"Freaking Sinuses!" Topic

Man..I wish for once…my sinuses would work the way they were designed to…
Back last November I wrote a post on having to have Endioscoptic Sinus Surgery.
I didn't have it as the Dr. couldn't/wouldn't guarantee that it would help my sinus condition. All he could tell me was that my "turbinators are packed with an infection"
Ummm..doc..this has been going on all of my life…what is so infected that in over 30 years it doesn't end, heal, or go gangrenous?
He can't tell me.
Then they said that I had all symptoms of a horribly broken nose…except..I'nve never had a broken nose, and there is no xray evidence to show that my nose hase ever been broken…

So now…my sinuses are constantly clogged…I take 2 pseudos/wal=pheds before bed, along with a big blast of nose spray, then I blow, and crap comes out…but it's still stuffed and packed…so I shoot more nose spray and the sinuses open a bit…then I put on some vicks vapor rub on each nostril to allow the camphor to help me breathe, and then I put on this clip for the end of my nostrils designed to help hold them open to help me breathe and stop snoring like a buzz saw.

Gaaaaahhh…this sucks….

Might try one of those saline nasal rinses.

I feel for you Murphy or should I say sniff for you. I wish i knew the name of this product, maybe someone on the board knows. When I was in college I was having a horrible sinus attack, headache, stuffiness, coughing, you know the whole ballgame. It was in the middle of a two hour class, so there was a break in the middle. The professor comes over and says try this. He had just got back from China, it was a very small tin. It was a ointment that you put on your lip below your nose. It did not have any scent, however it felt as if someone had put a match on my upper lip. This lasted maybe 10 minutes, but in that ten minutes, my sinuses completely drained. It sounded as if someone had taken the plug out a bathtub. Maybe some knows the name of it, because I sure wished I did.

Mike

Cinnamon Oil?

Sounds like Tiger Balm – comes in a red tin

I have had terrible allergies for most of my life, to the point that I am often incapacitated by the irritation. In the last 20-odd years it has been a very rare day indeed that I've been able to breathe clearly through both nostrils at once.

A couple of weeks ago I had a particularly bad attack after traipsing around in the desert for a weekend with the National Guard and my wife suggested that we try a Neti pot (basically a teapot-looking device with a spout shaped to fit in your nostril so you can rinse your sinuses out with a mild saline solution). I don't normally go for such hippy witch doctor cures, but I gave it a go and it really helped. You might try it, it can't hurt.

I have had sinus problems all my life. A year ago I had a deviated septum straightened. After that the Doc said to get one of the Sinus Rinse kits, Bill recommended above. It is great, This has been the best allergy, cold etc year I have ever had, I can breath again.
It is the best $12 USD I ever spents.

STT

I had sinus surgery last year; got my turbinates reduced, septum undeviated, etc.

Worked pretty well for me, though it's not like my sinuses are just naturally clear all the time now.

OTOH, I never had any pain or discomfort from the "chronic sinus infections", my nose was just always stuffed up.
-Kle.

I keep bottles of nasal saline all over the place to keep constant irrigation intact.

Yes, it was red and it came in a small rectangular tin. The lid would slide on and off. I am not sure it was Tiger Balm though. I asked him what the name of the product and he shrugged his shoulders. This was twenty plus years ago and he was a anthropologist that studied the Chinese.

Mike

I have pretty bad sinuses Murph and I find it hard to believe its THAT bad all year round. Seasonally, and based on weather conditions? You betcha! This was the second day in a row its felt like someone was trying to pound my right eyeball out of my skull with a croquet mallet. But year round? Nope. I'm kind of surprised the doc didn't prescribe some antibotics for you.

A couple of things that might be making it worse for you would be any pre-existing allergies, particularly to molds, dust, and pollen. Also if you or someone you live with smokes, that can also make it bad for you.

That said, I'm in agreement on the saline spray that has been mentioned above. It really does help to lubricate and clear your nasal passages and sinuses. It may not be as "potent" as the stuff you use at night, but done on a regular basis it really helps clear things up.

If you're really adventuresome you could try the stunt that one guy we had working at our shop do. I would only suggest this if you were either A) extremely desperate, B) Young and Stupid, or C) Have some sort of bizarre death wish. Please note: I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN PERIL! This individual snorted "Dave's Insanity" Hot Sauce, not once but TWICE!!! I'm pretty sure any sinus problems he had were cleared up (probably dissolved them). However I'd rather take a groin kick from Bruce Lee than do that to clear up my sinuses.

I totally feel for you. I have similar problems. I had surgery about 6 years ago for sleep apnea and the doctor also removed some of my turbinate bones. It worked for awhile but the last three years I have been having really bad allergy problems that seem to turn into horrendous sinus infections, which have more than once resulted in bronchitis and pneumonia.

You might ask your doctor to see if you are developing polyps in your sinus passages. That is what my doctor thinks might be occurring. Apparently, they are the result of aging. They are harmless, BUT they further close up the sinus passages and trap mucous leading to misery of various degree. You might try a spray steroid that will shrink the mucous membranes and alleviate some of the problems.

Certain over the counter nasal sprays warn the user not to use longer than 3 days in a row because of "rebound effect", after the drug wears off your sinuses bounce back worse than the way they were. People get addicted to the stuff. I have a head cold today, and I'm not getting any relief…I always wanted to try that nasal rinse, maybe today is the day I order one.