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Chronic Sinus Problems

Carrigon

Senior Member
Messages
808
Location
PA, USA
Anyone else with ongoing sinus trouble? I'm going crazy from it. I think it stems from my living in this building and people smoking and using all kinds of room fresheners and other chemicals in here. And I'm stuck with it. I started to get it in December to January when I smelled someone's cigarette smoke coming into my bedroom from one of the apartments around here.

I've been waking up with a stuffed up nose for months. And when they put me on zithromax in the last two weeks, it seemed to get better, but as soon as I was done with it, it started to come back again. So I don't know if I need an ongoing antibiotic or just a steroid nasal spray at this point. But I am so sick of having it. I wake up with post nasal. I've been coughing from it. And benadryl only seemed to make it worse. I can't take the daytime allergy meds, they make me sick. And the last time I tried alittle salt water for it, the salt made me sick. I think I used too much of it.

I'm sitting here now with my nose half stuffed up. I am so tired of it. And I don't think I'm sleeping well from it. It wakes me up.
 

SpecialK82

Ohio, USA
Messages
993
Location
Ohio, USA
Yep, sinus problems all winter for the first time. I have post nasal drip constantly, don't know if it's a new allergy. Finally went to my GP and she said I had fluid in both ears as well. I've been taking the steroid nasal spray for about 5 weeks now and it seems to be helping some. I am also having more problems with balance and just made the connection that it could be all the sinus stuff. I wonder -- was our winter not cold enough to freeze out the allergens that it typically does?

I just started with allergies two summers ago, so I'm new to understanding it all. Totally agree, sleeping with this is a pain, especially the headaches.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
My doc now wants me to stay on doxycycline for a few months for my sinuses. I did do a few courses of other maybe stronger abx to get my sinuses under control and now hoping doxy can maintain this for me. I had problems with sinus infections just coming back after finishing courses of abx, so staying on an abx for a longer period is what he thinks i need and doxy is quite safe long term, which im taking with probiotics etc. I think for many of us these sinus infections are opportunistic and take a hold when our immune system is down, the little buggers.

cheers!!!
 

SaraM

Senior Member
Messages
526
I am using a few drops of diflucan pill dissolved in a bottle of saline solution, and I am breathing better. I never have yellow nasal discharge, and this makes me think my sinus problem cannot be bacterial.
 

Mya Symons

Mya Symons
Messages
1,029
Location
Washington
Yes, to everything you said. I have tried Zithromax and it is the same. When I go off of it all sinus issues come back. I have a spray bottle that I keep with me that is basically saline water with a moisturizer. If you can't tolerate a lot of salt water you could try a tiny bit of the pre-mixed spray. The only thing that ever worked well for me is the regular sudafed (at least it relieved the symptoms for a bit) . However, I am trying to ween myself off of that because of intestinal circulation problems (because sudafed thins bood vessels). I wish I could be more help. Sinus issues are such a pain in the butt.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
I am using a few drops of diflucan pill dissolved in a bottle of saline solution, and I am breathing better. I never have yellow nasal discharge, and this makes me think my sinus problem cannot be bacterial.

If infection is in the frontal sinus which are around the eyebrows, you might not get very much nasal discharge. I get some post nasal drip, which is that urge to clear your throat and i get those thumbing headaches from my sinuses as well. I find headaches/facial pain are worse when i wake up which i think maybe due to the posture of lying down when asleep or trying too. I think lying down makes it hard for sinuses to drain properly. I recognised my last sinus infection earlier then normal and i found getting on doxycycline early enough has nipped it in the bud. if i didnt get it earlier i would have probably needed a stronger abx again??

cheers!!!
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
And seemingly strangely, xifaxin (which is strictly a gut antibiotic) cleared up my chronic sinus infections in a couple of days. I think by killing gut bugs it took the pressure off the immune system (or something!) so that my body could deal with the sinus infections.

There is something to the primacy of gut involvement. A lot of our immune system is there.

Best,
Sushi
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I've gone one of these machines

http://www.hydromedonline.com/hp.html

which I use was sea salt and tea tree or other things in it.

Before I had the machine I used a neti pot to wash out my sinus area.

These two I find very good but the machine being much more sucessful for clearing infections. Also some sort of steamer if the congestion is really clogged and infected.

Really sympathise. When I get a sinus infection I can't breathe at night and wake up coughing and choking. Need to try and sleep on a pile of pillows. I live in an apartment and get constant smell, cigarette smoke and everything else from the neighbours.
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
I've gone one of these machines

http://www.hydromedonline.com/hp.html

which I use was sea salt and tea tree or other things in it.

Before I had the machine I used a neti pot to wash out my sinus area.

These two I find very good but the machine being much more sucessful for clearing infections. Also some sort of steamer if the congestion is really clogged and infected.

I've got one too and I also get creative about what I put in it. My basic mixture is sea salt, baking soda and xylitol. But I some times add a bit of nystatin powder or just a whisper (much less than a drop) or oregano oil. Great when you have an infection but also great way to prevent getting one.

Sushi
 

Mya Symons

Mya Symons
Messages
1,029
Location
Washington
I've gone one of these machines

http://www.hydromedonline.com/hp.html

which I use was sea salt and tea tree or other things in it.

Before I had the machine I used a neti pot to wash out my sinus area.

These two I find very good but the machine being much more sucessful for clearing infections. Also some sort of steamer if the congestion is really clogged and infected.

Really sympathise. When I get a sinus infection I can't breathe at night and wake up coughing and choking. Need to try and sleep on a pile of pillows. I live in an apartment and get constant smell, cigarette smoke and everything else from the neighbours.


Years ago I had a doctor ask me if I ever had a sinus irrigation. When I asked him why he said something about it increasing the risk of polyps and cancer. I can't find anything on the internet about that so I am assuming they found out that was not true???
 
Messages
16
hi Carrigon -
I have a chronic sinus infection that started early last fall - and felt somewhat better overall temporarily on abx - but it turned out the problem was really toxic mold exposure.

I've had CFIDS for just over 20 yrs., and was never reactive at all to any kind of mold ... til about 7 mos. ago. Even w/ CFIDS I didn't have any allergies - but that's all changed now. (From a moldy rug in my house for about 6 months - removed since December '11 but mold spores + illness remain)

Looking back, the sinus infection was the first noticeable symptom of the mold illness I was developing .... do you have any other new or worsening symptoms? You may want to check for/ rule out mold exposure.

By the way, the mold here was not even visible .... I'm brand new to the whole mold illness thing - I'm not even out of my house yet - so I can't give advice on how to do it (besides an expensive ERMI test) but there's lots of mold info on here that I've been slowly reading through.

Anyway - I wish my dr. (or anyone!) would have told me to check for mold exposure when I suddenly developed a "chronic" sinus infection.
Just a thought .... for your sake I hope that's not it!
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
Years ago I had a doctor ask me if I ever had a sinus irrigation. When I asked him why he said something about it increasing the risk of polyps and cancer. I can't find anything on the internet about that so I am assuming they found out that was not true???

The machine pictured was designed by an ENT. Sinus irrigation done by a doctor involves a great deal more pressure. I have had it and it was quite painful and "aggressive."

Sushi
 

Carrigon

Senior Member
Messages
808
Location
PA, USA
I think I'm becoming a Mucinex believer. I tried everything today for my swelled shut nose and nothing was working. I took real pseudofedrine. I took Naproxen for the swelling. I used a cream with camphor and menthol under my nose, which did help temporarily. Finally, I added Mucinex DM, within a half hour no more earache and I can breathe through that left nostril, even though it still feels swelled in there, it's better.

I don't know what's going on. The building I live in is way too hot, especially at night. So the end of December, my nose started swelling shut, especially if I smelled any neighbor's cigarette smoke coming in here. So it was starting to be a nightly thing. Then the end of Feb, I got a really bad case of headcold and white spot tonsilitis. They gave me zithromax for five days, which seemed to help, but as soon as I was off it, within three days it came back. I've been doing salt water rinses. Taking pseudofed. Can't stop the nose from closing shut at night. Mostly it's just the left side. And the whole side feels swollen, raw, hurts. Nothing I'm doing works, but the Mucinex seems to have helped loosen it up.

I'm afraid of the OTC nasal sprays. I keep hearing how addictive and how people keep getting the rebound effect with those.

I can't wait till they shut the heat off in this building in April. I'm just in hell. And I know it has really contributed to my swollen sinuses.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
Do you have a humidifier in your apartment? If the hot air is less dry, it will be less bad for your respiratory system (and your furniture).
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
Im finding antibiotics very helpful but when i stop it returns in a few days or weeks. I dont think its a drainage problem, maybe more related to immune system. My problems are just in the frontal sinuses, so impossible to really get into with saline rinses and netti pots etc. When my frontal sinuses play up it does increase my blood pressure which i think is aggravating the headaches i get from it. I think i need to get my immune system working, some how??

cheers!!!
 

Carrigon

Senior Member
Messages
808
Location
PA, USA
I don't have a humidifier. I never liked them. My mother used to use one all the time, I just hated it. I know it would probably help, but something about them, I didn't like it.

One thing that is helping me is peppermint oil. I couldn't find my vick's vaporub, but I had a new peppermint oil extract that I was going to use to make chocolate mint cookies with. It's just peppermint oil, alcohol and water. I put some of that at the front of my nose and did a mini steam by adding it to hot water to drink. And just breathe in the fumes. Really works. It doesn't last very long, but it helps.

This must be viral on me. It moved from the left ear to the right ear overnight. That means it's not a left ear infection. I think it must be viral. I can breathe better today and there's less swelling, so maybe it will go away if I stay on top of it. I took the Mucinex again and pseudofed, did the peppermint oil, and took all my vitamins. I also got a bit more sleep because of the peppermint oil helping, so I think that also helped.