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Chronic sinusitis without yukky mucus: what's wrong with me?

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Steam from tea as well and warm water through the roof of the mouth into the sinus area?

Great news!

I don't think so - I've drunk plenty of tea before during days that I've had sinus headaches and so far, absolutely nothing has had any effect once one is underway.
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Hi Sasha;

I wonder if you ever received the results of your nasal microbiome?

I seem to have a disturbance in the sinuses that occurs along with the gut. I think it's an overgrowth, (bacterial), but I've not had it tested.

Both my sinuses and gut respond to dietary and anti-microbial treatments. I see it's such an individual thing, but, I'll just write about what's been helping the most. Following Chris Kresser's advice has helped, especially concerning SIBO. Lowering high FODMAP foods has been one of the most helpful.

Diet alone hasn't been enough, so I've tried some antimicrobial herbs, mostly essential oils. Thyme essential oil, taken internally, has been the best, so far. Thyme Oil is controversial, many people discourage its use internally, but it appears to be no more toxic than most other essential oils. ( I add 5-7 drops to an empty capsule, then dilute with olive oil.) I usually take it with meals, but sometimes alone. The only side effect I've had was some burps.

Another treatment I've used, which is very strong, and should come with a caution, is hydrogen peroxide, 3 %. I put it in an empty nasal spray bottle, and shoot once into each nostril. It burns and foams. I hold my nose and add pressure by trying to breathe out for a few seconds. Then I blow my nose to expel the peroxide, etc.

I realize that this method would be too extreme for many to try, ( and painful ), but it's about the only way that's worked for me.

It's possible that the green tea helps, because it is a folate antagonist. This is an odd guess, but from my experience, when I have high folate foods, supplements, or even highly fermentable foods, I'll get sinus inflammation. ( with headaches then migraines)

Folate can be produced from gut bacteria, which can be good, but in excess,it can be inflammatory.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Hi Sasha;

I wonder if you ever received the results of your nasal microbiome?

Yes I did but I haven't had a chance to look them over properly.

I seem to have a disturbance in the sinuses that occurs along with the gut. I think it's an overgrowth, (bacterial), but I've not had it tested.

Both my sinuses and gut respond to dietary and anti-microbial treatments. I see it's such an individual thing, but, I'll just write about what's been helping the most. Following Chris Kresser's advice has helped, especially concerning SIBO. Lowering high FODMAP foods has been one of the most helpful.

Glad you've found something that helps!

Diet alone hasn't been enough, so I've tried some antimicrobial herbs, mostly essential oils. Thyme essential oil, taken internally, has been the best, so far. Thyme Oil is controversial, many people discourage its use internally, but it appears to be no more toxic than most other essential oils. ( I add 5-7 drops to an empty capsule, then dilute with olive oil.) I usually take it with meals, but sometimes alone. The only side effect I've had was some burps.

Another treatment I've used, which is very strong, and should come with a caution, is hydrogen peroxide, 3 %. I put it in an empty nasal spray bottle, and shoot once into each nostril. It burns and foams. I hold my nose and add pressure by trying to breathe out for a few seconds. Then I blow my nose to expel the peroxide, etc.

I realize that this method would be too extreme for many to try, ( and painful ), but it's about the only way that's worked for me.

I'd be far too nervous to try that sort of stuff. I read in a book about sinuses that very cold water can permanently damage the cilia that sweep the mucus out of the sinuses - I'd be very worried about putting potentially toxic stuff up there. The hydrogen peroxide sounds especially worrying.

It's possible that the green tea helps, because it is a folate antagonist. This is an odd guess, but from my experience, when I have high folate foods, supplements, or even highly fermentable foods, I'll get sinus inflammation. ( with headaches then migraines)

Folate can be produced from gut bacteria, which can be good, but in excess,it can be inflammatory.

Maybe I should keep a food diary. I don't get these headaches every day.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
I think a lot of sinus problems appear to be caused by Gluten/Celiac

http://www.livestrong.com/article/543837-gluten-sinus-problems/

If all else fails try George Eby's nasal humming cure. It generates Nitric oxide in the nasal passages which cuts down inflammation inn the sinuses.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16406689

.

I cut out gluten at the beginning of the year and my sinuses improved enough within 24 hours to allow me to sleep on my side without my nose getting all bunged up, for the first time in years. Cutting out dairy helped further.

Humming cure! That's a new one. I'll take a look!
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
I think we have a grab bag of different sinus issues in our ME population. That includes food intolerances and weird staph strains in the nose. However I also think this could be vascular in many cases. Our bodies do not properly regulate blood flow, and blood flow is critical in the nose etc. The issue is this: is the problem worse lying down than standing up? If so there might be a vascular component. That is why steroidal nasal sprays may not work.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
I think we have a grab bag of different sinus issues in our ME population. That includes food intolerances and weird staph strains in the nose. However I also think this could be vascular in many cases. Our bodies do not properly regulate blood flow, and blood flow is critical in the nose etc. The issue is this: is the problem worse lying down than standing up? If so there might be a vascular component. That is why steroidal nasal sprays may not work.

Congestion in nose worse lying down than standing up; headache worse standing up than lying down. :thumbdown:
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
@Sasha, a big guess on my behalf, but this could easily be vascular. Regulation of blood in brain and nose may have different consequences. When lying down you may have too much blood to the nose, when standing not enough to the brain. Doh. Its a real catch-22 situation. I am not that much different. My sinus/congestion issues are really only obvious when lying down. I am semi immune to standing OI issues though, so long as I have been getting even poor sleep. When I get very little sleep then I start having OI issues too.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
My mainstay for keeping sinus headaches related to respiratory hyper-sensitivities (allergies) at bey is MMS (methylsulphonylmethane). I still get mild stuffiness and a little post nasal drip.

It is generally sold as a joint supplement and sulfur source. It is also anti-inflammatory. Since it contains sulfur, it is not for everyone.
 
Messages
1
I relived my headaches with warming nose area, forehead and shoulder area with infrared warming lamp. Worked very well. Headache stopped after 5 minutes of warming and after a week when I had warmed the areas every day about 15 minutes the headaches had stopped completely.
 

Sean

Senior Member
Messages
7,378
Same problem here. Been slowly getting worse over the years. Not seasonal, usually no excess mucus, just moderately-severely restricted air flow. Some things help, like avoiding dairy, etc. Saline spray and steroids also help, but saline is only useful when there is excess mucus present, and I am not keen on long-term steroid use. I use a disposable nasal strap at night and that makes a big difference for sleeping, though they are not an ideal long term solution.

Going for a CT scan next week. Balloon sinuplasty sounds promising. Certainly very safe.