Long-term non-allergic chronic rhinitis / nothing helping

Posted by bentoboy @bentoboy, 5 days ago

Hi there,

I developed a non-allergic chronic rhinitis some time five years ago. It appeared out of blue, and my nose has been blocked and runny ever since. I believe it significantly affects my breathing which, in its turn, affects my physical performance as well as sleep. There also must be a connection between this and the fact that I have been experiencing drowsiness, slowness of thought processes, and general brain fog.

I have tried to address this problem in many ways, including by using saline sprays, corticosteroids, antibiotics etc. No allergies whatsoever. Eventually, I was proposed to do a septoplasty, as my septum was slightly deviated. It was suggested that my breathing would significantly improve as a result, so I agreed. After the surgery, my breathing did improve for some time, but then the production of mucus re-started a few weeks/months after that.

At this point, I don't know what to do. I've tried most of the options to address this issue, but it seems there is no clear solution. My assumption is that I have a constant low-degree inflammation in my nose which restricts the airflow in the passageways. The surgery helped somewhat but didn't solve the primary issue of this inflammation.

Any suggestions as to what I could do? Personal experience?

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Profile picture for Rubyslippers @triciaot

My doctor recommended azelastine, a nasal spray, specifically targets non-allergic rhinitis. But also allergic rhinitis. Prescription is cheaper for me, $5 co-pay. You can buy OTC it is branded AstePro. Its amazing how well it works.

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@triciaot thanks for your recommendation. I will check it out, this spray sounds very promising. thanks!

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Profile picture for arbez @arbez

Make sure you have your upper back teeth checked, especially if you've ever had dental work on them. It took awhile but finally found out I had odotogenic sinusitis. It was caused from an abscessed tooth (that never hurt, had a cap and was a tiny bit sensitive). Also never showed on a sinus CT. It is very difficult to get good pics of those teeth without a CBCT scan (usually an endodontist).

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@arbez thanks for sharing. Actually, this is a very interesting comment, and I will definitely check with my dentist soon. The issue is that I have something like 6 wisdom teeth (removed two just recently). Perhaps there is a connection between my half-burrowed wisdom teeth and this chronic problem. Thanks!

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Profile picture for brittis @brittis

I had Covid for the first time in May 2025. Lost my taste and smell. Came back but not fully. I still can't smell like before. Then my nose started running. All the time. Someone suggested it could be related to acid reflux which I have. I have acid seeping into my lungs at night. I'm taking a steroid for that. I sit up and sleep. Every morning my nose is completely stuffed up and starts to run. I have not talked to my doctor yet so I could be wrong. Do you have dry eyes?

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@brittis thanks for sharing and I'm sorry to hear about your struggle. I do have dry eyes from time to time and, more importantly, my eyesight has been slowly deteriorating over the past years (I'm 30), and it's not clear whether there's a connection between this issue, chronic rhinitis and some sort of low-degree inflammation that I have been experiencing on top of all that.

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