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Sinusitis , beg spray alternative, cheaper.

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
Have ongoing sinusitis , responds well to abx but returns when i stop. I have used the beg spray before which contains bactroban, gentamycin and edta to help dissolve biofilms, it worked well but its not cheap and its a pain dealing with compounding pharmacies etc than add shipping cost .

In the past i have used bactroban ointment which one places in the side of the nostril and then squeeze your nose etc. It never did much.

Recently I thought of just using a bactroban I had on hand and making a spray from the old beg spray bottle i had. Several formulas or recipes online on how to make them. Its very simple. I just used the 40ml spray bottle and warmed up the bactroban ointment and the saline i had in a glass of warm tap water to make it easier to mix. I put the bactroban in first and had a thin implement to help get it all in the bottle , than squirted the saline into the bottle, gave it a stir and a good shake . Too easy.

I keep it in the fridge. Started with 2 sprays up each nostril 3 times day then later just twice a day. Keep using it until i finish the bottle , 2 weeks??

I was also using oral abx. The combination seems to work well . The bactroban spray works just as well as the beg spray but alot cheaper. Probably easy to ad edta to the spray from capsules of edta also.

Not sure if I will ever get rid of sinus infections but atleast this works and is cost effective .
 

minkeygirl

But I Look So Good.
Messages
4,678
Location
Left Coast
What's tap water like there? I'd never use mine. Too much fluoride. Or is it chlorine? Something I don't want. If my water doesn't run long enough to get the fluoride going there is bacteria in it.

I used filtered or bottled for my saline sinus spray of anything that goes in my body. Others use distilled.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
What's tap water like there? I'd never use mine. Too much fluoride. Or is it chlorine? Something I don't want. If my water doesn't run long enough to get the fluoride going there is bacteria in it.

I used filtered or bottled for my saline sinus spray of anything that goes in my body. Others use distilled.

Not tap water it would probably be uncomfortable , I use saline which basically salty water, .9% sodium chloride, used in IVs , or eye drops etc and is compatible with the bodies sodium concentration. Probably have to buy it from a chemist.
 

jop

Messages
20
Location
New Zealand
@heapsreal, I've recently had a pretty classic onset sinus infection (maxillary) following a cold. I treated it with probiotic lactobacillus sakei mixed in with saline rinse and got a really rapid improvement, whereas saline rinse on its own does noting much for me.

I'm becoming progressively more convinced that L. Sakei is a useful treatment for sinusitis. Details about my sinus experiments are in a post in the "probiotics for the nose" thread....sorry haven't figured out how to generate link to a post on PR yet..

Don't know if the bio protective cultures containing L. Sakei are sold in Australia, they are not available in NZ but I got in touch with the Christian Hansen wholesaler in NZ and he got me in a sample to try.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
@heapsreal, I've recently had a pretty classic onset sinus infection (maxillary) following a cold. I treated it with probiotic lactobacillus sakei mixed in with saline rinse and got a really rapid improvement, whereas saline rinse on its own does noting much for me.

I'm becoming progressively more convinced that L. Sakei is a useful treatment for sinusitis. Details about my sinus experiments are in a post in the "probiotics for the nose" thread....sorry haven't figured out how to generate link to a post on PR yet..

Don't know if the bio protective cultures containing L. Sakei are sold in Australia, they are not available in NZ but I got in touch with the Christian Hansen wholesaler in NZ and he got me in a sample to try.


You can tag me in the thread by typing @heapsreal and that alerts me to the post .

Have u tried other probiotics? I have thought of trying something like this??
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
@heapsreal - Have you tried cutting dairy out of your diet? For many long term sinus sufferers, getting rid of dairy stops the years of ongoing never ending sinus infections.

Im not a dairy eater, no milk, maybe some cheese every so often . I'm pretty sure its bacterial as it responds well to abx but when i stop, it returns quickly. I got a couple weeks reprieve when i finished courses of the beg spray.

What my dr thinks is its a chronic staph infection which is hard to treat. Read a recent thread where it was mentioned the beg spray should be used for 6 months . I dont think my sinuses would last that long as after 2 weeks i would get specks of blood when i blew my nose.

I had a good response from the bactroban spray but have finished it and maintaining sinusitis improvements with oral abx until i get more bactroban where i will make more spray and use it for 6 weeks, maybe longer and ttry and come off oral abx.

Im also using a colloidal silver spray which is suppose to help with biofilms ? ?

Ive had tests for fungal sinusitis and it was negative .

Thanks for the suggestion .
 

perchance dreamer

Senior Member
Messages
1,691
@heaps, have you ever had a sinus CT done? Could you have physical blockage that prevents your sinuses from draining as they should?
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
@heaps, have you ever had a sinus CT done? Could you have physical blockage that prevents your sinuses from draining as they should?

Yes . No deviated septums , just showed some inflammation . Sinuses are quite good as im on doxycycline and bactrim. When i stop it comez back quickly. I think the infection is just deeply in bedded or immune system cant get on top of it.
 

jop

Messages
20
Location
New Zealand
You can tag me in the thread by typing @heapsreal and that alerts me to the post .

Have u tried other probiotics? I have thought of trying something like this??

The only other probiotic I've tried is "snot transplants". They reduced the staph in my nose but didn't clear it. The Sakei seems much stronger against active infection/heavy colonisation. I also tried fiddling with my mouth microbiome with lactobacillus strains found in the mouth, to see if that helped, because dental work reduces ear infections in children, but no change. I tagged the other thread in case you haven't seen it.

I'm assuming you're aware of the Mayo Clinic's model of sinusitis being roughly that there is a fungal presence in the sinus which damages the epithelium, allowing bacterial entry which provokes an immune response? (Pretty sure they used a non-standard test method to identify this).This idea would explain why antibiotics only work temporarily and there are no obvious bacterial pathogens found in sinusitus, which are not found in healthy subjects, so I think it has merit. I read elsewhere that the cytokines from the immune response cause further damage to the epithelium (memory blank grr), so those are the vicious cycles you are up agains IMO.
 
Last edited:

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
So sorry to hear about your chronic sinusitis. I dealt with it for a long time until an allergist suggested that chronic sinusitis could be a sign of out-of-control allergies. I was tested for the usual allergens and then underwent immunotherapy (allergy shots) which definitely helped matters. I didn't develop any sinusitis once my allergies were treated.

One thing you can do to sweep the allergens away is to use a Neti pot or NeilMed sinus rinse bottle filled with saline every day. Ear-nose-throat docs at my HMO recommend this:
www.amazon.com/NeilMed-Sinus-Rinse-Complete-Kit/dp/B000A0S5KC

You mentioned seeing blood specks at times. My allergist told me the only thing I should put in my nose when there is bleeding is just plain saline. I can't tolerate nasal steroids at all as I will start to bleed within a few days of starting to use them.

Even though your sinusitis is due to a Staph infection, your body and antibiotics may not do much to fight it if you're also having an allergic reaction to environmental allergens (dust, dust mites, pollen, grasses, trees, pet dander, etc.).

Since it takes a long time for allergy shots to take effect, it's possible you may benefit from seeing a Naturopath. That's what I did after my third round of antibiotics. She definitely helped me, and this was in the early 1990's, so it's not like it's a new treatment regimen now.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
@CFS_for_19_years
Thanks, allergies shots sounds interesting .
Would you think regular antihistamines could be a possible diagnostic type of treatment ? Naturopaths in australia to my knowledge wouldn't do allergy shots , but my cfs dr would probably be open to this.

I have read that it might not necessarily be a fungal or a mold infection but an allergy to these.

I've never had any luck with nasal spray steroids either. I do use saline quite regularly . If I'm really blocked up i use something like a sudafed sinus spray which works quickly and once theres movement , i smash it with the saline spray to keep trying to wash sinuses out. Not a fan of things like neti pots etc just too uncomfortable.

The other thing I keep thinking about with sinusitis is that it started a few months after being on valcyte which lowered my neutrophil count and stayed low for a long time. This allowed staph aureus to take a hold and well embedded .

Another possible cause I have thought of is babesia as it has similar symptoms to frontal sinusitis . Again testing here is hard to find and accuracy always seems to be an issue.

But the allergy shots sound interesting and worth a go.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
Would you think regular antihistamines could be a possible diagnostic type of treatment ? Naturopaths in australia to my knowledge wouldn't do allergy shots , but my cfs dr would probably be open to this.
I have read that it might not necessarily be a fungal or a mold infection but an allergy to these.
Mold allergies are common. I forgot to include that in the list of allergens.

Allergies should be evaluated by an allergist. After discussing your allergy history, they do sensitivity testing by pricking the skin on your back with about 30 different allergens, waiting 20-30 minutes, then measuring how big the inflammation is around each spot. Then a custom blend of allergens is prepared for you. That can take several weeks.

Then the series of injections with your set of allergens starts out very low; you might come in once a week at first. Then once you're up to a maintenance dose you come in once every 3-4 weeks. A full course of therapy could take a year, after which you should be evaluated again, not necessarily by doing any more skin pricks, but by assessing your symptom level.

As far as antihistamines being diagnostic, I wouldn't know about that.
 

IreneF

Senior Member
Messages
1,552
Location
San Francisco
I just live with chronic sinusitis. I keep it from progressing to an infection by taking a daily loratidine (generic Claritin). I don't have the energy to do a daily neti pot, which might be better, but this is what I can live with. I'll be getting a head x-ray soon.

I think testing the inside of your nose is unlikely to yield helpful results, because you inhale everything in the air (germs, allergens, whatever) and then your body gets rid of them when you exhale or blow your nose, or your cells go after them. So you could detect something that isn't actually problematic. It's just there.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
I can't take sudafed and remain functional, so it is nice to know that is a nasal spray option. I assume it does not have such severe side effects.