Can allergic rhinitis cause obstructive sleep apnoea?

Allergic inflammation narrows the nasal passages and can make breathing through the nose difficult at night. Mouth breathing, snoring and disrupted sleep may follow. In someone who already has a tendency for the throat to narrow during sleep, extra nasal resistance can make symptoms more noticeable or make treatment harder to tolerate. Obstructive sleep apnoea involves repeated narrowing or closure of the upper airway during sleep; it is not diagnosed from snoring alone. Clues include witnessed pauses in breathing, gasping, morning headaches, dry mouth and marked daytime sleepiness. A sleep assessment is needed to confirm what is happening.

Treat nasal allergy as advised, using any prescribed spray with the correct direction and regularity. Reduce bedroom dust and avoid smoke near bedtime. Keep a record of snoring, blocked-nose nights and daytime tiredness, and ask a bed partner whether breathing pauses occur. Do not use sedating medicines or sleeping tablets to mask poor sleep without medical advice. If you use a positive-airway-pressure device and congestion makes it uncomfortable, contact the sleep team rather than stopping it yourself; they may review mask fit, humidification or nasal treatment.

Arrange an appointment if you snore loudly with pauses, wake choking or gasping, feel excessively sleepy, or have persistent morning headaches. Prompt review matters if tiredness affects driving, operating equipment or caring for others. Seek emergency help for severe breathing difficulty while awake, blue lips, chest pain, fainting or confusion. Children with restless sleep, mouth breathing, pauses, poor concentration or slow growth should be assessed by a clinician.

Could nasal allergy be worsening my sleep breathing? Should I have a sleep study or an upper-airway examination? Which allergy treatment is safe with my other medicines, and what should I do if nasal blockage interferes with my device?