Clogged nose

[Tomswife]

It has been decades since I was a mother and then cared for a child and their stuffy nose.
My PALS. TOM, has been unable to blow his nose for several months. I have been doing some surface cleaning and using Nasacort. Tom always lets me know when he has an issue. He is very fussy about pillows. I wrongly assumed he would tell me if his nose is clogged.

Today I was giving him his bed bath etc and decided to explore his nose with a qtip.
Well I was horrified to discover lots of stuff in his nose. Lots. I think I got it out without pushing it up.

Perhaps even if PALS doesnt raise the issue, we need to inspect PALS nose on a regular basis.
I did some reading about methods. I don't know if he can handle a nettipot. For now I will just use a qtip, carefully.

 

[KimT]

When my Dad had COPD I put a couple of drops of saline in his nose and used a hand suction to get all that gunk out. Not enough that would cause him to choke or feel like he couldn't breathe. I waited 20 minutes between each side. Not sure it would work with Tom.

 

[Tomswife]

I have the bulb suction. Is there another type?

 

[lgelb]

Besides the baby aspirator, some people use an olive tip on their suction machines.

 

[KimT]

The bulb suction is the one I used with my Dad.

 

[SeaGunny]

My PALS has either an allergy or at one point some kind of nasal reaction to???

We live near San Antonio, so Cedar pollen seems to be a major culprit. My PALS was diagnosed with Bulgar (?) ALS meaning it started in the upper part of her body, mimic Acid Reflux. Along came the suction machine and the cough machines not to mention the BiPAP.

When she had a nasal "infection" (no one knew what she had), I used the suction machine with a smooth ball tip wand on the hose. I did use some saline solution which helped loosen BUT be cautious as to much saline can get back into the nasal passages and drip into he back of the mouth causing discomfort and swapping out the nose suction hose and wand to the mouth suction hose and wand - RIGHT FAST I might add. A bib is often a preferred accessory as well as a box of tissues on hand and readily availabe. I use the wand to get back and then follow the underside of the nasal canal back towards the front of the nose. PALS tilts her head forward and this, plus the suction and "dragging" motion promotes loose stuff following that path.

My PALS sometimes breaks down in tears an this is often the result of what has to be a severe headache from clogged nasal passages.

 

[lgelb]

Gunny, have you tried a nasal steroid like triamcinolone and/or nasal antihistamine (azelastine)?

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