Sorry to whinge, but am having my second bout of sinusitis, and the doc is reluctant to give me antibiotics again so soon, and am feeling so lousy....has anyone got any recommendations of any decongestants that actually work? Sudafed is pretty useless....thanks in advance...sorry to moan but it's really getting me down....

Nothing to beat good old Olabus oil in a basin of boiling water and getting your head over with a towel to cover your head and the basin Soon gets the tubes all cleared. I am an expert on sinusitis

Jean

And please accept my sympathies hope you feel better soon
Jean

thanks ....I will try that...forgot about that inhaling thing....nice to meet a fellow sufferer....doesn't it make you feel AWFUL......it's such a simple illness,  but walking around feeling like your head is in a bucket of mud...not tasting anything....and going deaf....and feeling like your eyeballs are going to pop out of their sockets....sorry, but you get my drift....boo hoo.  xx

I get it occasionally and a couple of months ago I got it straight after a cold. Two weeks of absolute hell, steam inhalations, Olbas, menthol crystals, plenty fluids etc, etc,  nothing working then I took Echinacea tablets and it went within a few days.

Echinacea stimulates the immune system naturally but it shouldn't be taken continuously. I took it for about 2 weeks. :)

Hope you feel better soon
Kath.xx

Edited to say, Your doc is right to be cautious about the AB's. My Dad has had sinus problems and AB's for years and is now immune (or his bugs are) to most AB's. He had two major ops last year (not related to his sinuses) and had to postpone twice because of infection (one was MRSA) It nearly cost him his life.

thanks for advice, and sorry to hear about your poor dad, I used to take echinacea, but got out the habit...will try again...thanks again....

Kath sorry about your dad. Please can you tell me what is echinacea and where can I buy it

Thanks Jean

Thanks Bobo and Jean. :)

Jean, Echinacea is a herb, you can get it at health food shops but I got mine from here...free P+P in the UK :)

http://www.healthspan.co.uk/shop/product.aspx?id=ECHN

Sorry, link wouldn't work so copy/paste :)

Kath. xx

Kath I have never used herbal before so would I take it every day or only when I have problems with mucous which is most of the time

Jean

I've read that if you take it for more than about 2 weeks it's effectiveness decreases and any longer than 8 weeks it can start to be toxic to the liver. I think if I had an ongoing problem I'd try 2 weeks then have a rest from it for maybe a week or 2, then take again if I needed it,  but I think for safety I'd take it no more than a month or so at a time.

If you do a Google search for "Echinacea continuously" you'll get lots of advice saying "don't" ;) :D

hope this helps, it's horrible when you feel grotty.

Kath.

Thanks for your help

Jean

All of the above. Heat packs on forehead. Cut down or cut out dairy products as these encourage mucous production. Steam inhalations are excellent. Sudafed Max is slightly better than ordinary Sudafed. Many sympathies, it is a miserable condition.

ok...must say it really helps  to have kind words....thanks you lot...as usual, very kind bunch.. ...xx

Have you tried cutting out (or at least cutting down) dairy produce.  Perhaps Tohme will be the one to give all the details as she seems to know lots about things like this, but diary products are involved in the production of mucous and eliminating such things from your diet might help.

Sorry you feel yukky :-(

Edit:  Opps sorry Rosiesgirl, I should have read the thread more carefully! 

Oh I do feel sorry for you. It's so horrible isn't it.
I must say, I'm a fan of Sudafed and the Sudafed nasal spray. Also, Hill's Balsam congestion pastilles - they don't taste wonderful but they do help. I also like a Karvol capsule, sprinkled on a tissue - I sometimes lay it on my pillow, under my nose !!. Another thing, if your eyes are really uncomfortable (the pressure sometimes around them is awful isn't it ?) try one of those gel eye masks that you put in the fridge. When mine are really bad I have to lie down - putting one of these on really soothes.
Yep, you're right though - it makes you look a complete turnip - but it helps !.

Val

again thanks....will try all suggested....do eat a lot of butter...should cut down anyhow...am used to looking like a turnip....thanks all xx

As a sinus infection sufferer - I can sympathise with you.  No AB's for me this week either - drat I thought.  Went to Boots, bought 'Otrivine Adult Measured Dose Sinusitis Spray'.  It works for me, cost about £4 - money well spent.

Steph - breathing clearly and effectively for the first time in ages!!

i have suffered from sinusitis ever since i broke my nose when i was 13. my doctor suggested disolving salt in warm water then scooping up a handful and sniffing it up my nose !. at the moment i have had a cough and blocked nose for a fortnight. dont get any sympatgy from my new doctor he just tells me its my own fault and to stop smoking.:(

My dad uses salt water Tanni, and finds that it helps. He uses a little spray bottle. :)

Kath.

Hi Bobo,

Sudafed is a waste of money for me too.  Sinutab works for me though.  If I have a real bad sinus headache I take it for a couple of days and that tends to break it up. 

Last year I got a sinus infection, I was dizzy all the time, eventually to the point where I was throwing up from it.  Antibiotics worked, fortunately. 

Stacey

just to update my thrilling ailment....have just taken my second dose of Sinutab...and, blimey, it actually feels better....my head only throbs a bit...thanks so much all of you for your advice...never knew it was such a widespread problem....feeling much more cheerful now....xx

Just as a matter of interest, what kind of symptoms do you get with these sinus problems?

I had a cold last year some time, and since then, I've been full of this horrible mucous.  I'm always having to blow my nose, and occasionally I get a sore throat, which I think is a cold coming on.  It never happens though.  I get a sore throat for a day or two and then it goes, but the mucous doesn't.
I also get pains over my eyes, and feel like my cheekbones are swollen.  It's difficult to explain.  Over the last few days I've had neuralgia type symptoms in the sides of my face (teeth, ears, etc)

Is this to do with my sinuses do you think?

Thanks,

Lisa (who hates going to the doctors :( )

Lisa, it does sound like your sinuses. :(  Sinuses are the hollow facial bones and when they get infected they fill with mucous and the pressure causes them to be painful.

This shows you where your sinuses are...
http://www.sinusauthority.com/Sinus-Infections.html

Kath.

yes Lisa, welcome to the club...that's exactly, and usually a head bursting feeling,the symptoms...poor you.....

Hi Lisa,

Go to the doctor!  If you've had sinus problems (which you do by the sound of it) following a cold then what you have is a sinus infection.  Most people that have sinus problems don't need a cold to trigger it - it can even be a change in humidity. 

Stacey

I have suffered off and on with sinusitis since I was 12 ....I use Mucron tablets for the pain and as a decongestant and I also use Vicks dissolved in a bowl of hot water ....place head OVER the bowl and a towel over your head and stay there as long as you can stand it ..keep your eyes closed though ;)

Melody

hi Melodysk, I also used to swear by Mucron, but was told they don't have them in this country anymore as they were found to have some dangerous side effect??? I think Sinutab is probably quite similar...feeling a bit more human this morning...can actually breathe through left nostril....oh joy....hope the partner finds vicks and Karvol sexy.....xx

I bought some 2 months ago :) I cant get on with Sinutab as they make me feel sick ..don't think they are quite as effective either (JMHO :) )

right...I'll have to look again....that's the problem with these drugs, sometimes they make you feel worse....hope all my fellow sufferers aren't feeling too bad today.x

Hello fellow sufferers. I too suffer repeatedly from sinus problems which then leads to tri-geminal neuralgia (Doc reckons that when my sinuses play up I must hunch up because of the pain) and then it is an absolute nightmare. Feel like hammering my head in some days. I've also had 5 healthy teeth extracted because I keep screaming at my dentist that it's my teeth! Now, with not many molars left, I have found that my sinuses loop around my teeth and that's why when my sinuses flare I always get tooth-ache. Anyway, I usually get AB's off Doc and Voltarol tablets aka Diclofenac. These are an anti-inflammatory and work a treat.

My friend at work suffers with sinusitis too and she always used to carry a Vicks inhaler around with her but then a friend of hers recommended Steramar. It's like a sea-salt water spray and she swears by it. Think I'll give that a bash the next time I start screaming.

Hope the pain clears soon, really gets to you after a while doesn't it? You have my sympathies.

Helen

poor you Helen D. I also had almost permanent "toothache" on upper left side, and the dentist said I needed route canal, and  a crown, and then, like you, found out it was because of my sinus problems....but you obviously had it even worse!!! Have had Voltarol injections for kidney stones, and they were miraculous...Will ask my useless doctor about Diclofenec..... Thanks for advice and sympathy, all of you lot....xx