Fellow sinus sufferers, you know what it’s like. That pressure behind your cheekbones, the fuzziness in your head. The drippy nose, mouth-breathing, headaches. Can’t sleep well, because the pressure feels worse when you lie down, but you also never feel fully awake, because your head is perpetually cloudy.
I’ve been in sinus purgatory for about two weeks. I don’t think it’s an infection, because it hasn’t gotten any worse, and I haven’t had any fever or severe pain. I’ve tried OTC decongestants, hot, steamy showers, and saline nasal spray. What else is out there that I’m missing?
Edit: I hope this doesn’t count as asking for medical advice. Mods, if it does, go ahead and shut it down.
That kind of sounds like a sinus infection – I’d see a doctor. I often don’t run a fever with an infection. Doctor might prescribe a steroid nasal spray or antibiotics or both.
To get crap out of my head, I use Mucinex along with a decongestant. If you have gunk in your head, you need to thin it so it’ll come out.
I also run humidifiers in my house all winter. If I don’t, my sinuses get dry and my skin cracks.
But the OP is not mentioning severe pain, and that was definitely the case when I had my sinus infection. I find that drinking lots of fluids helps with my sinus problems. It takes a feat of will to keep from constantly blowing my nose though, and if I lapse, it just makes it worse. Hot showers aren’t bad either.
Not very practical but years ago when I was in the Navy doing some firefighting training I had a bad cold. Across the grounds was the “confidence chamber” where a class had just exited from gas mask training.
Closed my eyes, went in a took a huge breath. Ran out and coughed the tear gas did the trick. Snot running out of my nose to my knees.
Even better than the neti pot is to just use a small cup of warm saltwater. You dip your nostrils, and suck the water into your nose, then blow it back out. Do this 5 or 6 times in a row, a few times a day.
Also, doing some juicing can really help. Cucumber/apple juice is good, it tends to cool you down and reduce inflammation.
Mucinex is a wonderful help for me. Get the plain stuff if you can find it. And drink lots and lots of hot liquid. I also love a steamy shower, as hot as I can bear it, and a hot vaporizer, one of those older ones, not that “cool mist” stuff.
I agree that if you’ve been congested for this long, you need to rule out a sinus or ear infection. Those buggers are tricky and are not always painful. Please consider calling your doctor tomorrow for a check-up.
I’m a little bit afraid of neti pots. I’m afraid I’ll accidentally drown myself or something. That being said, given the number of people who have suggested it, I should probably give it a try. I will also consider going to a doctor. I’m in a weird place right now insurance-wise, maybe this is the incentive I need to get it figured out.
Seems like I often have more trouble nose-breathing when I lie down, less trouble when I sit up. Sometimes I sleep (or try to sleep) sitting up. Sometimes I sit at a table with a pillow on the table in front of me and put my head down on that.
When I have a cold and bronchitis, it gets worse. Last year I had a bad case (spend a night in the ER and three weeks coughing) and I couldn’t lie down for more than half a minute because of the coughing, so I slept (sort of) sitting up with my head on the table for three weeks.
Crap. That sounds like a horrible way to try to sleep. You couldn’t just prop up the pillows on the bed into a near upright position? I can’t imagine being that sick and trying to sleep at a table. Poor thing.
I was afraid of it too. Just didn’t make logical sense. Until my husband finally convinced me to try it. You can feel that you’re not going to drown. The water doesn’t even go down into that pipe. It’s quite the miracle of anatomy! And it works!
While no proven medical benefits for the brothy Vietnamese soup, by the time I have finished a bowl of it with my head hanging over (generous dash of Sriracha sauce applied), sinuses are clear and flowing, and cloudiness of the head is gone. Perhaps the combination of hot liquid and spices unclog everything.
That said, in the OP case, I would check-in with the doctor first if the situation has been going on that long.
OP, which OTC decongestants have you tried, and how do you use them? In my experience, phenylephrine is completely useless, pseudephedrine is pretty effective, and afrin nasal spray (oxymetazoline) is very effective. The problem is, while decongestants will open up your sinuses to help you breath, they also decrease mucus production. That’s a feature when your nose is running like a faucet, but it also prevents your sinuses from draining.
I find that neti pots or nasal sprays alone are pretty good at clearing up minor congestion. With more persistent congestion, I’ll use pseudephedrine and/or afrin to open up my sinuses so that the neti pot is much more effective. After a few days using decongestants, I’ll stop using the decongestants so that my head can start draining itself, aided with further neti pot use or saline sprays.
Also, I second the recommendation to use a neti pot in the shower. If you do it over a sink, you’re going to get nose-water everywhere, especially the first time. (And whatever… things… that you banish from your sinuses.) That still happens in the shower but you don’t notice or care.
(Don’t use afrin for more than a few days in a row! Long term use will actually cause congestion.)
I use the Neti Pot daily - regardless of how i feel - and while I still get a little sinus congestion or inflammation here and there, I never get full-blown infections anymore.
If things get bad I do the Neti 2-3 times a day, keep hydrated and take Tylenol sinus. I’ll hit up the Neo-Synephrine nasal spray if I am having trouble sleeping.
Whatever I get never lasts more than 2 or 3 days. Neti for the win!
I don’t have a lot of sinus problems, but when I get stuffy I sleep with my nose under the covers, make a little tent with a small hole to let fresh air in. Seems like my exhaled breath makes a little humidifier.
