I would try sleeping with a painter's mask for a week...if you can sleep on your back....so you can eliminate environmental allergens in your surroundings as being the problem.

From what you have described, it sounds like your body is trying to get rid of some toxin(s) you have in your body through the mucous.

Since you have had this condition for a long time, you need to examine your life since you first started to experience these nasal problems and see if there is something that you are doing now that you have always done since you were 16. It sounds like you have been exposing yourself to something every day since age 16.

It might be a favorite food...perhaps something that is unique to the Netherlands. Perhaps clothes made of some fibre that you have always worn. Perhaps a dye in the clothes. It may be a reaction to wearing rings. Maybe a unique type of soap you have always used. Perhaps stop using soap and go shampooless and maybe use only baking soda to keep your body and hair clean for a while. Perhaps it could be a particular deodorant. Or a toothpaste. Perhaps your body doesn't like nightshades. If you have had fillings for cavities that are amalgum loaded with mercury as Caitlin mentioned and you had your fillings started at around age 16...that might be the problem.

I would also fast for 40 hours...Eat dinner at 6pm, then no food the next day and night and no breakfast the next day. First meal would be a noon after no breakfast. If it is a food allergy, you may know after the 40 hour fast. Use only water to keep the hunger away.

Your body may not like the water you have been drinking since age 16. Try purified water or distilled water for a week to see if there is any change. You may be allergic to chlorine they put in the water.

Examine everything you come in contact with on a daily basis. The body doesn't throw out mucous from an orifice for no reason. Mucous is carrying out something in your body that it doesn't like.

Good luck in your search.

Tom - do NOT make your bed early in the morning - the sheets and pillow cases will be slight moist, if not damp. Dust mites thrive in warm, damp conditions. So, if you make the bed before it has aired out, and DRIED out, you will be making a nice comfortable home for the dust mites to multiple and thrive in.

I have not made my bed for several years, and it helps a lot. I also use a variation of a neti pot, and it also helps a lot.

Check out the comment about 'oil pulling' in this thread:

http://paleohacks.com/questions/17005/chronic-nasal-congestion#axzz1G4hrHLKS

I used to have the same issues as you but paleo has cleared most of it up. On the odd occasion that I do have a sinus attack, the oil pulling works amazingly.. within minutes I can feel my nose start to clear. Might be worth a shot.

Interesting suggestion above about not making the bed and letting it dry out.

It is critical to wash sheets and bed linens in the hottest water possible. Many people turn their hot water heaters down to avoid scalding themselves or their children - but that is the temperature (~ 140 F IIRC) needed to kill off the dust mites.

That said, I have found a paleo diet to significantly reduce my own dustmite and hayfever allergies. Have you had any blood tests related to autoimmune factors (e.g. thyroglobin AB or thyroid peroxiid AB)

Neti pot helps me a lot when I have nasal congestion. Maybe try some sort of air purifier/ionizer in your bedroom? Also, perhaps try cutting out butter for a few weeks, for the small chance that you could be reacting to the very trace amounts of milk solids.

Do you have carpet? If so, remove every stitch of it. Seriously

I might go back to a doctor and see if you can check the diagnosis. Sounds like you've had some major changes in diet since you were 14, so there could be a change in your allergy profile since then too. I may try a naturopath too, just to see what they think.

Are you 100% gluten free? What about mercury in your mouth? Also have you tried cutting dairy completely for a while? Also limiting your exposure to home toxins like cleaners?

Quercetin will cut it down tremendously. If you take a digestive enzyme (helps body absorb quercetin) Id take the following with it at meal times.

http://www.vitacost.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Quercetin-500/?pd_section=pr#ProductReviews

If you want to spend a bit more and/or do not take a digestive enzyme Id take the following on an empty stomach.

http://www.vitacost.com/Source-Naturals-Activated-Quercetin-Bioflavoniod-Complex/?pd_section=pr#ProductReviews

I cleaned out a very filthy filter in my air conditioner and it made a clear, immediate difference. Also, in some countries it's standard to put the pillows and bedding out on a window ledge to air in the sun. Apparently, dust mites don't like sun.

Try to have someone clean out everything in your room. You don't know it but there might be many allergens that you just don't see. I hope you feel better soon.

Hi Tom, I live in Groningen, and every year I get bad nasal allergies like you mentioned, starting in around March and lasting until about November. But this year I cut out eggs (and I am dairy free except for butter), and that made a big difference.

This year (without eggs) was a very "good" year for my allergies, and I got by without taking any medicine except "Livocab Oogdruppelen" sometimes when it was a very bad day. (My main allergy/hooikoorts is ragweed and tree pollen, so some days are worse than others.

So, if you haven't tried removing eggs, give it a try.

Have you done some experiment of sleeping somewhere where the environment is sure to be free of mites? I.e. buying a cheap, but new sleeping bag(ideally washable at 60C, washed before use) or going to sleep in a tent for a night or two, taking a holiday someplace that is above crucial elevation or dryness levels for mites and comparing? (Also from what I gather mites hate / can't live in leather, so maybe a medieval sleepover re-enactment of clad in leather, sleeping in leather may be an idea).

What I am driving at is that you may have to figure out whether your body is still suffering from an allergic "memory" in part, and maybe has also a psychological component to your allergy, or what.

One thing worth trying is hypersensibilization therapy, by which you gradually get injected (or tongue drops) with the allergen in question over time. Helped a lot for a lot of people, but requires observation, time and strictest schedule.

I have dust mite allergy and slight psoriasis myself, but it got a bit better with Paleo.

I have a firm working theory that my reactions are strongly linked to my psychological well-being and stress levels, so it might very much be worth looking into meditation, de-stressing, autogenic training, yoga and other venues of stress relief.

That's the point of the "isolation" idea at the start of my post: if its more your psyche and leftover system response in your body, you can wash, encase and vacuum all you want, its sitting more in you than in your bed or room.

Just a thought / angle. I know the question is ancient, but I've seen it come up a bit and it might help others, too.