health tips: sinus

[coldfront]

i fly a lot.  have sinus issues.  have done the deviated septum surgery, the 'roto-rooter' part of sinus surgery.  still, if I go 'up/down' in an airplane more than once/day, a sinus infection is/was almost guaranteed.

used to take sinus meds proactively to avoid this.

couple of years ago I ran across this product called Sinu-Med.  Some folks on here will say 'oh, the Neti Pot'.  yeah, similar, but better.  this is a squeeze bottle that you insert into one nostril and as they say 'irrigate' with the saline/baking soda water mixture.

you stay vertical and don't have to feel like you're being water-boarded.
Plus, you get to do explosive evacuation (blowing nose).  always interesting what comes out.   

since doing this regularly (each morning) I have not had a sinus infection NOR HAVE I SUFFERED ALLERGIES! 

you might not want/need to do this every day, but if you feel a sinus infection or head cold coming on, might try this as part of the process to self-medicate.

https://www.target.com/p/neilmed-pharmaceuticals-original-sinus-rinse-kit-packets-50ct/-/A-13342400?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Health%2BBeauty%2BShopping_Local&adgroup=SC_Health%2BBeauty&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9013250&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1247077&ds_rl=1246978&ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Health+Beauty+Shopping_Local&adgroup=SC_Health+Beauty&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9013250&gclid=Cj0KCQiA28nfBRCDARIsANc5BFDoNEhZWhGG02vTpugkEwKiWujPnOUU5e7aveoD1IAde6RDfuaCIacaAoXgEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[SteelHorseCowboy]

I use the same thing. I had what's called a "pharangeal flap repair" when I was little.
See, what had done happened was...
When I was a baby, I had my tonsils and adnoids removed. But they were so inflamed and swollen that the surgeons ended up removing too much flesh in the process.
When you speak, there's a flap in the back of the throat that closes off your airway from your nasal passages. Mine didn't work, because it basically wasn't there.
I couldn't speak until I was six. I'd just blow snot everywhere and made a bunch of grunting noises.
So much money down the drain in speech therapy. So many tests run to see if I'm mentally handicapped (that's still up for debate among some people).
Turned out to be a physical problem.
So they went in and permanently restricted that passage between my airway and nasal cavity. Not so bad that I can't breath through my nose, just enough that it closes the rest of the way on it's own when I speak. I still have a slight speech impediment and ocassionally make a nasally grunt while speaking.

Anyhoo. Because of this, my sinuses have never, and will never drain properly and I always feel stuffy. This squirt bottle method is the only thing that helps. Whatever I'm not able to flush out through my nostrils gets diluted well enough that I can spit it out.

A note on sinus rinsing safety:
There is a brain eating amoeba out there. It's usually found in warm, slow moving surface waters, but has also recently been found in ground water supplies.
This brain eating bug infects people through their sinus cavities.
Because of this, it's best to use distilled water for sinus rinsing. It can be found in many stores, pharmacies are often the most reliable places to find it.

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[the_huber_show]

Interesting!  I don't have issues a lot but I could see this being very helpful

[Capt. BassinLou]

This is what I use. It's exactly what you described Coldfront.

[SteelHorseCowboy]

Oh, y'all are using a premixed solution! I didn't even know that was a thing!
I have a reusable bottle and use the mix packets.

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[coldfront]

Oh, y'all are using a premixed solution! I didn't even know that was a thing!
I have a reusable bottle and use the mix packets.

I use the pre-mix PACKETS too Steel.  the hardest part of this was figuring out what a comfortable water temp 'is'.

[Capt. BassinLou]

Oh, y'all are using a premixed solution! I didn't even know that was a thing!
I have a reusable bottle and use the mix packets.

Sent from my SM-G930U using Tapatalk

Yep, I use the pre-mix, and like Coldfront mentioned, be mindful of the water temp. Warm water is ok and soothing. Too hot, never good. When your use to the mixture, a double dose really makes a difference.

[coldfront]

Yep, I use the pre-mix, and like Coldfront mentioned, be mindful of the water temp. Warm water is ok and soothing. Too hot, never good. When your use to the mixture, a double dose really makes a difference.

one of the things not really talked about, I struggled with really bad breath for years in the aftermath of a horrendous sinus infection (traveled to great britain:  no matter what folks want to tell you, their medicines are NOT necessarily better or even as effective as ours)

post nasal drip became a fact of life.  could never get rid of it.  and current doctor philosophy is to not treat HARD with antibiotics as they attempt to avoid creating super-bugs.

this led to accumulations in the back of my throat.  similar to tonsil stones.

sinus rinsing has really really helped address that/this.