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I have serious trouble breathing properly when rolling. I think it's due to post nasal drip and overactive mucus glands. Usually drinking a half gallon to a gallon of water a day thins my mucus a fair amount, and drinking salt water when in the gym does as well, but it's very annoying. Anyone else have this problem and deal with it well?
I'm not sure if I would call it post-nasal drip or not, but my nose runs like a faucet when I get under serious physical exertion, especially at jitz. It is a pain for sure, but one thing I noticed is that if I use a larger mouthguard like the Brain Pad, it is worse. I switched over to a $5 Nike single ply top-row mouthgaurd and I've noticed it is running a lot less. I don't know why, but there seems to be a corelation.
That's not uncommon with vigorous exercise. It's a normal response in a lot of people. It's a response to the fast, deep breathing you're doing. Without going too geeked out on you: It's an attempt to keep the air humidified because of the deep, fast breathing.
The most effective treatment I know is 0.06% atrovent nasal spray. It's not like the over-the-counter nasal sprays. Those work by constricting the blood vessels. That's why you get rebound congestion when they wear off. Atrovent works on the cells that produce mucus to slow down their action and dry up secretions. We use it a lot for folks who get congestion (for the same reason) from CPAP for sleep apnea. We also use it for drying secretions in the PACU or ICU in intubated patients. Lower doses of it are found in inhalers for COPD.
It's a prescription, but it's not an expensive one (generic: ipratropium bromide, 0.06% nasal spray). It also doesn't have long-term side effects like OTC nasal sprays do. You can just use it right before rolling and it should last you quite a while. It's not a steroid either; it's an anticholinergic so it doesn't carry the risks of sinus infection that most other prescription nasal sprays do.
Although the centuries old belief that milk increases mucus production has been discredited, some people with allergies to milk to produce more and thicker mucus when they drink milk. So you could try cutting dairy from your diet for a while and see how that works.