OT- Anyway to cure a sinus infection other than antibiotics ?

I got a very minor cold about two weeks ago...lasted maybe couple days. But ever since, feel just crappy enough to not have much energy, plus hint of "headache" in cheeks mostly. Am prone to sinus trouble, so irrigate every morning anyway. After the cold the mucus goes from "clear and not much" to "green and a lot".

So, a sinus infection brought on by a cold. Figured if I irrigated twice a day, maybe that would help... hasn't so far. Any "home remedies" that might help or antibiotics the only choice ?

I'm allergic to many of the normal antibiotics
Have worked thru strep throat and sinus infections that were less than a couple weeks with taking hot showers with lots of steam, attempting to cough up as much of the green as possible.
Be careful of irrigating not to overdo it
I've also found taking Aleve for the aches and "forcing" myself to try and feel better as taking time off from work means things don't get done, more to be down about

my sick routine is to drink Orange juice till im pissing pulp, along with vitamin supplements lycopene and selenium.

What are you irrigating with?
I use "Simply Saline" when I have sinus issues, and it seems to work better than tap water.


Rex

allloutmx said:

my sick routine is to drink Orange juice till im pissing pulp

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Yikes...if I did that I'd gain weight like crazy... lots of sugar in orange juice. One glass is the equivalent sugar of eating maybe 8 oranges...except it'd be better to eat 8 oranges.

Also...

http://modernhealthmonk.com/orange-juice-is-killing-you/

I usually end up going to the doctor's office and getting a Kenalog injection, which clears it up in a couple of days.

Michael

Milacron said:

Yikes...if I did that I'd gain weight like crazy...
Also...

Why Your Orange Juice Is Slowly Killing You (And The Truth About Vitamin C) | Modern Health Monk

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Yikes is right...disregard My dad swears by Zinc

bjorn toulouse said:

What are you irrigating with?
I use "Simply Saline" when I have sinus issues, and it seems to work better than tap water.

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Table salt. Which I don't think makes a whit of difference in how irrigation "works" but simply makes the water salinity closer to your own bodies natural salinity and therefore the water doesn't "hurt" as you irrigate.

OTOH, I could see if something existed that somehow "diluted" mucus like paint thinner does paint, it might be better than just salt. Is "Natural Salinity" such a concoction ? Or is it just "sea salt" or similar BS ?

wife goes thru the same thing with Sinus- her's is brought on by smokin and night at the Casino.

- hot tea composed of 2 tbs of honey, 2 tbs of apple cider vinager, 2 tbs of lemon juice,

drink 2 - 3 times per day- knocks the infection right out.

quit smokin.

I've had some bad sinus issues myself.
Went to an Ear, Nose and Throat Doc, have followed his advice and been relatively sinus infection free for many years.
One, you have to take something to dry up the mucus, two, nasal saline solution just the spray bottle kind like Ocean.

You have to dry up the sinuses for the saline solution to be able to get to the membrane to fight the infection.

Milacron - sorry to hear of your suffering. I used to be a chronic sinus infection sufferer. I found out (kind of by accident) that I was hurting myself by taking any over the counter prep that was also an antihistamine. The trade-off for drying up the mucous secretions was that it left behind bacteria that would eventually turn into a sinus infection. This happened so many times I can't even tell you.

I found that the only preparation that works successfully for me is straight "guaifenesin". Here's a quote from Wikipedia;

Similar medicines derived from the guaiac tree were in use as a generic remedy by American indigenous peoples when explorers reached North America in the 16th century. The Spanish encountered guaiacum wood "when they conquered Santo Domingo; it was soon brought back to Europe, where it acquired an immense reputation in the sixteenth century as a cure for syphilis and certain other diseases..."[3]

The 1955 edition of the Textbook of Pharmacognosy states: "Guaiacum has a local stimulant action which is sometimes useful in sore throat. The resin is used in chronic gout and rheumatism, whilst the wood is an ingredient in the compound concentrated solution of sarsaparilla, which was formerly much used as an alternative in syphilis."[3]

Also, as MX mentioned above, I have had incredible success with zinc lozenges. Vitamin C never did a thing for me even in massive doses. Zinc on the other hand has been very effective.

As far as irrigation, I have had the same results with adding table salt as any other preparation. It's mildly helpful.

Hope you get well soon.

Back in the olden days, when I was just a pup, we lived in Cloquet, MN. Cloquet was the home of many Finlanders, who had a simple solution to a sinus flare-up. We'd climb into a nice hot sauna every night for a while, and the very hot, dry air would knock a sinus infection right outta you ASAP.

Now the true Finns would run out of the sauna and jump into a snowbank - but I was always afraid of becoming frozen in the ice until spring, so I never followed the herd. In the summer, though, we relocated to a sauna located on the end of a dock at a nearby lake so it would be a short trip from the sauna to the lake - about 3 feet.

Saline spray also helps, but spring time really does the trick. My wife and I also go south for a week every winter to warm up - that also helps. We've thought about moving south, but as nice as winter is down there, summer gets kinda ugly.

Milacron said:

I got a very minor cold about two weeks ago...lasted maybe couple days. But ever since, feel just crappy enough to not have much energy, plus hint of "headache" in cheeks mostly. Am prone to sinus trouble, so irrigate every morning anyway. After the cold the mucus goes from "clear and not much" to "green and a lot".

So, a sinus infection brought on by a cold. Figured if I irrigated twice a day, maybe that would help... hasn't so far. Any "home remedies" that might help or antibiotics the only choice ?

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IMO and experience it's good to maintain a high alkaline state...and it's simple to raise your body's ph...a tablespoon or two of best quality organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar a day, especially if you feel the symptoms of a cold coming on. Eden organic apple cider vinegar is excellent stuff, and so is Braggs, both distilled with mother. Any good whole foods or organic grocer should have them in stock.

http://www.edenfoods.com/store/product_details.php?products_id=103480&eID=3817qdqiltathk99vdseokuq54

http://bragg.com/products/PDFs/ACV _Brochure.pdf

Check out the compounds in fresh organic garlic, onions and chicken broth. Amazing, wholesome, medicinal compounds in all.

Personally I'll take a spoonful of ACV almost daily...or if I'm dragging. Actually works great for digestion too if I make the occasional mistake of eating to heavy or rich of a meal

Irrigating with a salt and baking soda mix is less irritating than salt alone. CVS pharmacy carries the NeilMed Sinus Rinse measured packets that you just dump into 8 ounces of water. Just make sure to use distilled or boiled water because tap water can contain some real nasties that you don't want to introduce into your sinuses. The worst of these is a rare amoeba that can infect the brain.

If you have constant sinus problems you need to find out why. There are things you can do to reduce allergies. Supplements containing Quercetin (Aller-Max) can help as can homeopathic drops and sprays or even eating honey from local beekeepers. In the case of honey it contains traces of pollen from plants in your area.

My doc friend is one of the non-pill-pushing crowd. BUT.. one of the few common ailments he will prescribe antibiotics for (and take himself) is sinus infections. Way too close to the brain membranes to take the chances with it migrating to a chronic infection.

Joe Miranda said:

I found that the only preparation that works successfully for me is straight "guaifenesin".

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Otherwise known as Mucinex. I've always wondered why Mucinex touts it's uses for bronchial secretions but never mentions sinus use ?

This is the recipe for saline that my Dr recommended. He told me to be sure to avoid iodized salt, thus the canning salt. He also told me to not rinse more than twice a day.

Saltwater Washes (Nasal Saline Lavage or Irrigation) for Sinusitis-Topic Overview

Milacron said:

Any "home remedies" that might help or antibiotics the only choice ?

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I've had success using a product called "Sinus Buster." It's active ingredient is capsaicin. A little pump bottle costs <$20. Snort some up in each nostril and a little while later (maybe 15 minutes in my case) you want to have access to a sink and some towels because it's all coming out.

Tom L. said:

I've had success using a product called "Sinus Buster." It's active ingredient is capsaicin. A little pump bottle costs <$20. Snort some up in each nostril and a little while later (maybe 15 minutes in my case) you want to have access to a sink and some towels because it's all coming out.

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Wow! Capsaicin is powerful, can't imagine spraying in my nose!

Lakeside53 said:

My doc friend is one of the non-pill-pushing crowd. BUT.. one of the few common ailments he will prescribe antibiotics for (and take himself) is sinus infections. Way too close to the brain membranes to take the chances with it migrating to a chronic infection.

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Got appointment tomorrow morning but rather avoid antibiotics if possible due to disrupting the digestive flora, some make me too "wired" to sleep properly, and contributing to the nightmare that will probably someday happen where no antibiotics work because we've used them so much the damn bacteria are evolving to resistant strains. Evolution sucks sometimes.