chronic frontal sinus inflammation

[lizw118]

Hi everyone,
One of my worst inflammation symptoms is in the frontal sinus area, behind my eyebrows. I have tenderness there and my eyebrows get kind of swollen when it's really bad. On the days when sinus inflammation is the worst ( bad allergy days when mold counts are high), I also feel really tired and depressed. I know that someone suggested here, maybe Hip, that cytokines from the nasal passages might affect the brain. That makes sense to me.
I really want to figure out how to make this better. I have tried everything--nettie pot (made it worse), all kinds of sprays, allergy meds, etc. Xylitol spray works a little bit but only temporarily. Claritin D (psuedoephedrine) works but leaves me feeling beat up the next day.
NAG worked great at first but then started making matters worse when I sprayed some in my nasal passageways and I got a pathogenic sinus infection from it that comes back whenever I take NAG again.
I listened to a podcast in which Chris Kessler said that biofilm is the main issue with sinus problems, and that doing a rinse with 1% Johnson's Baby Shampoo breaks up the biofilm. Has anyone tried this? Any other suggestions? Thanks

 

[Martial]

anti inflammatories like curcumin, there is also a prescription anti microbiol spray you can use but I do not remember the name. Just be sure that you only use distilled water in your nose when you don't use prepared sprays. Xylitol and Xlear also work great like you mentioned, other bio film busters that can help are serapeptese and a nasal spray with grape fruit seed extract.

 

[Hip]

NAG worked great at first but then started making matters worse when I sprayed some in my nasal passageways and I got a pathogenic sinus infection from it that comes back whenever I take NAG again.

NAG reduces the Th17 immune response, which is important for fighting Staphylococcus aureus and Candida infection, so if you had say a Staphylococcus infection in your sinuses, it possible perhaps that NAG might make it worse.

Most sinusitis is due to viral infection, but there could be bacterial co-infections.

Have you seen the list of supplements that I found beneficial for my viral sinusitis?

 

[heapsreal]

I have some success when really congested using oxymetazoline spray which helps open up the sinuses within minutes. I generally wait 20mins than attack it with a saline spray and box of tissues. I do the saline multiple times. After this I spray some colloidal silver up there which said to have anti infective properties.

My sinusitis issues are bacterial and respond well to abx but I think reoccur due to a crappy immune system. So the whole process is very cyclic for me.

There is a beg nasal spray which is a combo of abx and edta which helps break down biofilms.

Never had any luck with steroid sprays.

Frontal sinusitis can be very debilitating in itself.
good luck.

 

[ahmo]

@lizw118 @place has done the baby shampoo treatment, found it excellent. Hope you're not eating any dairy, gluten.

 

[natasa778]

Someone on another thread posted about liposomal vit C possibly helping /keeping attacks at bay, but it was early days...

 

[ebethc]

Hi everyone,
One of my worst inflammation symptoms is in the frontal sinus area, behind my eyebrows. I have tenderness there and my eyebrows get kind of swollen when it's really bad. On the days when sinus inflammation is the worst ( bad allergy days when mold counts are high), I also feel really tired and depressed. I know that someone suggested here, maybe Hip, that cytokines from the nasal passages might affect the brain. That makes sense to me.
I really want to figure out how to make this better. I have tried everything--nettie pot (made it worse), all kinds of sprays, allergy meds, etc. Xylitol spray works a little bit but only temporarily. Claritin D (psuedoephedrine) works but leaves me feeling beat up the next day.
NAG worked great at first but then started making matters worse when I sprayed some in my nasal passageways and I got a pathogenic sinus infection from it that comes back whenever I take NAG again.
I listened to a podcast in which Chris Kessler said that biofilm is the main issue with sinus problems, and that doing a rinse with 1% Johnson's Baby Shampoo breaks up the biofilm. Has anyone tried this? Any other suggestions? Thanks

Hi - What biofilms? Are they in the gut? Did Chris Kresser recommend using baby shampoo solution in your sinuses??

Sorry for your pain! I have the same problem, and I know it's miserable... Singulair & quercetin have helped somewhat... Singulair helps reduce cytokines, and quercetin is a good anti-inflammatory. Feverfew also helps, but makes me super spacey, so it's not my first choice. Heating pad and rest are best.

Have you had allergy testing? I came up negative for both blood & scratch tests... I know that allergy tests are not 100% reliable, but it was odd that NOTHING tested positive. My doctor hypothesized that I'm hyper-sensitive to any particulate matter - whether it's pollen, mold spores or pollution... I think that she's on to something since I have had such inconsistent results from allergy meds (ie, the anti-inflammatories work best).

Good luck!

 

[lizw118]

Hi everyone. Thank you for the info. All was very helpful and I have combined a lot of the advice with some other things I have read and made a nasal spray out of distilled water, xylitol, johnson's baby shampoo and grapefruit seed extract. I have been snorting it 2-3x daily and then putting my head bt my legs to get the stuff into the frontal sinus area. I can tell when I get it to the right location because I will blow my right nostril and blood comes out and sometimes discolored mucus. I believe there is a biofilm mass in the upper mid-right part of my sinuses. I actually noticed swelling on the right side of the bridge of my nose after I snorted the NAG a while back and it never quite went away. I think the NAG helped a biofilm grow (for what exactly, I am not sure). So I am hoping to break up the biofilm up there. It seems to be doing something. I still have a lot of discomfort though and I feel like this is going to take a long time to disrupt. I am not sure if this treatment will work on inflammation andf sensitivity to allergens, though, which is always a problem. I basically cannot go to the southern U.S. because I am allergic to so much stuff there and my sinuses swell up so badly. I have tried every single allergy med and nasal spray and nothing works except psuedoephedrine.

 

[place]

liz- one word of advice, make sure you don't dry out your sinuses. I did that and had bloodly noses and a lot of pain. My doc recommended to rinse with the saline and a product called ponaris. you can get it on amazon for 10 bucks or so. this was the last puzzle piece to solve my sinus problems.

 

[ebethc]

Hi everyone. Thank you for the info. All was very helpful and I have combined a lot of the advice with some other things I have read and made a nasal spray out of distilled water, xylitol, johnson's baby shampoo and grapefruit seed extract. I have been snorting it 2-3x daily and then putting my head bt my legs to get the stuff into the frontal sinus area. I can tell when I get it to the right location because I will blow my right nostril and blood comes out and sometimes discolored mucus. I believe there is a biofilm mass in the upper mid-right part of my sinuses. I actually noticed swelling on the right side of the bridge of my nose after I snorted the NAG a while back and it never quite went away. I think the NAG helped a biofilm grow (for what exactly, I am not sure). So I am hoping to break up the biofilm up there. It seems to be doing something. I still have a lot of discomfort though and I feel like this is going to take a long time to disrupt. I am not sure if this treatment will work on inflammation andf sensitivity to allergens, though, which is always a problem. I basically cannot go to the southern U.S. because I am allergic to so much stuff there and my sinuses swell up so badly. I have tried every single allergy med and nasal spray and nothing works except psuedoephedrine.

I've had luck w Xlear and ReBoost (homeopathic decongenstant)... Maybe the combo is what works??
http://www.amazon.com/ReBoost-Decongestion-Nasal-Spray-0-68/dp/B0006PKA4K

I'm going to try the johnson's baby shampoo... How did it work for you?

 

[IreneF]

I take loratadine (Claritin) every day. Spray did not help. It doesn't prevent headaches, but it prevents sinus infections.

 

[lizw118]

Hey everyone--short update. I have tried everything in this thread and nothing works, sadly. The only thing that works for me seems to be large doses of pseudoephedrine and supplementing estrogen sort of helps too. Maybe there is a brain-sinus swelling thing going on which has a complicated feedback mechanism or something. I have no idea. But my frontal sinus issues are definitely not the ordinary type. I will keep trying things though! Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

 

[geraldt52]

I would take a close look at any medications or supplements that you are taking, and make certain that you aren't suffering from a side effect of one of them. "Congestion" is a "rare" side effect of a surprising number of medications/supplements, and sometimes you have to really dig to find it...doctors and drug companies aren't that interested in side effects that don't affect a lot of people. Google the medication and congestion...ie: ibuprofen congestion ( not that I have any idea that ibuprofen causes congestion).

I spent a year and a half with horrible sinus/ear issues only to finally figure out it was the melatonin that I was taking for sleep. Stopped the melatonin, and all the sinus and ear congestion resolved...though it took a while, as sinus things always do.

 

[lizw118]

Hi Geraldt52,
Good idea checking into the side effects of the meds. However, I don't have sinus congestion. My sinuses are actually clear, they are just inflamed and tender and cause headaches and pressure. very now and then I have infections, but mostly not. I think it is some kind of autoimmune inflammation of inflammation due to the lyme disease or hv2 I have.

 

[geraldt52]

Hi Geraldt52,
Good idea checking into the side effects of the meds. However, I don't have sinus congestion. My sinuses are actually clear, they are just inflamed and tender and cause headaches and pressure. very now and then I have infections, but mostly not. I think it is some kind of autoimmune inflammation of inflammation due to the lyme disease or hv2 I have.

I understand that you feel that you don't have "congestion", but it's often hard to describe sinus issues and one person's congestion is another person's inflammation. I would still encourage you to Google every medication/supplement that you are taking in combination with your best description of what you are experiencing...sinusitis, sinus pressure, sinus irritation, sinus inflammation, or whatever. You can bet someone else has been down your path, and may be able to shed some light on what you have going on. I wouldn't rule out that it might be a food you are eating either, so you might want to try the same sort of search with foods that you eat regularly, or especially every day. The way your condition doesn't respond to "treatment" suggests it may be something you're already taking/eating.

 

[lizw118]

I understand that you feel that you don't have "congestion", but it's often hard to describe sinus issues and one person's congestion is another person's inflammation. I would still encourage you to Google every medication/supplement that you are taking in combination with your best description of what you are experiencing...sinusitis, sinus pressure, sinus irritation, sinus inflammation, or whatever. You can bet someone else has been down your path, and may be able to shed some light on what you have going on. I wouldn't rule out that it might be a food you are eating either, so you might want to try the same sort of search with foods that you eat regularly, or especially every day. The way your condition doesn't respond to "treatment" suggests it may be something you're already taking/eating.

Thanks! Yeah, I have had some good results by cutting out gluten, dairy and sugar (when I can). I will look into the medication side effects. It's a good idea. The thing is, this sinus issue was the first and continues to be the most prominent symptom of my CFS. I got really sick with "the flu" (lyme? who knows...) then had constant sinus pain and pressure and swelling and was allergic to a bunch of things when I was not before. Whenever the sinus issues crop up the cognitive issues are bad, too. I have minimized them somewhat over time with diet management. However the symptoms still plague me after twenty years. Weird.

 

[Little Bluestem]

Have you read the Detection of Mycotoxins in Patients with CFS thread? Chronic sinus problems are often caused by fungus. Staph infection can also be (part of) the problem.