Some sneaky pollen had set me in a downward sinus infection spiral. I am very familiar with the signals my body sends when this is about to occur. I'm going to use the neti pot and start the old antihistamines. Anyone have any other advice?

Go to home depot, get those face masks for mowing the lawn, put one on and VACUUM the #3ll out of the place! Close your doors and windows and turn on the a/c.

My family won't use the neti pot, but I love the results. anti-histamines, not so much, too many side-effects for me.

Go to your local farmer's market and get some local honey. Eat a tablespoon a day (used as a sweetner, in sandwiches, even just by the spoonful). Honey is rumored to help build up immunity to local irritants. Though WebMD refutes this statement, we've found it helped. Maybe it's "mind over matter" but, we've seen real results!


BTW, it might not have been pollen, but mold. So look for places that might be moldy and bleach everything too. (1/4 c. bleach/1 gallon of water) I also like to use lemon Lysol, as I think it does a better job at killing unwanted critters, and it definitely smells better. (Don't bleach things that may 'bleach'/turn, ie: colored clothing, carpets, some woods, and sometimes nick-nacks)

JUST DON'T USE THEM TOGETHER! (The bleach and Lysol)

Make sure you're wearing gloves while you use the chemicals, because they can be rough on the skin, and bleach isn't good for anything on/in our human frame, and both can be absorbed through the skin.

Just my suggestions.

Flonase is sold over the counter now. I have found it to be extremely helpful. It calms inflammation in your sinuses. It is the inflammation that leads to swelling and infection. You can use it in conjunction with your antihistamine.

I also rub an ice cube over my sinuses when they are hurting -- the nose and cheek area, the temples, forehead, jawline, and right in front of the ears. Ice also helps to reduce swelling.

You will also want to use your favorite pain reliever. I take aspirin. I agree with Cristib that shutting your windows and turning on the A/C will help. Also take a shower every evening to wash off the day's accumulation of pollen. It helps to wash your hair as well on a heavy pollen day.

My last resort when all of the above measures have failed is to get a prescription for a short term course of oral steroids from my M.D.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2015 07:48AM by summer.

Good advice so far, and I don't have much to add. I do think that drinking enough water is important for the sinuses. As the weather warms up, we can get dehydrated without realizing it. Reducing sugar consumption could also help to avoid infections.

Allergies hit me really hard this year, for about two months instead of the usual one month. I live in a warmer climate, so my allergy season is over now, but I wish you the best.

Oh, yeah, just remembered. Something to help while in pain, and you may already know this, but here goes.

My eyes also hurt badly while I have sinus infections, so I like to wear sunglasses. Almost ALL. THE. TIME. A good pair with UV protection is probably the best. (I get mine at my optometrist's office, with my prescription lenses.) And try not to spend too much time at the computer in front of the monitors, unless you have one of those screen protector thingies (oh, what are they called?).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2015 08:54AM by cristib.

...for sinus infection. My whole head was stopped up and it was getting down into my lungs. I had so much sinus pressure that I could only work 4-5 hours a day, and I was so fatigued that I took a nap every afternoon. Last Monday, my doctor prescribed what he calls "the assassin" antibiotic. It's Levofloxacin. By the second day of taking that, the pressure started easing up.

I used to suffer from multiple, severe sinus infections every year -- maybe five or six a year that could last for weeks at a time. That's when a PA told me that it was necessary to hit persistent infections *hard* with antibiotics over at least three weeks. I would get high dose antibiotics for 20 days. My favorite at the time was Augmentin, a penicillin-family antibiotic. This course of action permanently cured my troubles. I can now go as long as a year or a two at a time without an infection.

Having experience with a lot of antibiotics, I do favor direct-kill antibiotics (penicillin or the cephalosporin families) over the kind that inhibit reproduction of bacteria.

I agree, the inhibit versions just stun the germs. When I go off them I end up sicker than I was to start with.

Thanks everyone for the tips. It is somewhat better today. I am drinking more and have taken my antihistamine. I forgot the neti pot today, but I did take my naproxen. I took that because the knees were acting up this AM. Each morning I have a drug cocktail and I have just added a little more until the sinus settles back down.

The pollen count here is so bad that the junkies are trying to
turn their meth back into Sudafed.

If I feel a sinus infection coming on, I put a capful (ONLY a capful unless you're a masochist) of H2O2 in my saline rinse. I do both nostrils with that method and it seems to nip it in the bud. I also start taking a mixture of honey, cayenne and pressed garlic every hour. It's as delicious as it sounds. :P
I use a humidifier every night, too.

I had a real fright earlier this year. I was cleaning the air vents and looked into the one with the air filter and knew something was off. I had BF help me open t up and the air filter looked like a wookie rug. It was disgusting. I'd been waking up with a sore throat, tired, and headaches everyday and was concerned I might have pancreatic cancer after seeing a commercial for the symptoms. When the air filter was changed, I was almost instantly better.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2015 08:07PM by Itzpapalotl.

Superb tips you've gotten here! Drinking Kombucha tea (probiotics) has helped me with a few things; and I am thinking that allergies, particularly food allergies, may be one of them.

Cortisone (Kenalog) shots made me meaner than Bat Urine!!! I read that doctors cannot give it to mentally ill people. Now I know why! (Hmmm)

Is that Kombucha that nasty looking stuff?

During the spring pollen season. My sinuses are fine but my eyes itch and run for four or five weeks. Does anyone have anything that works for itchy eyes?

It really helps and is OTC and you can find it in any major retailer. I also use a combination of Nasacort and Zyrtec daily and also take local honey.

Hi Michaelc1945. Yep, Kombucha looks pretty bad.

Annieg, Yes, for itchy eyes, use "Naphcon A" drops by Alcon. --3"high, blue label, over-the-counter. Your eyes quit itching instantly ! It's devine! You can use it with contact lenses, too.

Thank you so much. I will try it.

I got so tired of allergy season - which for me is most of the year, that I went to see an allergist. She recommended weekly shots for me for several months, then once a month for a few years. I am almost done with the weekly shots. That, combined with my daily Allegra has completely eliminated my allergy symptoms, which were so sever that I missed many days of work and really struggled to work in the yard.

This year seems to be particularly bad for everyone. I'm not sure what the issue is, but people seem to be blindsided and slammed by allergies. My son missed his entire first week of school over it, way back in August. Me, who tends to be a bit sensitive to allergies, has managed to go through the past several months unscathed; even bypassing the flu/cold season <knock on wood>, though I did get a frightening migraine aura once, that did not advance to more than a general headache and slight sensitivity/nausea, and I haven't had a migraine in years. The mosquitoes have been really bad this year and we have had more rain than is normal this time of year. I had a crane fly infestation, and they disappeared just before their lunch showed up (the mosquitoes). It's Armageddon!

Kidding, of course. It has just been an odd year with odd things. Let's see if things go back to normal next year. :)

My favorite antihistamine (non-drowsy) and what works best for me is Allegra. It doesn't make you sleepy, but if you have to take two a day, time the second dose around bedtime, so that you're not up half the night. I never took the second pill after 3 p.m. If I missed the afternoon dose, sleep was far more important, so I skipped the dose and used Benadryl (only if needed) for short-term control, and diphenhydramine makes you sleepy. When I worked in a high-allergen environment, I had to take two a day, but outside of that environment, one a day works well. Most of the non-drowsy allergy medications have a 24-hour dosing cycle...Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra...try those or take a Benedryl before bed. Those are systemic. Flonase and Nasocort offer nasal allergy relief.

With major sinus infection and clogging issues, invest in a humidifyer for home, especially if you live in a dry climate. Moist mucous membranes does wonders for respiratory health and immunity strength.

Anyone, before giving in to the buffetings of Satan and flipping off the prophet and the twelve, ever get blessings for allergy relief?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2015 04:46PM by elderolddog.

Maybe you are on to something there. Do you think it'll work for an apostate? They never seemed to do any good when I was TBM. This could be a testimony event that leads me back to the sheepfold.