Sinus stuff :(

[JustMeAndFamily]

Hi all!

It was the first cold night last night and I woke up with a clogged head

Most years the clogged head just gets worse and worse until I go to the doctors and he tells me it is a sinus infection, no joke every year! Sometimes 2 times a year.

I hate it and all the Dr says is it is just bad genetics, my brother goes through the same thing as me.

 

I just started this non sheeple type thinking

so I am now thinking what would I do in a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI type situation.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for unclogging my head?

I do want to try the nettie pot thing once it is unclogged. (Did you see the free nettie pot post!!!!)

Anyway,

Thank you for your help!

Julie

[Violet]

Do the sinus rinse ! It really does help. Just mix up a pint of warm water, a tsp. salt, and a tsp. baking soda. Use a baby nasal bulb syringe. They are usually about a dollar. Draw the water up into it, then put your head over the sink. Squeeze the water in there. It will seem strange at first, but it does work ! Have the water warm enough or you will get a headache, but the headache goes away.

I have something I like better, called a Nasalene. I don't know where to buy one. A gal from GA sent me one. She works for an allergist. It is a big long syringe with a big bulb on the end that just fits up to your nose. Perhaps you can search online for one.

I had sinus surgery to repair my nose and sinuses. Best thing I ever did. I used to have constant sinus infections until I did that.

 

[Crazy4Canning]

Do tell about where to find the free nettie pots!

 

Nasal lavage can help to unclog the sinuses...but usually what happens is that there is so much swelling of the tissues you can't rinse up there let alone force water. It's really painful if you try.

 

I too have been plagued with sinus stuff. What I do is unfortunately I have to have some sort of anti-histamine, decongestant. I do stock this, at least a few bottles, in our prep drawer. Over the years, I've narrowed it down to one ingredient that works really well, chlorephrenamine (sp?) Walfinate, Walgreen's generic at it's best. Little yellow tab that works well for me.

 

Herbs that work well for sniffy colds are nettle (caps) and grape seed extract (look for high concentrations of picnogenol). Also rinsing with a diluted version of Grapefruit Seed Extract is very effective.

 

Also, if your sinuses are really stopped up, lie down FLAT, place a warm washcloth over your nose, cheeks, and forehead. Tie a heating pad to your forehead tight enough to keep it in place but loose enough so you won't get burned. Keep it on LOW and sleep for a few hours. That slow, penetrating heat does wonders to break up sinuses. This remedy was given to my dad from a USAF flight line surgeon who helped pilots deal with sinus bubbles....very painful!

 

Another naturopathic remedy is called the "Wet Sock" Remedy.

After a nice warm bath or shower (make sure your feet are warm). take a pair of thin cotton socks and saturate them with COLD water. Wring them dry and put them on. Put raw wool socks over them and go to bed for at least six hours.

 

Your body heat will warm the socks and you will wake up with dry cotton socks. This works on the principle of fluid energy. When we get sick, our bodies have a congregation of excess fluids in our chest, head, etc. To bring them back into balance, we need to gently 'shock' the body into moving the fluid around again.

 

I've taken the wet sock treatment when I've been getting a scratchy throat and sniffy nose. Along with some vitamin C, probiotics, and SLEEP, I usually kick it in a day or two.

 

Also, steam inhalation therapy with eucalyptus oil or in a pinch, mentholatum, works well. Put a dab in a bowl of boiling water, drape your head with a towel, lean over the bowl and BREATHE deeply, in your nose, out your mouth. You should start coughing as it works. This is also very effective.

 

[Cat]

If you're doing a search, it's called "neti" pots.

 

An Indian thingy...

 

 

 

I was desperate last winter and sort of rigged up my own "neti pot" rinse with a paper cup and waaaay too much messing. But the rinsing did help, and I wouldn't worry about trying the real thing. It just kind of "flows".

 

Sounds gross, but so does cooked spinach...

 

 

 

[Rezgirl]

"My" 3 year old is in a study being done by John Hopkins University testing a vaccine. From the time she was 10 months or so until she was 2, everytime she was seen by a doctor for an upper respitory (mostly ear infections) the people doing the study would do a nasal wash in the following week. Sometimes I would be called upon to help hold her, and after several times I figured it wasn't that hard. I've since done it on a few children when they had that clear constant nasal drip. It sure will give you a 20-30 minute break from the constant nose wiping.

 

Yes it is gross and disgusting- and what's even more gross, John Hopkins was saving the washed out gunk to test

 

And yep, the kids HATE it.

 

JH always called it a nasal wash, I recently found out from a pharmacist that it is called neti pot.

[mommato3boys]

Originally Posted By: Cat

If you're doing a search, it's called "neti" pots.

An Indian thingy...



I was desperate last winter and sort of rigged up my own "neti pot" rinse with a paper cup and waaaay too much messing. But the rinsing did help, and I wouldn't worry about trying the real thing. It just kind of "flows".

Sounds gross, but so does cooked spinach...

Here is a youtube demostration... Cat not only does it sound gross but it looks gross too.

[sassenach]

good home remedies but store brand nasal saline spray helps too. I use it and it actually prevents the sinus infections I was getting that were very nasty bloody in the past two yrs. A few sprays a day usually is mostly what I need. Also use triple antibiotic inside the nose a bit too sometimes if I do get so irritated, and not having those sinus infections anymore, so far.

[dogmom4]

Here's the link C4C.

http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthr...ge=1#Post251189

[blestmomof4]

http://www.seagateproducts.com/olive-leaf-nasal-spray.html

 

I started using this about 3 years ago. I was suffering terribly from sinus headaches and migraines. I have only has a couple of those headaches in the last couple of years and if I start using this spray when my sinuses start to bother me they go away very quickly. I have read that if you have sinus problems and they culture it that a fungus will usually be there. I have always assumed that because this product is olive leaf and that olive leaf is a natural antibacterial and antifungal this is why it works so well. I also haven't had the problems with sore throats or earaches anymore.

 

b.b.

[Snowmom]

 

I use to get sinus infection about 4 or 5 maybe more times a year. I would get a couple Z-paks and then in a few weeks, it would be back, for another couple Z-paks. This went on for years and I mean years. I was then sent to the specialist, and he started me on a nestle spray which I use daily, as well as an inhaler for my allergies. This has been such a life saver, I don't go in more than 2 times a year if that now for sinus infections. But, if I know it is coming on and it doesn't go away, I will end up at the clinic again.

 

I've been so afraid of the neti pots, but, one day I may get the nerve to try it.

 

 

[Girl Next Door]

My story sounds a lot like Snowmom's only one year I was broke as a joke and had made friends with a cardiologist. He told me he had several patients who could not take antibiotics due to cardio implications so he gave me the same advice as them. Stand over the trash can with a box of cotton swabs and a roll of toilet paper and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Swab as far up your nose as you can (VERY gently). The hydrogen peroxide forces oxidation of the anerobic bacteria pockets in your sinuses trapped there due to inflammation. Your nose will run like nobodies business so blow with toilet paper. Continue swabbing until the nose practically stops running. You will feel a marked difference within 24 hours. Do this 4 times daily until you no longer need to. Usually up to 5 days. This technique also flushes out allergens like pollen or whatever hanging around in your sinuses. I rarely need sinus meds any more and I used to take them almost all year.

[Crazy4Canning]

Wow, GNDoor, it sounds like something I would do, and HAVE done.

 

Seriously, I get so desperate sometimes when it's late at night, I'm in pain and I HAVE to get sleep.

 

DO note that this can BURN like nobody's business and the reason you should have the tissues handy, I mean literally IN YOUR HAND, is because this will bring tears to your eyes and you can't see...for a while...because of the PAIN...but you are right. It does move things out FAST and shrink those tissues. Use a bit of diluted H2O2 and H2O in a neti pot.

 

One thing I would add to your post is that you should use a NEW SWAB each time, dipping out of the lid or saucer for you don't want to contaminate your nose or the H2O2 source.

 

I also use a gel from MII (Miracle II) Products called "Neutralizer Gel". It is amazing!

[Homemaker]

When I feel sinus problems coming on I drip coconut oil into my nose and let it drip through and run down my throat. Sometimes it feels uncomfortable as it hits the irritated spots in my throat where the sinus drainage is causing a sore throat.

Coconut oil has anti-bacterial, fungal and viral properties.

I also put it in my ears when I feel any cold symptoms. Stops it in it's track!

The oil also helps moisturize the sinus passages.

I like it much better than the neti pot.

[Girl Next Door]

Wow, C4C, I never thought about clarifying that because I just assumed it would go without saying. I'm glad you did, though just in case. Also, if you add water to the H202 the chemichal process of oxidation begins immediately instead of in your sinuses. In effect you are pouring just plain water and hydrating the bacteria, albeit you will rinse out stuff.

[Snowmom]

 

this info, sounds like something anyone could do.

 

Right now oldpine has a bad cold, maybe I'll get him to try this.

 

Thanks again.