Stopped up nose

I started having this problem years ago. I wondered if I was allergic to chlorine. I saw an allergist, who explained to me that a person can't be allergic to chlorine because the molecular structure of chlorine is such that it is not an allergen. BUT, it is an irritant to the sinuses. So if a person has a mild allergy to something else, it may not normally cause any issues but if the person then starts getting chlorinated water into the sinuses, that could be enough to exacerbate the allergy symptoms that might not be noticeable otherwise. He tested me for allergies and the results showed that I had a few mild ones, to things that are hard to avoid (like mold). He put me on a couple of prescription allergy medications. They worked but I didn't really like the idea of being on drugs for something that to me was a fairly minor thing. So I stopped taking the drugs and tried a nose clip instead. The nose clip worked just as well! Fast forward, many years later. I swim in a different pool now and got curious a few months ago as to whether I still even needed the nose clip. So I swam without it a couple of times and, sure enough, my nose was stopped up all night. So I do still need the nose clip, and it still does solve the problem. Anna Lea

Try using "Ocean" saline nasal spray (or equal) after you swim to help your sinus membranes recover from the irritation caused by chlorine or other pool chemicals. It's sterile and moistens the membranes. In the winter when the my sinuses are dry, I'll use it twice per day, once after swimming and once before sleep. It seems to really help. Also, a little petroleum jelly may help protect the membranes too, if applied before swimming or even after. But I'm not sure how long that protection really lasts, especially if you breathe out through your nose in the pool.

Wow. Thanks for such a thorough answer. I appreciate it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I especially get this after very intense work-outs, eg, swimming five miles or three miles two days in a row. I used to think that over exercising was making me over tired and thus more susceptible to colds, but my doctor said it is a form of vasomotor rhinitis, in this context also called exercise-induced rhinitis. There's a couple of different theories about what causes it. One theory is that it is basically your immune system responding to a high level of physical stress and perhaps some environmental irritants, eg, chlorine. Basically, you just treat the symptoms, the same as you would allergic rhinitis. One of my pharmacist friend recommends two over-the-counter allergy medicines, specifically loratadine (brand name Claritin, but also available as a generic) and pseudoephedrine (brand name Sudafed, also available as a generic), a decongestant. Claritan used to be a prescription only anti-histamine, which was formulated with a lower dose to reduce drowsiness but it is now available as an over-the-counter (OTC) drug. Claritan-D is a combination of these two drugs (the D stands for decongestant), which you can get in 12-hour and 24-hour sustained-release formulations. The 24-hour formulation contains 10-mg loratadine and 240-mg pseudoephedrine. The 12-hour formulation contains half of that, 5-mg loratadine and 120-mg pseudoephedrine. My pharmacist friend recommends buying the two generics separately because you may want to limit the amount of pseudoephedrine you are taking as it can raise your blood pressure. It is also cheaper to buy them as separate generics. It is not safe to combine some allergy and cold drugs so do not just take a combination without knowing how they may interact. Claritan-D is a combination that is generally considered safe, which is why it can be marketed as a single product. Note that pseudoephedrine is (at least in most states) now kept behind the counter and you have to show your drivers license and sign a form to buy it because it can be used in meth labs to create methamphetamines. You may find some forms of Sudafed PE or Claritan PE on the shelves but this does not include pseudoephedrine. Instead it has phenylephrine, which is not used in meth labs. A lot of people also say it is less effective. Because it is only used to treat symptoms, I only take these OTC drugs when I have symptoms, ie, after a very intense work-out. Some people also take it before working out, but I don't. Don't know if it's true, but I've heard that you can become tolerant to the effects and therefore may want to take progressively higher doses. That's partly why I'm now taking the 12-hour dose rather than the 24-hour dose, but mainly because I do not get symptoms until after I swim. There are also immediate release formulations that you take every 4-6 hours. I've also read that nasal sprays, eg, ipratroprium bromide nasal spray, can help but I have not tried these. Exercise-induced rhinitis is related to exercise-induced asthma, which is a restriction of air passages, causing a cough and shortness of breath. An albuterol asthma inhaler can be prescribed for this. I used to have this in high school, and it would occur while I was swimming so in this case I would use the inhaler prior to working out. A friend had a more severe form, exercise-induced anaphylaxis, which included hives and can be life-threatening. His doctor first tried subcutaneous injections of epinephrine, which did not help, and then IV diphenhydramine (Benadryl), which worked for him. Since you may be only getting this after more intense work-outs or the symptoms may be more severe after especially intense work-outs, you can see this as a sign of overtraining and make sure you get sufficient rest between your most intense work-outs. Some people report that the symptoms gradually diminish and go away as their body gets used to working out at higher intensity. That has also been my experience. Always talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking medications, even over-the-counter medications.