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Trying to figure out the best humidifier and other things to try for e
I was supposed to have nasal surgery yesterday. I have got to blockage and I'm experiencing extremely painful nose problems to the point of literally crying and I tolerate pain because I am also a sufferer of many pain conditions. But this has gone into my job bones and cheekbones and my nose is so painful at night and in the mornings that I just want to cry. I'm trying to figure out how to keep it from getting so extremely dry. I can't even touch the sides of my nose and it's causing you know the headaches. I was supposed to have surgery tomorrow but the surgeon that I found I guess had totally forgotten about me and has never given me any follow through. I've literally been sick off and on with extremely bad infections and my sinuses since the middle of April and this is finally what it's taking me to. But after months and months of suffering it I'm at my woods and I don't think I can take much more. I've tried Vaseline. I've tried like sinus sprays like the saline sprays, The dryness inside my nose. It gets so painful. It feels like someone's slamming me with a sledgehammer at night. My throat becomes sore and of course the stuffiness and the dryness. I just don't know what else to try so I need to purchase a humidifier. I don't know which kind to do. I don't know dry meant the warm or the cold. I can't spend a lot of money. I'm not wealthy. I'm on disability and I'm currently taking care of my 95-year-old mother. We lost my dad about 7 months ago and their air here is so dry in the house. Then I'm trying to find something for my bedroom and I'm literally trying to find it by tomorrow because not even my pain meds for my rheumatoid is helping my sinus pain and I'm really upset and depressed that I thought. I found a good doctor here in town but only had one visit and they never followed through with my pre -op, blood work and EKGs and still haven't heard from him even today or yesterday when they were supposed to contact me to schedule my surgery which I have four things that they have to fix. So I would appreciate any help at all. I found your site. I fully trust Mayo my brother. I know some experiences with you. My brother actually had a liver transplant through you guys and you saved his life. So anybody on here that could help me. I would appreciate it so much because at this point I just sit and cry because I know nothing else to do
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It’s easy to get mixed up about humidifiers. For sinus dryness, you want a cool-mist humidifier, not a warm-mist or steam type. A cool-mist model puts out a fine, room-temperature mist that gently adds moisture to the air and helps dry nasal passages heal. Run it at night near your bed (but not blowing right on your face) and use distilled or filtered water if possible. Avoid “warm-mist” or “vaporizer” models — they heat the water and can feel too hot or even cause burns. To keep the inside of your nose moist, use plain saline spray several times a day and a water-based saline gel like Ayr Gel or NeilMed NasoGel — never Vaseline, which can irritate lungs if inhaled.
Rinse with saline — ideally a NeilMed squeeze bottle or neti pot using distilled or boiled-then-cooled water once or twice daily. This is much stronger than spray alone.. Two good, affordable humidifiers are the Pure Enrichment MistAire Cool Mist Humidifier (quiet, under $40) and the Crane Droplet Cool Mist Humidifier (compact, around $25).
A Cool-mist humidifier with distilled water → for the air .This runs for hours, gently adding moisture to the room air so the nose and sinuses don’t dry out. It keeps humidity around 40–50%, which prevents ongoing irritation and bleeding.
The mist is cool, safe to run while sleeping, and helps overall comfort long-term.
Steam from hot water → for direct relief
• Briefly breathing steam from a bowl of hot water or a shower gives short-term relief by loosening mucus and soothing sinus pressure.
• You don’t need to breathe in scalding steam — just comfortably warm vapor at a safe distance.
• It’s a “quick treatment,” not a substitute for the cool-mist humidifier that runs all night. If you develop a:
Fever > 100.4°F
• Facial swelling or redness
• Persistent headache behind the eyes
• Vision changes or disorientation
• Clear fluid drainage or bleeding after previous sinus surgery go
Go to urgent care or emergency. Call surgeon's office now to ask to speak to the office manager for assistance ASAP and explain your distress.
If you’re able, one helpful step as mentioned above is using a saline-irrigation kit such as NeilMed Sinus Rinse — the squeeze-bottle with premixed packets — it’s found in most pharmacies. It helps clear mucus and reduce infection risk while you wait for your surgery date.”
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