Severely swollen turbinates, loss of smell and taste, allergy? please help!

Allergies, blood and immune system
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Hi all, this is my first post here. I just happened to stumble across this website as i was googling about my issues.

So some background info, i've never had an allergy before in my life! But for around 7-8 months, i've noticed a sinus problem that's progressively got worse and worse. It just started off as the occasional stuffy nose, a sneeze here and there, runny nose. Which At the time i thought was due to the weather in the summer. I thought maybe I had developed some hayfever and just took normal tablets for it.

But in the following months my symptoms got worse and worse very quickly, and now currently, my nose is completely blocked due to my turbinates being that badly swollen up. As soon as i wake up in the morning i have a flurry of snot running out of my nose, it starts off yellow recently and then just turns clear. It begins streaming out of my nose, and then just completely shuts off so I can no longer breathe out of it. I've lost my taste and smell for the past two months. After trying all I could think of over the time to try and ease some of my symtoms ( nasal sprays, antihistamine tablets, sinuses tablets, nasal ointments, steam, netti pot) I decided to go to the doctors. 

She has prescribed me some steroid nasal spray, and i've been using it for a week now with no improvement, she said I will need to take it for 3 months before she will refer me to an ent specialist. Surely by now I would be seeing a small amount of relief? 

I have been trying to get to the bottom of these symptoms, and i'm starting to believe I have an allergy thats in my home. When I first moved into my flat there was an issue with black mould and condensation. We removed all the mould that we could see when we first moved in, and over time the condensation seems to have improved. I keep all the windows open for a while in the day to help ventilate the place, however I have uncovered mould within the black seals of the windows, and also in the grains of the wood. And a few weeks a go I found some small spores at the bottom of the wall. I scrubbed all these away and my symptoms were really bad for a few days after that. 

My little one also has a very persistent cough, and my other half developed eczema which he has never had before after moving in. I'm really starting to think this could be the cause of all our troubles. Although if you were to glance over the place you would never think there was mould I believe theres spores around the place, and the mould we can't remove like in the grains and in the plastic rubber sealants is causing the issue. 

I spoke to my landlord and asked them to come round yesterday to inspect and to discuss my concerns, they seem to have shrugged it off.

I also thought it could be dust mites, but I keep the place very clean and we only recently got a brand new bad, mattress and bedding. I change the sheets regularly and vacuum every day. 

The reason I think its my flat is because whenever I leave the house for a number of hours, I start to feel some sort of relief, I can just about start smelling things, only faintly but its there, and also get a faint taste of things. I also don't feel as stuffed up. So surely this isn't coincidence.

If i have to wait 3 months until i even get considered to see an ent specialist, what can i do to make things more bearable? I'm completely drained and miserable at this point, and will do anything to feel just a little better. We are seriously thinking of moving as im 90% sure the flat is the issue. But in the meantime, i've been looking at some air purifiers, will this help at all? 

Sorry for such a long post!

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Also I forgot to add the steroid spray i've been given has also been causing me to feel even more congested, as it just instantly makes me sneeze and seems to come straight back out. And also has given me a nasty sore on the back of my tonsils  

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I cannot seem to find an edit button sorry lol

I also forgot to mention, the past couple of weeks have been the worst as i've started to notice my nose is swelling, and my eyelids are also begging to swell and droop, and i'm developing pain and horrible headaches if i'm really blocked up. 

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Hi Yorisou,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Your swollen turbinates do sound like something is causing it to swell to this extend. I too had swollen turbinates till I could not breathe through my nose at all. I had surgery done but even after surgery, the turbinates still swell, thou to a lesser degree. That is when I realize it is important to get to the bottom of the cause of swelling and often it is due to allergies. 

Since you suspect it is allergy to mound, are you able to have your GP commission an allergy test for you ASAP? That will help confirm your suspicion. Another way to confirm your suspicion about the house is to really go away for a few days to a week. And if indeed your symptoms really reduce, then you should really think about moving out of the house. Best if you can get that allergy test. 

On corticosteroid spray, it is true that it takes months for it to produce results. But when the turbinates are so swollen, like mine was, I found it did not help even after months of spraying. I think the turbinates were so swollen the spray didn’t get very far. I find them useful only after my surgery. 

One thing about swollen turbinates is that it led to the closing up of my maxillary sinus hole and infection built up in my sinus. That caused me headaches, head fog and facial pressures. To know if your sinus is infected, you will need a CT Scan commissioned by ENT though. 

I hope you find a way to get some relief soon. Not being able to breathe through the nose is terrible for me. Some people are fine with it, others like me feel very suffocated when we can’t breathe through the nose. All best. 

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Hi Yorisou. Sorry to hear the problems you've been having. I understand as I've had chronic swollen turbinates for 6 months and was unable to breathe through my nose for 4 weeks when it started which was scary. I've known I've had allergies for years and still expose myself to them which is animals and awkward since I have pets and work with animals. It sounds like since you found mould in your house and your child and partner have also gotten sick since moving there that it probably is indeed be caused by the mould. There might be some you can't see like in the walls. I was lucky steroid sprays worked straight away for me but it usually takes a few weeks. Mould thrives in humidity. You can pick up a hygrometer which will tell you the humidity percentage. Ideally you want to keep your home arround 50%. A weather app could also give you an estimate. Secoundly you can buy a dehumidifier. They range in price with cheaper ones starting around $40 AUD. What it sounds like you really need to do since you've visibly seen there is indeed traces of black mould is if you find more take photos and get an ispection person to do an inspection which will likely clarify this. Then you will have evidence to present to your landlord and they legally would have to reimburse you and do something about it. Also your GP needs to take this seriously so insist for a referal. Since you say you've had no allergies before it sounds pretty concrete that you're on to something with the mould and probably do have a mould allergy which luckily is something people don't usually encounter. Don't stop taking the medication, it may not feel like it but it would be helping. Personally I'd be looking at moving out asap but I understand that may not be easy to do. Sorry you're going through this.

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Many many years ago I had the surgery where they cut out some of the swollen turbinates and fixed my deviated septum which was actually pretty minor. It did wonders for me but you have to see an ENT to get that done. On to the mold allergy, it is very common and your landlord should have taken it a lot more seriously. One suggestion I could make is painting over the mold or buying a sealant to paint over the mold. I really don't know how to correct a mold problem but I would think this would help. You could probably find some solutions by Googling the problem. And maybe your landlord would be willing to pay for the paint/sealant rather than lose you as a tenant. Good luck to you I hope you get help soon.

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Also maybe up your dose of spray. I used 2 sprays each morning and night and found it more effective if I closed off my other nostril and breathed in gently after the spray. The breathing in made a difference. You need to get to the bottom of what's causing this which in a sense is lucky you could visibly see an allergen rather than pollen or something you can't see. Most people react to black mould in some way as it's actually pretty dangerous. Don't mean to scare you just want you well asap.

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 I had a similar situation my husband and I moved into an apartment that had a lot of mold as well as the oil burner in our apartment in the basement.

 I had sinus infections for six months and chronic migraines like never before .

we decided to move out of that apartment and buy our own  house .

I had instant relief once I moved into my new home and suggest you do the same

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Just an update, over the last couple of days I seem to have improved greatly, I can finally taste and smell again!! so I was just being impatient waiting for the steroids to kick in. However, the mucus in my nose has now turned from clear into very thick green stuff, that has this nasty smell to it. So I think i must have ended up with an infection when I was completely blocked up. Will book myself in to get that checked out and also I need to ask for an allergy test asap to get to the bottom of whats been causing this all along! Hope you all had a lovely christmas and thank you for all your messages