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Addicted to Menthod Eucalyptus Halls...

Prefect

Senior Member
Messages
307
Location
Canada
Nasal stuffiness has been a pain for years, especially when it comes to sleep. I have it even when my sinuses are fully clear.

Nasal Steroid Sprays make me depressed out of this realm.

Halls has a menthol eucalyptus cough drop that helps me decongest just long enough to fall asleep, but has a lot of other stuff and sugar in it that can't be good for you taken every night. BUT IT'S GOOD STUFF!

Is there a menthol eucalyptus product that is a little healthier taken every night?

I don't even know if menthol eucalyptus itself is even a good idea to take every night, is it? Hard to find info on this.

And yes, I use BreathRight strips, but dry Canadian winters require additional non-allergic rhinitis weapons, and man...Halls...this stuff works.
 

xrayspex

Senior Member
Messages
1,111
Location
u.s.a.
I am addicted to peppermint essential oil, but I am ok with it, it helps my pain so much, I put it on my neck multiple times every day for pain. I also have eucaplyptus essential oil and put it sometimes on my neck chest feet and under my nose and some drops in a humidifier diffusor thing, maybe you could try the essential oil in some form. I also put the peppermint on teeth that hurt but try to spit after that because do not want to swallow too much essential oil, not in mood for a healing crisis :)
 

Richard7

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Australia
But you may also want to look into this: http://lactobacto.com/sinusitis-treatment-summary/

and the info @Hip posted on epipharyngitis http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...eir-nasopharyngitis-with-zinc-chloride.48647/
and @Asklipia's thread http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...biotics-to-clear-your-head.42606/#post-689976

I am at this point assuming that it is all related. I had improvements in may - july last year when I was doing a lot of things including oral probiotics, tougue scraping, gargling etc. But did not think them the cause (not sure why I started down the pathway after reading Asklipia's post) and stopped them and got much worse.

In october I had some improvement just doing oral probiotics and vicks overnight - in the hope that it would reduce inflammation.

Recently I have been taking some lactopy (l sakei) and experimenting with all of the above, save vicks as I was concerned that it might kill off the good bacteria, but was thinking this morning that I might just have to do it anyway.

I hope this helps.
 

Prefect

Senior Member
Messages
307
Location
Canada
I am addicted to peppermint essential oil, but I am ok with it, it helps my pain so much, I put it on my neck multiple times every day for pain. I also have eucaplyptus essential oil and put it sometimes on my neck chest feet and under my nose and some drops in a humidifier diffusor thing, maybe you could try the essential oil in some form. I also put the peppermint on teeth that hurt but try to spit after that because do not want to swallow too much essential oil, not in mood for a healing crisis :)

What about rubbing Vicks on your chest before going to bed, it should work well.

I'll second the vicks, but you can place it in the space between your nose and upper lip.

It's just that I LOVE the feel of menthol eucalyptus melting in my mouth as a lozenge, it's very soothing and even seems to have a sedative effect on me. I just wish I could find a source that's not as toxic as a generic cough drop. Rubbing vicks on my body brings back too many flashbacks of childhood colds and my parents rubbing this stuff on me and covering me in too many layers and a stupid balaclava to keep me warm, it was borderline abuse. I hate that feeling of vicks on my skin. I should go to a healthfood store and see if they have a healthier version of this lozenge.

july last year when I was doing a lot of things including oral probiotics, tougue scraping, gargling etc.

My sinuses are always clear. My nasal passageways have been dry and inflamed since my mystery illness started 20 years ago. Lately I've been thinking about getting tested for Sjoren's because my eyes are also red and gritty in the morning, though I don't have a dry mouth.
 

Richard7

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Australia
@Prefect,

1) Dr Osamu Hotta noted that a lot of the patients/subjects in his study did not have sinus symptoms and yet still had severe epipharyngytis.

I would probably fall in this group. I also had a long period (maybe 18months) and was so dry that I had to use eye drops at least once a day and a saline nasal spray.

I too was thinking Sjoren's, but then read that this could be cause by low carb diets and increased my carb intake a bit. It took a while (maybe 3 weeks) but seemed to help: I can still remember being suprised when phlegm clogged up onne nostril or the other and forced me to turn over in bed.

I knew that this cycle or one nostril and then the other being blocked off existed in people, but had not realised that it had not being working in me.

2) when I started the dental probiotics, after reading Asklipia's thread. My sinuses became very active and I started getting a build up on my tongue - thus the scraping and gargling etc. But at that time I also discovered (by careful and attentive brushing) that I had a lot of pockets at the gum line and these cleared up with the combination treatments.

I rather imagine that my mouth and sinuses have been a reservoir of lousy bacteria. A source of continued infection. I also have low stomach acid, so the stomach provides no barrier to such bacteria and it can make it all the way through and out. My stools improved a lot after about 6 wks on this regime: from many years of maybe 60% or more bristol 7s to 60% in the range of bristol 3-5.

3) When I was using vicks at night my sinuses were usually clear. I was reading up on inflammation (Maes etc) and thought that the vicks might help, because I had previously read this post https://coolinginflammation.blogspot.de/2012/05/dr-oz-pain-hotcold-receptors.html (which also explains the use of peppermint oil).
 
Messages
22
I've been dealing with sinus problems for a long time as well. I've even had a turbinate reduction surgery which only helped for a few months then the congestion came back. The tramadol I'm prescribed for back pain helps with my sinuses but thats not something I can use several times throughout the day to just help me breathe better. Aside from that I've been relying on saline rinses, cough drops, and mints (altoids, dentyne, etc).
 

Richard7

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Australia
@VitaminK2

I had an ENT consult yesterday, turns out I have moderate chronic naopharyngial inflammation.

According to Dr Osamu Hotta most people do not even examine the nasopharynx. So if you have the same problem it might be something your doctors have missed,

It is also something that will not be touched by a usual sinus flush, you would have to sniff the salt water back into your throat.

But the ENT specialist considered swabbing with ZnCl2 to be a good idea, for me, the issue is just that you have to be able to get all the way back to the nasopharynx. I have one nostril that is wide enough, and another that is constrained somewhere towards the front making it harder to get to the nasopharynx and ensuring that it will bleed even if there is no inflammation (in that nostril).

You will also need a swab that is long enough I bought a bunch of 15cm sterile cotton tip applicators (as they are called on the box) they come in two packs so they are well suited to this purpose.

I would also suggest that you look at the stuff on lactobacto.
 

TrixieStix

Senior Member
Messages
539
Nasal stuffiness has been a pain for years, especially when it comes to sleep. I have it even when my sinuses are fully clear.

Nasal Steroid Sprays make me depressed out of this realm.

Halls has a menthol eucalyptus cough drop that helps me decongest just long enough to fall asleep, but has a lot of other stuff and sugar in it that can't be good for you taken every night. BUT IT'S GOOD STUFF!

Is there a menthol eucalyptus product that is a little healthier taken every night?

I don't even know if menthol eucalyptus itself is even a good idea to take every night, is it? Hard to find info on this.

And yes, I use BreathRight strips, but dry Canadian winters require additional non-allergic rhinitis weapons, and man...Halls...this stuff works.
Olbas (they have diff products) are my #1 choice http://www.olbas.com/olbas-remedies/olbas-pastilles/
 

Prefect

Senior Member
Messages
307
Location
Canada
Thanks for the Olbas, It'll try it!

Folks I've been thinking about this nasal inflammation issue for a while now, and it shocks me the extent to which it's prevalent in our population.

I feel we may focus too much on specific pathogens rather than the dysfunction that causes our bodies to react the way they do.

HPA axis down regulation (happens in CFS) for instance is a condition that triggers overt inflammatory response. If you kill one bacteria then it'll be something else, so I'm more prone to thinking we need to focus on the root cause. But that's a long topic of conversation.

But last night I started wondering something as I read through some of the old posts on here. I don't know about yours but my nasal inflammation comes and goes every second, as if there's a physical process that constantly causes it.

One could be chronic hyperventilation, which is another thing that's prevalent in our population, and I certainly do it because of my anxiety, though the extent I do it makes me wonder if my brain receptors are reacting to something (lactic acid?) and constantly trying to keep me slightly alkaline.

Another thing is a weak esophageal sphincter. I sometimes wonder if gasses produced in my upper intestinal tract and stomach come up and inflame my upper breathing passageways? Or even contribute to my mental condition? Ammonia? Sulfur? Sometimes after I eat and slouch in a chair my nose gets plugged up.

What gasses are produced in the stomach than could do this, and how can we reduce them?

I've read hiatus hernias can cause nasal congestion...
 
Messages
22
Sitting down and eating also makes me more congested. I was thinking maybe it could be some sort of circulation issue along with a food allergy. I haven't been able to pinpoint it exactly. I guess the next step is to get allergy testing which will take awhile according to my ENT.

Fasting usually helps with my congestion but eventually I'll start to get some symptoms of hypoglycemia/brain fog so I have to break the fast.

Recently I've been giving dmso a try. I run a q-tip dipped in dmso through the inside of my nose. It helps a bit with draining my sinuses.
 

TigerLilea

Senior Member
Messages
1,147
Location
Vancouver, British Columbia
Halls has a menthol eucalyptus cough drop that helps me decongest just long enough to fall asleep, but has a lot of other stuff and sugar in it that can't be good for you taken every night. BUT IT'S GOOD STUFF!
Honestly, if you are only having one cough drop per day, I doubt that is much of a health risk. If it helps you get a better night's sleep, then I say enjoy your menthol eucalyptus cough drop. :thumbsup:
 

TigerLilea

Senior Member
Messages
1,147
Location
Vancouver, British Columbia
Folks I've been thinking about this nasal inflammation issue for a while now, and it shocks me the extent to which it's prevalent in our population.

I feel we may focus too much on specific pathogens rather than the dysfunction that causes our bodies to react the way they do.
My CFS/ME, allergies, and sinus issues all started at the same time.

My sinuses and allergies are always much worse in the winter, and I'm beginning to wonder if my wood burning fireplace is the culprit. My sinus issues always seem to flare up in early January. I usually start burning fires from Christmas Eve on into at least mid January. I don't know if it is the smoke (have an older fireplace without insert), the dry air, or a combination of the two that triggers the inflammation. I was also considering possibly the gas furnace, but that runs from September through May/June and I don't have the same issues so I don't think it is a part of the problem. As I say, this was not an issue before CFS/ME. I recently read about chronic sinus issues being an imbalance between the good and bad sinus bacteria.
 

Richard7

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Australia
@TigerLilea

In Osamu Hotta's paper he notes that
The epipharynx is an immunologically active site even under normal conditions, and enhanced immunologic
activation is prone to occur in response to an upper respiratory infection, air pollution, and possibly to vaccine adjuvants.

So it would make sense that wood smoke would lead to worsening conditions. But it would not just be your wood smoke, it would also be your neighbours too.

http://www.lactobacto.com/ goes into the microbial stuff.
 
Messages
22
Are you guys using the brands talked about on lactobacto? I just started using alittle bit of dmso with my nasal rinses which seems to be helping. If the results are satisfactory I am going to give the lactobacto method a try.
 

Prefect

Senior Member
Messages
307
Location
Canada
Honestly, if you are only having one cough drop per day, I doubt that is much of a health risk. If it helps you get a better night's sleep, then I say enjoy your menthol eucalyptus cough drop. :thumbsup:
That's the way I see it too. I went to the health food store and couldn't find anything as good as this stuff. One a night is no big deal.
 
Messages
22
Sometimes I take up to 5-6 drops a day. I don't see how it can be that harmful. They taste pretty good as well depending on the brand. Ricola mixed berry tastes better than candy.