Sinuses and sleep

I have post nasal drip and when I lie down I have to keep swallowing or clearing my throat which keeps me from being able to fall asleep.  What can I do about this?


This is a common problem, especially for those who suffer from allergies.  There are many good medicines on the market which can dry out your nasal passages and/or open your sinuses for better breathing.  Sometimes teasing out the cause and selecting the right remedy can be tricky.  I recommend speaking about this with your primary care doctor.  

Tip: If you do not want to use medicines of any kind (and many of my patients don’t), another way to go is nasal lavage.  This involves the use of hypertonic saline (salt) wash to flush the nasal passages.  Over the counter devices such as Neti Pot can be helpful.  At our office we use ENT-Sol which is a more concentrated solution with an applicator that can apply more force to the flushing.  These are inexpensive and natural methods for dealing with chronic sinus and nasal passage issues and can help with post nasal drip.  The key is to perform lavage at least one hour before bedtime, as doing so can promote the drainage of congested passages increasing the likelihood of post-nasal drip for up to an hour.   

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