My body is wired in a way that things which work for most normal people either do nothing for me, or the exact opposite. Sinus irrigation is one of them. I tried it a few days ago, and it instantly took my sinuses to a higher level of suck, where I went from sniffles to constantly dripping, only one nostril was open and maybe 25% at that, not even several squirts of nasal spray would open it up … it was horrific. Also, water got into my ear canals in some way, and it triggered a killer headache, the likes of which I seldom get. Even a half hour later, I felt like I was drowning, and my head was going to explode at the same time. I’ll never do it again, no matter how much Dopers swear that it works for them.
I’d go psychotic (shut up, you!) without regular sinus irrigation. I carry a saline squeeze bottle with me all the time, and sluice out the miserable things on a regular basis. The only other thing that seems to help is copious quantities of fermented, distilled corn. But that is contra-indicated at work, so I make do with the squeeze bottle.
My sinuses always make my teeth ache. Seems I get pressure right on top of the nerve center that goes to my lower jaw. Thought I was losing my teeth until the dentist told me different.
Another vote for the wonders of the Neti Pot.
Our 10 year old has some allegeries that had been given some RX nasal spray, which worked fine, but at $50 or more for the stuff, I wanted him to try the neti pot.
He does it twice a day with the same results at the spray.
Neti pots seem to work really well for people whose sinus problems aren’t all that bad to begin with. When I can get it to flow at all (even after a long, HOT shower), it clears me up for all of maybe 10 minutes. And if I do it even once a day for a few days in a row, my sinuses start itching and burning. And I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of concentrations, frequencies, methods, etc., since last April.
Cite? 
(D & R)
Might be time to check with your ENT.
:eek:
I did, right before I started using the Neti pot. He gave me some spray that was about as effective as wishing on a star. Hold on, I’ll go find it.
. . .
Veramyst.
Just another nasal steroid, good as far as they go, but not as helpful as all the PR would make you think.
Last week my pilates instructor saw how much aggravation I was having with my sinuses and gave me a couple of capsules of Wild Oregano Oil. He told me to clip the end off each and snort the liquid up each nostril. He warned me to steel myself because it would burn. Upon googling I found no advice about snorting this stuff and wondered how much damage that would do to mucous membranes so I chickened out and gave it to hubby to try since he had to get on a plane with blocked sinuses.
He wasn’t too impressed with the stinging and wouldn’t try the second one. When he got back from his trip he said he wished he’d tried the second one because the first one had worked. So there’s one man’s opinion.
I bought some more but haven’t resolved to try it yet. It’s supposed to get rid of warts too so I’m not convinced I want to snort something up my nose that cures warts.
The neti pot is tempting to try although my 10 year old daughter describes it as swallowing the water up one nostril and barfing it out the other one. Not very appealing
Hey, if squirting stuff up your nose for a nice burning sensation turns out to be fun, you might also try Sinol (which, actually, I do recommend).
Before I moved to Maine, I also discovered that while eating spicy food of any kind may help clear out my blocked sinuses (due to increased and more-liquid snot flow), the ideal delivery device is Cheetos Flamin’ Hot (NPR story warns they are “somewhat addictive”). They were at the time perfectly calibrated for the top of my capsaicin tolerance, and the cheese seems to make the stuff stick to your throat on the way down, maximizing the snot response. I found I got nearly the same result with popcorn covered in a scientifically-developed spicy cheese topping: cheddar cheese powder and chipotle powder are the key ingredients.
Snorting Oregano Oil, sorta. TIFWIW. I’d try it.