Dry nose problems. Advice needed.

Ears, nose and throat
1

For around the last 6 months I've had problems with a dry nose that is having a huge impact on my life. The dryness in my nose is stopping me from sleeping and I wake up every half hour or hour with either a dry mouth, sore nose or I'm sometimes am unable to breath through my nose as it feels congested but without any mucous. 

I've spoken to my GP surgery about this numerous times and they haven't been particularly helpful. Eventually after persisting and explaining the dry nose/mouth was having such a negative impact on my life, I was referred to a rheumatologist. To cut a long story  short, numerous tests were done and they ruled the problems being caused by sjogrens of another autoimmune disease. I'm still left with the problem, however. 

Once again, I had to persist with my GP and now am awaiting a referral to an ENT consultant. As this is the NHS, I will have to wait just over 2 months.  IN the meantime, however, I still have the problems. I've tried all kinds of things for my nose - saline, sesame oil, aloe vera, coconut oil and a humidifier, but nothing really helps. Every day is like a living nightmare at the moment, particularity at night as I'm unable to get any quality sleep. 

So I have a few questions I'd appreciate any feedback on.

1) When the dryness in my nose/mouth started I also started getting GERD symptoms. This could be coincidental that it happened at the same time, but is it possible that the dryness in my nose could be caused by GERD or a possible hiatus hernia? I tried omeprazole but it didn;t really help with the symptoms and seemed to make the dryness worse. One of the things that I have is feeling of a lump in my through that is made worse by eating certain foods.

2) Also around the time that I started experiencing dryness, I plucked nasal hairs instead of trimming with scissors (I had misplaced the scissors). Could this have caused damage to the mucous membranes in the nose and be the cause of dryness?  If this is the case, is the damage permanent?

3) Lying down makes the dryness worse, and the lateral part of my nostrils are the driest parts. What  could cause dryness in just part of the nose? Essentially, my nose is not humidifying the air that I breath in.

4) Does anyone have anything they recommend for treating a dry nose? My GP has been next to useless in this respect and so has the rheumatologist that I saw.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and any insights.

2

I have no advice. Just want to tell you that I'm dealing with the same problem dry mouth, dry nose along with other problems. First of all the dryness can be a result of GERD as my ENT said the acid can go inside your nose as well as ears and even cause hearing loss, such as in my case. I assume your ears are dry too? I also have elevated blood markers for Sjogren's Syndrome but no diagnosis. What's the humidity in your house, it should be no less than 40%. I also have the dryness mainly in my right nostril as the left one is closed all the time because I have mild deviated septum. 

3

Yes, I have dry ears, too. Sjogren's was ruled out in my case as all the blood tests were normal. The rheumatologist suggested I try Pilocarpine as this stimulates the salivary glands. However, during the day my mouth feels pretty normal, so I don't think this will help me particularly. My nose, however, always feels dry/sore to some extent.  If I have exhausted all options I may try this.

In terms of GERD, I don't have acid all the time but do pretty much have a feeling of a lump/pressure in my chest just below my throat most of the time. It's made worse by eating fried/fatty or spicy foods.I will have to discuss this with the ENT consultant when I visit.

The humidity in my house seems to be OK. I've been using a humidifier at night, but this hasn't helped particularly. I've only had this problem for the last 6 months and have never had a problem with drynees before or humidity in the house.

Thanks for your response. I'll just have to wait and see, i guess. But I'm feeling very depressed and exhausted. I don't know how much longer I can tolerate this.

4

I know how stressful it can be. If you notice that your nose is worse in the morning then probably it's reflux that goes up your throat to your nose. Ans pay attention on which side you usually sleep. For me it's always the right nostril as I lie down on the right side. Hope this helps. I hope you can find answers from your ENT. Mine is better some days, some days it's worse.