[hiker]

To the best of my knowledge, the reason that I often wake up with an extremely dry mouth, caused by breathing exclusively through it, is that my nasal passages are blocked by swollen turbinates. It is to treat this that I take Allegra 10 mg b.i.d. This is not actually fully effective in keeping my nasal passages open at night.

First thing in the morning, I perform what could be called a nasal lavage, using a home-mixed saline solution (plain uniodized NaCl and warm water) propelled by a 3-oz ear syringe. After a couple of squirts have softened the depositions in my nose, and I have expelled the stuff (ALWAYS flecked with blood from the left septum), I snort (then spit out) this saline solution to bathe the turbinates, and my breathing is opened up.

I do not take decongestants, because all those that I know about are contraindicated for persons with symptoms of BPH (in my case mainly the urinary bladder sphincter constriction) or HBP (high blood pressure, controlled somewhat with Hytrin -- also prescribed for the prostate complaint).

It was a (otorhinolarynglogy)boarded ENT physician who first prescribed the Allegra. My prescriptions since then have been written by a young Family Physician. I presume that the usual advice would be to see an ENT. We live outside of a town so small (c. 22,000) that it is lucky to have an ENT office. I am not willing to return to that particular office, due to an unsatisfactory experience. We would have to drive over a mountain pass into a neighboring state to visit a different practice. I am fortunate in that our family physician goes along with my fully reasonable requests for specific prescriptions. I could ask her for any specific meds that might be a more effective treatment than Allegra.

Any well-informed suggestions?

[shellie miller]

Well informed suggestion: I use Nasalide a nasal spray and I have since stopped all other allergy medications (even allgra and claritn),stopped have a stuffed up nose, stopped snoring and feel great! One squirt in AM is all I need. Friends who I have suggested this too some times need two-three squirts a day at most. One in evening one in day. There is also a generic version but this is the best I ever had and I do not even feel like I have allergies when I have it on hand. It is a prescription. Good luck.