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Old 05-21-19, 05:17 PM
  #13431  
Enthalpic
Killing Rabbits
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Originally Posted by topflightpro
I run a combination of things to address my allergies.

1. NeilMed Nasal Flush - I do this every morning. Sometimes I do it at night too. My ENT would like me to do it twice daily, but I find that doing that too much results in nose bleeds. I also have a prescription steroid to help reduce inflammation in my sinuses. Interestingly, when used in this fashion, it is not banned. But if I were to inject it, well, that's another story.
2. Zyrtec (non-psuedo) - I take one every night before going to bed.
3. Zyrtec-D - I am supposed to take one every morning. I try not to, so I usually have one in my pocket at all times. I have a prescription for it because I would not otherwise be able to purchase a month's supply due to restrictions on OTC purchases.
4. Flonase - I use this with some frequency to replace using Zyrtec-D.
5. Singulair - I use this mostly in the summer or extremely hot days as it helps with both my asthma and allergies.
6. Afrin - I use this sparingly and largely keep it in my gear bag. It helps open my sinuses for races.
7. Breatheright Strips - I use these for races. I had to purchase special goo to help them stay on when I sweat.

For those of you who are looking at that list and thinking that sounds insane, it's really not that bad. I have some pretty severe allergies that are made worse by a messed up nose. Essentially, I only have one working nostril - I have a massive deviated septum coupled with a collapsed outer nose wall that does not allow for good airflow or drainage, hence the near constant inflammation of my sinuses. The breatheright strips help with that some. My ENT wants me to under go a rhinoplasty to fix my nose. This procedure would consist of cutting the cartilage out of my deviated septum then inserting it into the outer wall of my nose. I would look very different afterward. I have not done this yet because in my reading of the surgery, it's rather intense, and my nose would be packed with gauze for 1-2 weeks.
There is almost no evidence that nasal dilators improve performance, but I don't doubt they improve breathing comfort for some.

No difference from a fully plugged nose (clipped) and an expanded nose, heck the expanded nose was non-significantly worse (C is plugged, A is nasal dilator).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10949017

"There were no significant differences in VO2max (mean +/- SD; C = 3.12+/-1.1; P = 3.12 + 1.06; A = 3.04+/-0.94)."

That's not bad for meds.
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