Thread renamed to reflect the discussion.

It's not often you hear this complaint, I'm sure, but I'm not making enough mucus, particularly in my nasal passages.

What with all the trouble that dust and mold cause me, I'd expect to have too much, but my sinuses stay dry most of the time, and did even before I was living in the desert. Rather than producing mucus, my mucus membranes would rather just swell up. It's recently occurred to me that this is probably why I have such trouble with those irritants; if my sinuses were producing enough mucus, they would be trapped there instead of passing all the way into my lungs, which are much more prone to inflammation.

So these are my questions: why are my sinuses so dry, and what can I do to get those secretions flowing properly again?

I feel for you! How uncomfortable!
Can Nomads have hot peppers or spicy foods? That should make your nose run.

I have such the opposite problem , and I live in the SoCal high desert!
I would suggest humidity in any and all forms...as this is what I have to stay away from!!!! Saline nasal rinse, Neil Med, might help, also. Good luck!

The Neti Pot comes to my mind also.

I wonder if this is just another aspect of the receptive Nomad immune system.

As far as the humidity is concerned: I just spent nine days in eastern NC, and it rained a lot. It was miserably humid. I think I'll post over in the Lyme thread, also.

Use saline spray. I use Ocean.

My first thought was neti pot- or whatever shape of nasal irrigation container you prefer. It won't solve the underlying problem (why isn't your body producing enough nasal mucus?) but it is a way to handle the problem. The saline solution will keep your nasal passages moist while washing away the pollutants (the way the mucus should) before it gets into your lungs.

A saline nasal spray may be useful in between nasal rinses, if you find your nose getting dried out when it's not practical to do a full rinse.

I assume you're already properly hydrated and getting the right electrolyte balance?

Eat more carrots.

Eat dairy?

is your mouth dry also? how about skin, and other normally moist areas?

are you hydrated enough? are you diabetic, do you have sjogren's syndrome? auto immune, do you eat any grain? if bacteria affected - hydrogen peroxide rinse of mouth 3 % not sure about percentage for nose, less i would say maybe 1 %? potassium problems potassium makes people sweat more, might help. also perhaps a mix of vit e and caronteen ?



cayenne might help. perhaps coconut oil rinse may help you sleep prior to going to bed. maybe a little in the nasal area too. to hold in what little moisture you have

if you don't need to get up in the night to P, perhaps take a glass of water before bed.

Quoted from ruthiegirl

It won't solve the underlying problem (why isn't your body producing enough nasal mucus?) but it is a way to handle the problem...

Yes, that's really what I'm getting at here. With this low humidity, the saline would dry up very quickly, and it would not be as effective at trapping pollutants.

Quoted from ruthiegirl

I assume you're already properly hydrated and getting the right electrolyte balance?

As best as I can tell, yes.

Quoted from DoS

Eat more carrots.

Is roughly a cup per day enough???

Quoted from prunella

Eat dairy?

That has definitely occurred to me, but there are just too many side effects yet!

Quoted from policychecker

is your mouth dry also? how about skin, and other normally moist areas?

Yes, dry mouth, too.  

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Thank you all for the suggestions. They have been food for thought... even if I've had to shoot them down. Sorry!

On the plus side, I think I know what the culprit is: my medications. Both Lamictal and Prozac can cause dry mouth. I don't think the Prozac is a problem, but the Lamictal most certainly is (how quickly I forget these things!). I'm going to try cutting back the Lamictal dose this coming week to see what happens.

In the meantime, I'm curious about the mechanism(s) that trigger(s) mucus production. I wonder what it is about the medicine that disrupts that process and if there are any feasible actions I can take to counteract whatever is causing the disruption.

Yeah those medication wouldn't help. I'm sure you're working to get off them already are there any sugars or artificial sugar in the medication ingredients that are obviously a problem for this.

Originally, in 2009, I took 100 mg daily (after the slow increase at the start). The dr. wanted me to go up to 200 mg, but I couldn't tolerate it at first. I eventually did get up to 200 mg, which I've been at now for well over a year, because the lower doses weren't effective enough.

Now I've made a lot of progress, and I'm confident that I can go back to 100 mg. At that dose I barely noticed the side effects, especially the dry mouth/nose. I had a withdrawal reaction whenever I tried to cut back before, so hopefully I can weather that successfully.

After having this "light bulb" moment about the Lamictal, I read up on its effects on mucus production. Apparently it inhibit mucus production everywhere, including the digestive system. That lack of mucus in my digestive system may well be why my gut still hasn't healed! So there will be other blessings in store for making this move (also including better balance/coordination/equilibrium and clearer thinking).

I'm so glad to have reached a point at which I feel like the costs of taking this dose of the drug outweigh the benefits. I don't see myself quitting entirely any time soon, but cutting back should be enough to get my healing processes moving again.

All this over some snot...  

slowly catches the monkey

one thing to try is buy sour ball lemon candy the ones in a tin that are real lemony.. take 3 at once and activate the glands to create moisture and wash out the drains..

Quoted from policychecker

slowly catches the monkey

The one on my back???

Quoted from Goldie

one thing to try is buy sour ball lemon candy the ones in a tin that are real lemony.. take 3 at once and activate the glands to create moisture and wash out the drains..

Will they fit in my nostrils?

I skipped my Lamictal entirely last night, and today I've already experienced some nose-running and sneezing. I'm going to skip it again tonight to get some more of the stuff out of my system, then go back on it tomorrow night.

I was just going to ask you about meds. I know that certain meds and even herbal supplements dry me out. If I do not soak my chia seeds long enough, I will have dry skin, dry mouth, etc. So I sympathize. I hope you are feeling better now!

What does the Lamictal do and are you ready to stop taking it? Be sure to watch your body for symptoms returning as you wean off the medication.

Yeah, mucus is good for the stomach especially.  I guess there is a layer on the inside of the lining of it.  So I've been told.  Antibiotics, and maybe other drugs, will strip that away.  I think.  

Quoted from passionprincess

I was just going to ask you about meds. I know that certain meds and even herbal supplements dry me out. If I do not soak my chia seeds long enough, I will have dry skin, dry mouth, etc. So I sympathize. I hope you are feeling better now!

I've actually called in sick today, but I shouldn't be surprised. Between dad catching a cold right before I left, flying across the country from a very humid, sea level climate to a very dry, high-altitude climate, and making a substantial change to my meds, it's no wonder I feel sick. I also feel very thirsty, as if my body suddenly wants a lot more water than it's been wanting, which makes sense because I'm already producing more mucus.

Quoted from ruthiegirl

What does the Lamictal do and are you ready to stop taking it? Be sure to watch your body for symptoms returning as you wean off the medication.

It helps with depression, and to a lesser extent, anxiety. I'm not ready to stop it entirely. I'm been taking 200 mg, and I've skipped it Saturday and Sunday to get most of it out of my system, to sort of jump-start my mucus production. Tonight I resume at 100 mg. I feel confident that I can cut back because of the improvements I've experienced in mood and energy since I started the Buhner Lyme protocol. (crossing my fingers!)

Quoted from JJR

Yeah, mucus is good for the stomach especially.  I guess there is a layer on the inside of the lining of it.  So I've been told.  Antibiotics, and maybe other drugs, will strip that away.  I think.

That's right. It keeps your stomach from digesting itself!

Lots of sneezing and nose-running now. Bizarre things to celebrate, yes, but that's what I was going for.

The nutritionist I was seeing when I was diagnosed with H.Pylori said that when I take the Antibiotics and proton pump inhibitor protocol, it would strip the mucous in my stomach lining. Because that's where the H.Pylori lived.  Then she gave me mutagenics to help it grow back.  Plus, she said dairy would help.  And at the time I was eating dairy.  

It's funny that I didn't realize that dairy was a problem for me until well after I started taking Lamictal. Now I wonder if I was fine on it before then, and the Lamictal sensitized me. I'm certainly noticing that dusty conditions don't affect my energy levels as much as they usually do. I wonder if I will regain the ability to tolerate other things?

So, withdrawal. Or is it the dairy? I think withdrawal. It can't be all up, can it? At least it's not too bad. Some blah feelings, lethargy, and fuzzy thinking. The "energy" I'm getting from the dairy is good. I'm not craving nuts nearly as much. On the whole, I think this has been a good move, even if it's a bit tougher right now.