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Suggest Treatment For Nasal Congestion And Watering From Eyes
Question: Hello Doctor,
I am a male in my mid 60s, with high cholesterol controlled by statin, mild emphysema, severe sleep apnea but otherwise in good ealth. Periodically over the past year I have had episodes where the right side of my nose and my right ear get congested and my right eye waters heavily. Sometimes with these episodes I sneeze a lot and sometimes only a few times. I do not have a fever, or pain but a "full" feeling on the right side of head. Sometimes I feel kind of sick but other times not? The episodes usually last a day or two at the most. I've considered a cold, allergies, sinus infection, nasal polyps but nothing seeems to fit. There are 2 reasons why I am writing (1) my daughter-in-law just had a baby yesterday. Should I stay away from him? (2) I use a CPAP nightly for severe sleep apnea and honestly do not clean it out as often as I should. Could this be some kind of fungal infection. Thanks for any information you can provide
I am a male in my mid 60s, with high cholesterol controlled by statin, mild emphysema, severe sleep apnea but otherwise in good ealth. Periodically over the past year I have had episodes where the right side of my nose and my right ear get congested and my right eye waters heavily. Sometimes with these episodes I sneeze a lot and sometimes only a few times. I do not have a fever, or pain but a "full" feeling on the right side of head. Sometimes I feel kind of sick but other times not? The episodes usually last a day or two at the most. I've considered a cold, allergies, sinus infection, nasal polyps but nothing seeems to fit. There are 2 reasons why I am writing (1) my daughter-in-law just had a baby yesterday. Should I stay away from him? (2) I use a CPAP nightly for severe sleep apnea and honestly do not clean it out as often as I should. Could this be some kind of fungal infection. Thanks for any information you can provide
Brief Answer:
Hi I would advice a CT scan of sinuses and following recommendations-
Detailed Answer:
Hello sir,
I did review your concern sir.
I would recommend to take precautionary measure and wear a mask covering your mouth and nose when you go close to the baby.
CPAP use can lead to certain minor problems like nasal congestion and occasionally watering from eyes. The warm humidifiers with it do help. Fungal infections with routine CPAP use is possible but only mentioned in literature in rare case reports.
You can use nasal saline drops and that sometimes works with the nasal congestion that you have been experiencing.
Now to know whether the congestion is only due to CPAP and only limited to congestion or if it is infected with a bacteria or a fungus we need to do a CT scan of the paranasal sinuses as a precautionary measure.
Also If your problems of nasal congestion persist then you can discuss with your sleep doctor/pulmonologist about the newer oral or dental application devices, if they can work for you or if there is a surgical option suitable for you.
So all in all,I would recommend following steps
1) It seems more of congestion and less chances of infection however,still wear a mask just as a precautionary measure when you are in contact with kids.
2) Use humidifiers and nasal saline drops and discuss about these with your doctor.
3)A CT scan of paranasal sinus and a nose examination to rule out chronic sinonasal infection.
4) Discuss other treatment options with your doctor for sleep apnea if your problems persists and are very nagging- like oral or dental devices and surgical options.
I hope this helps.
Let me know if you have any more questions or concerns.
Wish you all the very best sir.
Sincerely,
Dr Parth Desai
Hi I would advice a CT scan of sinuses and following recommendations-
Detailed Answer:
Hello sir,
I did review your concern sir.
I would recommend to take precautionary measure and wear a mask covering your mouth and nose when you go close to the baby.
CPAP use can lead to certain minor problems like nasal congestion and occasionally watering from eyes. The warm humidifiers with it do help. Fungal infections with routine CPAP use is possible but only mentioned in literature in rare case reports.
You can use nasal saline drops and that sometimes works with the nasal congestion that you have been experiencing.
Now to know whether the congestion is only due to CPAP and only limited to congestion or if it is infected with a bacteria or a fungus we need to do a CT scan of the paranasal sinuses as a precautionary measure.
Also If your problems of nasal congestion persist then you can discuss with your sleep doctor/pulmonologist about the newer oral or dental application devices, if they can work for you or if there is a surgical option suitable for you.
So all in all,I would recommend following steps
1) It seems more of congestion and less chances of infection however,still wear a mask just as a precautionary measure when you are in contact with kids.
2) Use humidifiers and nasal saline drops and discuss about these with your doctor.
3)A CT scan of paranasal sinus and a nose examination to rule out chronic sinonasal infection.
4) Discuss other treatment options with your doctor for sleep apnea if your problems persists and are very nagging- like oral or dental devices and surgical options.
I hope this helps.
Let me know if you have any more questions or concerns.
Wish you all the very best sir.
Sincerely,
Dr Parth Desai
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Brief Answer:
i would consider simple congestion of the nose due to CPAP.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
thank you for the reply query sir.
I would consider nasal congestion due to CPAP use as the provisional diagnosis. IT is infact a common problem with CPAP users.
What happens is that CPAP chronically dries out the nasal air. So the nasal mucosa in response produces lot of mucus which blocks the paranasal sinus openings. The dryness itself causes itching and burning in few patients and the excessive mucus blocks all the openings of paranasal sinuses. This blockage predisposes to infection.
Since you do not have fever or facial pain, chances of infection are less likely, but in medicine nothing is 100%. So we need to rule that out.
I hope this helps sir.
Let me know if you have any more questions or concerns.
Also please provide me feedback on your health in future.
wish you all the best sir.
Sincerely,
Dr Parth Desai.
i would consider simple congestion of the nose due to CPAP.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
thank you for the reply query sir.
I would consider nasal congestion due to CPAP use as the provisional diagnosis. IT is infact a common problem with CPAP users.
What happens is that CPAP chronically dries out the nasal air. So the nasal mucosa in response produces lot of mucus which blocks the paranasal sinus openings. The dryness itself causes itching and burning in few patients and the excessive mucus blocks all the openings of paranasal sinuses. This blockage predisposes to infection.
Since you do not have fever or facial pain, chances of infection are less likely, but in medicine nothing is 100%. So we need to rule that out.
I hope this helps sir.
Let me know if you have any more questions or concerns.
Also please provide me feedback on your health in future.
wish you all the best sir.
Sincerely,
Dr Parth Desai.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
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