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Post by Joxcee on Apr 28, 2007 2:44:46 GMT -5
I was watching Oprah the other day, and she had Dr. Oz on. He had a Neti Pot with him. I'm wondering if I want to get one.
Google:
Hydro Pulse Nasal Sinus Irrigation System
Neti Pot
Neti Pot Solution
www.yoga-age.com/asanas/jala.pdf
www.sinuses.com/
www.postnasaldrip.net/Blog/
www.postnasaldrip.net/sinusinfec.htm
TREATMENT
The following natural treatments will help keep your cilia healthy and functioning and prevent mucus from building in your sinuses. If a sinus infection does occur, these same treatments will increase the effectiveness of antibiotics and other medications -- speeding healing and making a recurrence less likely.
1. Drink hot liquids. One of the best ways to unclog sinuses is to drink hot tea -- black, green, herbal or decaffeinated, it doesn't matter -- or hot chicken soup throughout the day. Drink enough so that your urine turns light in color. These hot liquids help moisturize your mucous membranes, speeding up the movement of your cilia and thus washing mucus out of your sinuses more quickly. Sorry, java lovers, but hot coffee isn't nearly as effective. Note to travelers: The dry air on jet liners is particularly rough on the sinuses -- so when flying, carry tea bags with you and ask the flight attendant for hot water to make tea.
2. Apply warm compresses to your face. Do this three times a day for five minutes. A small towel soaked in warm water, then placed over your face below and between the eyes, will help increase the circulation in your sinuses, which will also help speed up the movement of your cilia.
3. Irrigate your sinuses. For 3,000 years, yoga practitioners have kept their sinuses healthy through the practice of sniffing a saltwater solution rapidly in and out of the nose at low pressure. Caution: Don’t try this unless you have been taught how to do it. Fortunately, for those of us who aren’t yogis, a Nasal and Sinus Irrigator will do this for you. The Hydro Pulse® Nasal / Sinus Irrigation System is so gently that even five-year-olds use it.
An even simpler alternative is a Lavage irrigation bottle. Ideally, irrigation should be done using Ringer's solution, the solution used in hospitals for intravenous treatment, and sold over the counter in drugstores. Or you can use an isotonic saline solution (not too salty, just right) that does not contain benzalkonium. Benzalkonium is a preservative that can impair nasal function and kids complain that it burns. To make your own preservative-free saline solution, add one teaspoon of table salt to one pint of water.
If you're prone to sinus infections, I recommend irrigating your sinuses twice a day, especially during the cold winter months. Ringer's solution, designed for irrigation use, is sold under the name Breathe-ease XL (it's also available as a nasal spray). To order the Hydro Pulse Nasal and Sinus Irrigator, a Lavage irrigation bottle or Breathe-ease products, visit Health Solutions.
4. Clear your sinuses with aromatherapy. To help open up congested nasal passages and sinuses, drop some eucalyptus or menthol oil into a bowl of hot water, then breathe the vapors -- or simply open up a jar of either and inhale the fumes directly. Vick's VapoRub is also effective. Simply dab a bit on the skin underneath your nose.
Other aromatherapy decongestants include horseradish (grate it and put it on a sandwich) and, if you're really brave, Japanese wasabi mustard. All of these therapies work best if used a couple of times a day, especially during the winter months.
5. Take breakfast in bed. When you sleep at night, your body temperature drops and your cilia movement slows down. By taking breakfast in bed along with a cup of hot tea, you'll give your cilia a chance to warm up and clear out the night's accumulated mucus before you start placing demands on your respiratory system.
6. Elevate your head when sleeping. Elevating your head with one or two pillows will help your sinuses and nasal passages stay open while you sleep. The more your head is elevated, the better the effect.
7. Dustproof your bedroom. Dust and dust mites can wreak havoc on your mucous membranes, especially when you're asleep and your cilia are at rest.
In your bedroom, avoid heavy drapes and wall-to-wall carpeting (which is a notorious dust-collector). Use throw rugs instead, and toss them in the washing machine at least every six weeks. Overall, make your bedroom as bare as possible, and dust all surfaces and behind furniture weekly. To further reduce dust in your bedroom, I recommend using a HEPA air purifier, and running it throughout the day. (Most people find the filter too noisy for nighttime use.)
8. Get plenty of rest. If your sinuses are acting up, you'll be amazed at how much improvement you'll see after taking the weekend off and spending it in bed. Be sure to get some mental rest at the same time. Turn off the phone and avoid the news. Instead, rent some funny videos, find a good book, lie back and enjoy. Relaxation can help the body heal.
© Copyright 2004 Health Solutions Medical Products Corp.
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Post by Quettalee on Apr 29, 2007 17:43:23 GMT -5
Cool, Jox. We do all of these things already. Well, for the most part. I have a nasty Afrin addiction and have had that monkey on my back for years. And the "Get plenty of rest" one; that's kinda hard some times--as we all know. We do skip the news on occasion and rent funny movies and thanks to Nora Roberts, I am reading again for entertainment, as well as self-help. And isn't it kinda hard to feed the dust bunnies if you actually get rid of the dust weekly?? That seems a bit cruel. We don't want to go overboard.
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Post by Quettalee on Apr 29, 2007 17:46:05 GMT -5
When Mary's sinuses are really bothering her, the aromatherapy is usually too much. I've tried the eucaplyptus and I even bought her one of those Vic's Vaporizers--the little one that plugs in...also too much.
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Post by Joxcee on Apr 29, 2007 23:11:42 GMT -5
My sister & I got our sinus problems from our dad. Mom isn't effected by them. grrrr Why couldn't we have taken after her?
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Post by Joxcee on May 1, 2007 18:02:24 GMT -5
I had a pap smear yesterday with a new doctor. (The one I'd seen since I was 18 retired.) I was complaining about my sinuses, and she told me to take Corcidin D for my allergies.
Me: Allergies? I have allergies? It isn't sinuses?
Her: It's allergies.
I guess I should finally break down and go have it checked out.
My nephew has allergies . . . BAD! But my eyes don't water and get itchy like his does, so allergies never even entered my mind. But I guess it would make sense. Others I know don't have sinus problems year round like I do. And they're at their worst at spring & autumn, so why did it never occur to me that I have allergies?
Allergies . . . Sinuses . . . whichever . . . they're a major pain in the . . . .
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Post by Quettalee on May 1, 2007 18:13:37 GMT -5
...sinuses?? Sorry. I can only joke because we suffer the same.
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Post by Joxcee on May 1, 2007 21:22:04 GMT -5
I swear I'm just about ready to move to wherever they're less of a problem.
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Post by quettalee on May 8, 2007 14:49:30 GMT -5
u sound like me joxcee!!! like u, i have no other allergy symptoms, but it knew it was allergies. there are two months out of the year i'm not effected. i've tried all the remedies!! the nettie pots are good for mild cases, or if that's all u have to do all day. for severe cases such as ours we can't to it enough to be very effective.
the only way i can keep mine under control is to take 12 hour sudafede every 12 hours religiously, then throughout the day if i feel any sign of sinus discomfort i'll take two -four hour advil cold and sinus. if i don't stay on top of it, it gets so painful i can't stand any light or air circulation at all, and i vomit until i'm dry heaving. it is truly unbearable.
note: i don't recommend this to anyone. sinus pills are sooooooo bad for u. but if yours gets as bad as mine does, u r willing to do anything to prevent it!!
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Post by Joxcee on May 8, 2007 17:17:16 GMT -5
Mine seem to get worse as the years go by. I usually don't do anything until I can't stand it anymore and then it takes more to undo it than if I had been taking something all along. I don't throw up too much of the time, but I do stay dizzy. I can't shake my head around like I used to when blow drying my hair, or I'll lose my balance. Even shifting my eyes too quickly will make me dizzy.
I really should start taking meds at the beginning of the symptoms to keep it from getting so bad. I finally found some meds that seemed to help, but now that they've changed the ingreds, and taken them off the shelves due to druggers using them for Meth and such, I either can't find them anymore, or they stopped working.
What I hate about allergy meds is they tend to make me sleepy. So I need to find something new. The doc suggested Corcidin D, but that makes my nose feel tight, and I end up with a yeast infection. :rolleyes: So I'll put those two meds you use on my list of things to try, and I'll try to stay on top of this from now on. No sense is waiting it out, cause it never goes away on its own. (I don't know why I keep thinking it will.) <hangs head>
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Post by Joxcee on May 8, 2007 17:24:56 GMT -5
Then maybe I should just stick to my [url=www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-1306520-9039856?url=search-alias%3Dhpc&field-keywords=Steam+Inhaler&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go]steam inhaler[/url]. If I use it 5 to 10 minutes, 2 to 3 times per day, it helps a great deal. It's just making the time to do it that I have a problem with. If you haven't tried one, I think you'll find it works really well. (When you use it. ) From the sounds of it, it works far better than a Nettie Pot. Edited to say: I think if anything happens to my steam inhaler, I'll try the [url=www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_hpc/102-2932519-6800919?url=search-alias%3Dhpc&field-keywords=Facial+Steamer&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go]facial steamer[/url] next. I can steam my face and sinuses at the same time. [/size]
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Post by Joxcee on May 8, 2007 17:42:52 GMT -5
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Post by quettalee on May 8, 2007 17:54:26 GMT -5
the two i mentioned r kept behind the counters...u have to show an i.d. to get it. it's a huge pain in the butt. i have to make sure i have it in case i need it in the middle of the night.
a nettie pot may work for u then if a steam inhaler gives u lasting relief...they work faster than steam inhalers and more effective in cleansing the sinus. steam inhalers gives me relief as long as i'm over the steam, when i remove the steam, within just a few minutes, i'm just as stuffy and the pain is back full force...with the nettie pot relief may last fifteen minutes to half hour. if two or three times a day was enough for me i'd definitely chose that route.
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Post by Joxcee on May 8, 2007 18:06:16 GMT -5
That third link above sounds like what I have. My sinuses got worse when the doctors put me on the pill at 16. (I hadn't started on my own.) And then at 18/19 they put me on Premarin (pee from pregnant horse) & Provera (pee from pregnant sow), and a few years ago on prempro. I'm thinking that's my problem.
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Post by Joxcee on May 13, 2007 22:10:15 GMT -5
I thought I'd pass this on in case you haven't tried it, or thought of trying it.
Some time back, my Pastor told me that someone told him to try Mucinex as one type of treatment for his sinus problems, and it worked wonderfully. I got some Mucinex D (Clears Nasal/Sinus Congestion) afterward, but I haven't tried it yet.
Yeah, I'm good at putting things off until forever.
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Post by Quettalee on May 14, 2007 11:48:03 GMT -5
Thanks, Jox. I think I've heard that as well. Mine haven't been so bad lately; especially as much as I have been in the great Spring outdoors the past couple of weeks.
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Post by Joxcee on May 16, 2007 0:09:50 GMT -5
You're welcome. Good to hear. Mine have been murder this past week. The 12-hour Sudafed seems to be working fine for me now though. I have energy to burn. I've been reworking a number of children's mss, and I feel good. I even wrote a flash fiction piece I've had in my head for a _very_ long time now. Maybe I'll manage to get more done.
I just take one pill a day though. It almost works for 24-hours, but doesn't quite make it. I seem to have a low tolerance for meds, so they effect me differently. My sister can take two pain killers and keep on going. I take one and I have to go to bed because I can't keep my eyes open.
And . . . thanks ilb for sharing sinus info with me. I don't think I would have ever gotten around to trying Sudafed if you hadn't mentioned it.
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