My nose is always stuffed up?

I want to be a singer but my nose is always stuffed up!?

• My whole family has allergies. I've always had a stuffy nose. Sometimes blowing my nose doesn't even work. It's really annoying because people tease me for it because I "always sound sick". I really want to be a singer but I sound really dumb. Please help this is one of the biggest problems in my life.

• Answer:

  Allergies tend to cause swelling in the sinuses and nasal passages. This is why sometimes blowing doesn't work. Sometimes we are excreting fluids to try to clear the nose of allergens or germs, this is when blowing works. When you simply have inflammation (swelling) up there, blowing won't help, and can even make it worse. Taking an antihistamine helps most people control their allergy symptoms. This depends on the person and the allergen so trying one kind for a week, see if it works, then try a different one for a week. There are many kinds. Read the labels. Don't waste your time taking 3 different brand names of the same medication. Now if they are different strengths, that is worth trying. You don't want to take any more than necessary, but enough to do the job. There are also prescriptions available and you may need something that strong to help you. Talk to your doctor about your choices. In the meantime, take an anti-inflammatory, Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), and even aspirin are all anti-inflammatories, Acetaminophen Tylenol) is not. This will help to reduce the swelling and provide for better breathing. Don't take it too often without talking to your doctor. Things like aspirin will thin your blood and may cause bleeding problems and all of them could cause stomach or liver problems is taken too much of for too long. Here's the big one! Humidify your air. Adding moisture to the air you breathe helps reduce the amount of allergens in the air (made my allergies completely go away and I was always "sick" from November through April) and provides moisture for your sinuses so they will be less irritated, healthier and more capable of doing heir job. It is such a simple solution and yet very few people realize what it can do.