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Comment by polishdude20 | Hacker News Reader

I don't have sleep apnea but during allergy season my nose does like to get stuffed at night causing my mouth the get really dry which causes me to wake up a few times.

I've been using nasal strips for the last few weeks and those events have stopped. I swear I also feel better during the day.

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Fluticasone can be especially helpful for people with allergies and/or OSA.

"Intranasal fluticasone treatment may be useful for patients with nasal obstruction-related obstructive sleep apnea to improve sleep quality and limit daytime dysfunction."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31521518/

"Intranasal steroids and montelukast did not decrease AHI; however, total sleep time and percent of stage R sleep significantly increased. Self-reported improvement could be explained by observed changes in sleep parameters. Larger prospective studies could help elucidate the effects of medical therapy on adult patients with OSA."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31383235/

I find the most effective nasal sprays also give me terrible withdrawal symptoms. Like, I'd use them for a few days at night, alternating nostrils and then when I stop, my nose is closed shut for the next few days.

Some nasal sprays have salt in them in addition to whatever drug they have, which unblocks the nose immediately but is extremely addictive. The ones that have just the drug don't have this issue in my experience

This is common with Afrin (oxymetazoline). It’s only meant for short term use for this reason. This shouldn’t be the case with fluticasone.

> causing my mouth the get really dry

Sounds like you're breathing through your mouth.

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