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Suggest Medication For Post Nasal Drip

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Posted on Wed, 7 Oct 2015
Question: This is for an ENT specialist. I'm a 70 year old male in good health. I've had a good-sized deviated septum for about 45 years. Because the larger nostril closes every night when I lay down (is that a swollen turbinate), I turned to Afrin for many years--too many. About 2.5years ago,I began to have chronic and fairly severe postnasal drip. My ENT Dr at Kaiser said it was likely due to damaged nasal tissue, that may or may not heal. He recommended flonase. That did not help the drip. A month ago I decided once and for all to stop using Afrin, and the reasons for using Afrin came back--sleeping with my mouth open most of the night is just about impossible. I can only make it if I tilt my head a certain way that opens up a little my larger nostril--my smaller one stays open much of the night til eventually closing as well but it still amounts to a lot of wake time during the night--which so happens to be the worst time for the nasal drip as well. So I have a night time breathing problem and a nasal drip problem. I'm hoping that staying off the Afrin will down the road restore my nasal tissue--is that even realistic? I don't want to have this awful nasal drip the rest of my life. I realize the septum surgery would open my smaller nostril to enable better breathing; that would likely help at night. So, my two--related--questions are 1) is there anything other than Afrin that will keep my nasal passages clear at night? 2) is there anything that can reduce or eliminate the nasal drip?
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Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
Saline nasal washes. Sinus CT.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for your query.

1. Operating the septum is not justified now.

2. Get a plain CT PNS ( Para Nasal Sinuses ) with 1 mm coronal, axial and sagittal views pre and post decongestion with nasal decongestant drops ( 0.1 % Xylometazoline ). If nasal turbinate hypertrophy shows up, radiofrequency turbinate reduction will help.

3. Prolonged use of Afrin land other similar sprays leads to Rhinitis Medicamentosa. To treat this and the post nasal drip, use hypertonic saline nasal washes. (such as Physiomer).

4. A nasal valve collapse may also contribute to the nasal obstruction. There, too, radiofrequency or coblation nasal turbinate reduction will help.

5. Upload the CT images for further treatment options.

I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any more questions I will be available to answer them.

Regards.
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Sumit Bhatti

Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist

Practicing since :1991

Answered : 2686 Questions

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Suggest Medication For Post Nasal Drip

Brief Answer: Saline nasal washes. Sinus CT. Detailed Answer: Hi, Thank you for your query. 1. Operating the septum is not justified now. 2. Get a plain CT PNS ( Para Nasal Sinuses ) with 1 mm coronal, axial and sagittal views pre and post decongestion with nasal decongestant drops ( 0.1 % Xylometazoline ). If nasal turbinate hypertrophy shows up, radiofrequency turbinate reduction will help. 3. Prolonged use of Afrin land other similar sprays leads to Rhinitis Medicamentosa. To treat this and the post nasal drip, use hypertonic saline nasal washes. (such as Physiomer). 4. A nasal valve collapse may also contribute to the nasal obstruction. There, too, radiofrequency or coblation nasal turbinate reduction will help. 5. Upload the CT images for further treatment options. I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any more questions I will be available to answer them. Regards.