bed I also put a good amount of petroleum jelly or Vasoline in both nostrils on my septum to prevent dryness and bleeding. I very carefully use a Q-tip cotton swab and put the Vasoline in the nostril and push it back after it reaches body tempurature in a couple minutes. I avoid touching the septum or middle bone in the nose. I use the petroleum jelly brand that is the softest when it is in the jar. I find using the petroleum jelly regularly and frequently in the winter prevents most of my nosebleeds. If I get a nosebleed I stuff a bunch of it in the nostril and it always stops the bleeding.
In my home I try and keep the temperature low to prevent the dry heat from running too much. I usually close or partially close my air vents in the bedroom to to keep the dry air down. It is a balancing act with the humidifier. Make sure you don't leave the device on when it runs out of water. This is bad for the humidifier. You have to start using it on the lower setting to see how many hours it will go. In summary, I believe if you try out atleast some of these helpful tips you will see a big improvement in allergy symptoms.
