Serious Sinus Pressure and Pain - HELP! Any ideas?

[Taverner]

Went to the doctor yesterday - the good news is that it's not infected.

The bad news is that it still hurts!!!

Per the doctor's instruction, I've used

- A Neti Pot several times a day
- Afrin
- Sudafed/Claritin
- Nasal Steroid
- Cortisone drops for the ear

All of this gives a little relief, but this fricken' hurts!

Any ideas?

[peace13]

1. Warm water in zip-lock baggie!

I use the freezer type and double bag. Put a washcloth between your face and the bag to avoid the bag being too hot and aaahhhhh. You should get some relief.

[kayakjohnny]

2. Try some apple cider vinegar if you haven't.

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html

Apple Cider Vinegar, that wonderful old-timers home remedy, cures more ailments than any other folk remedy -- we're convinced! From the extensive feedback we've received over the past 8 years, the reported cures from drinking Apple Cider Vinegar are numerous. They include cures for allergies (including pet, food and environmental), sinus infections, acne, high cholesterol, flu, chronic fatigue, candida, acid reflux, sore throats, contact dermatitis, arthritis, and gout. Apple Cider Vinegar also breaks down fat and is widely used to lose weight. It has also been reported that a daily dose of apple cider vinegar in water has high blood pressure under control in two weeks!

[elleng]

3. Hot chicken soup/tea, to get stuff to run/drip out?

Sorry, no clever ideas here; have never used NetiPot. Used it properly? Ears checked (I assume.) Did they/could they clean out sinuses? Haven't had this done either, but do recall hearing of a friend having done so. Pressure caused by inflammation rather than filled with 'stuff?'

:hi:

[DebJ]

6. Definitely, hot tea....with lemon !

[csziggy]

9. Or hot peppermint tea with honey

That always helps my sinuses.

[DebJ]

4. Regarding the nasal steroid....I have allergies and my doc

had me on one for awhile...actually not only made it worse before too long, something began growing in my sinus cavity.
Just FYI.

Because I am still stupidly smoking, my sinuses are screwed up quite often.
Here is what helps me:
a hot towel on my face, as hot as I can take it, blotting it across my nose and forehead

boiling one to two gallons of water away in a pot on the stove to increase the humidity: if you have raw sinuses, cold dry air will hit them like the edge of a knife

steaming up the bathroom by running the shower and plugging the drain to keep it steaming for awhile...on bad nights, I have slept on the bathroom floor

Afrin is a nasal spray, right? You can get 'addicted' to many of those sprays, in that they shrink the swelling in the sinuses, but as soon as you stop using them, your sinuses rebound big time and worse, creating a dependency on the spray, and creating constantly inflamed nasal passages.

All of the following help me: Try to insure that your home is regularly dusted and vaccuumed to get rid of dust mites which can inflame your sinuses. Change your pillow cases every few days...big help for me, otherwise my sinuses are attacked the 8 hours I am sleeping. Are your lamp shades made of cloth that has years of accumulated dust in them? Get rid of them now, or at least don't sleep next to them. Have you washed curtains or wiped down blinds recently? Have you tried opening windows and letting a good cross-ventilation clean things in the air out (then re-humidify per above).

Good luck!

[DebJ]

5. Regarding the nasal steroid....I have allergies and my doc

had me on one for awhile...actually not only made it worse before too long, something began growing in my sinus cavity.
Just FYI.

Because I am still stupidly smoking, my sinuses are screwed up quite often.
Here is what helps me:
a hot towel on my face, as hot as I can take it, blotting it across my nose and forehead

boiling one to two gallons of water away in a pot on the stove to increase the humidity: if you have raw sinuses, cold dry air will hit them like the edge of a knife

steaming up the bathroom by running the shower and plugging the drain to keep it steaming for awhile...on bad nights, I have slept on the bathroom floor

Afrin is a nasal spray, right? You can get 'addicted' to many of those sprays, in that they shrink the swelling in the sinuses, but as soon as you stop using them, your sinuses rebound big time and worse, creating a dependency on the spray, and creating constantly inflamed nasal passages.

All of the following help me: Try to insure that your home is regularly dusted and vaccuumed to get rid of dust mites which can inflame your sinuses. Change your pillow cases every few days...big help for me, otherwise my sinuses are attacked the 8 hours I am sleeping. Are your lamp shades made of cloth that has years of accumulated dust in them? Get rid of them now, or at least don't sleep next to them. Have you washed curtains or wiped down blinds recently? Have you tried opening windows and letting a good cross-ventilation clean things in the air out (then re-humidify per above).

Good luck!

[WinkyDink]

7. Advil.

[Brickbat]

8. Are you doing all that stuff at once?

That seems like a lot.

[beam me up scottie]

10. I usually get two sinus infections a year.

Not giving medical advice here but for *me*

I don't use Afrin, it is addictive and like laxatives your body won't be able to do its job when you stop using it.

I use saline solution to rinse my sinuses, it's cheap and doesn't dry them out.

I stopped using the nasal steroid because it was too expensive, had to be taken every day, and just didn't work.

I use an over the counter pain reliever that helps reduce inflammation.

I drink lots of fluids - I'm talking gallons, seriously, this works with chest colds too.

I hold my face under the showerhead.

Good luck, I know it really sucks. :)

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

11. Riiiii - cooooooo - laaaaaaaaaaa!

If you aren't in a mountain meadow, that was Ricola.

[HopeHoops]

12. Hot shower - snork the water.

[Patiod]

13. Hot-and-sour soup and hot compresses FTW

The hot and sour soup combines chicken soup and vinegar - both helpful. Plus the spice will start everything draining. I buy it by the quart when I get a sinus infection.

And there is nothing more satisfying when you have sinus pain than the crackling you hear from your sinuses when you're laying in bed with a hot compress over you face.

To paraphrase the Dox Equis guy: "I rarely get sick, but when I do, it's generally a sinus infection"

[Avalux]

14. Ibuprofen 800 mg every 4 hours....and I'm not giving medical advice....

just saying if you want to try it, will reduce inflammation and help with the pain.

[blogslut]

15. Press both your index fingers under your cheekbones - nearest your nose

And jiggle your hands while you're doing it. Try that move for about five seconds at a time.

Anther trick is to squeeze the top bridge of your nose between your thumb and index finger and give it a good jiggle.

[Denninmi]

16. Herbal vapor treatment.

I find that inhaling strong herbal vapors from essential oils a few times a day for a couple of minutes at time helps. It's really the same principle as eating the hot and sour soup. But, I'm not good with eating very hot things, so this works better for me.

You can just use the basic Vick's Vapor Rub type product, or you can buy pure essential oils. Nothing to it, just open the bottle and inhale.

[Denninmi]

17. Herbal vapor treatment.

I find that inhaling strong herbal vapors from essential oils a few times a day for a couple of minutes at time helps. It's really the same principle as eating the hot and sour soup. But, I'm not good with eating very hot things, so this works better for me.

You can just use the basic Vick's Vapor Rub type product, or you can buy pure essential oils. Nothing to it, just open the bottle and inhale.

[S_E_Fudd]

18. Lay down in a quiet room...I put an icebag on the bridge of my nose and over eyeballs

Usually feels better in an hour or so!

I find heat actually makes it worse.

[hobbit709]

19. Chomp on a habanero pepper.

[zanana1]

20. Shoot "Simply Saline" up your nose--often. nt

[LynneSin]

21. Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll

:woohoo:

[RedCloud]

22. Make sure you don't sleep on your knuckles or other "toughies"

[Old Troop]

23. Please, please, please ensure that it is, in fact, a sinus infection.

I was treated for one for over a year (on and off)and it turned out to be cancer. Had I pushed the issue, I might have caught it at stage 1 rather than stage 4.

[Taverner]

26. Oh Shit - You Just Scared the Shit out of me!

There is a bump on my neck. I rub it, in hopes that it's swelling, but it is a hard bump

[no_hypocrisy]

24. Neti pot

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/sinus-pain-pressure-11/neti-pots

[Taverner]

25. Yes, the Neti Pot is weird. And if you use it as directed, it works awesome.

Helped me break up a lot of that stale mucous in my sinuses

I think I've cleared out a lot

[sammytko]

27. Steroid shot

Had really bad infection and it did the trick. Felt better in hours. I had been in bed almost a week. Could barely walk. It wasn't the flu but sinus infection.

[Taverner]

28. OK - I will look into this!

Sounds reasonable