Argh dry sinuses + pressure driving me crazy

[Moonberri]

I have had dry swollen sinuses for a month. A bit congested but absolutely no mucus, just totally dry nose. I also have dry eyes and a bit of a sore throat. I already take a hayfever nasal spray that has an antihistamine and steroids in it.

I have tried neilmed sinus rinse, saline sprays, inhaling steam, sinus massage, yoga, even standing on my head! It all helps a tiny bit for about 5 minutes but the sinus pressure is never ending and it's making me want to chop off my nose/face!

Any suggestions? Not sure if the nasal spray is making things worse but too scared to stop in case that makes it worse. Could it be an infection with no mucus at all? Worth seeing a GP? I'm not sleeping as I just feel like my head is going to explode.

I'd suggest stopping the medications, antihistamines dry you out, may be better leaving it alone now that the pollen count gone down. I've had problems with sinuses since long covid, only thing that seems to help the pressure is ibruphren.....I presume its inflammation and that is an anti-inflammatory so couple of doses might be worth a try and see if helps👍

Yes I'm wondering if I can get the GP to prescribe me a nasal spray of just the steroid and not the antihistamine. I'm going on holiday on Friday amd can't imagine sitting on the plane feeling like this. My teeth are throbbing.

Definitely speak to GP. I have a steroid spray and also they suggested trying different oral antihistamines one at a time for a couple of weeks each - each antihistamine works slightly differently. Took me four attempts and then I found one that works great. The combination of steroid nasal spray and this antihistamine means I have a dull ache occasionally now whereas the pain was unbearable most of the time before I found the antihistamine that worked for me. It’s the benedyrll three times a day that worked best for me (not their one a day version). Might be a different version that works best for you. Good luck getting it sorted.

Thanks. I will make an appointment. I always try to be prepared as to the options as sometimes it helps to "suggest" a treatment to the GP who might not have thought of it.

Just coming back to this thread as I saw the GP who gave me just a steroid spray and it is no better, and possibly worse. I have absolutely no mucus in my nose, its completely dry. Has anyone else experienced this?

I get very dry sinuses but only for a couple of days so not the same as yours. I've been told it's actually a type of migraine but I have doubts about that.

Anyway, my solutions are to sleep with 2 pillows rather than 1, a lot of caffeine, make sure drinking enough water, and put eye drops in regularly. Theses are just Sainsbury's dry eye drops not special ones. Also take an antihistamine. My issues seem quite linked to the dry eyes.

Just to add, steroid nasal spray doesn't help me at all. The saline one does in that I can get enough moisture in there to actually blow my nose and clear out pollen or whatever might be irritating sinuses.

There is a guy on YouTube that explains all the possible causes of sinus inflammation. He says they can be affected by hormones ( I had my worst attack when pregnant) and Menopause can be the same

Yesss I’ve had this issue for years and can’t seem to get to the bottom of it. It’s been driving me crazy. Started off with irritably dry nostrils back in summer 2019, I found applying some olive oil inside with an earbud seemed to help but it would come back each summer and now I have more symptoms, dry/itchy eyes, dry/sore tongue, roof of my mouth feels rough, sore throat, constant sinus infections in winter, blocked nose. I’ve been to the docs and I was just told that my nose is really inflamed and was advised to do nasal irrigation.
Having health anxiety doesn’t help and I need to know exactly what the problem is. So far google says Sjögren’s syndrome? I really don’t know what to do so here I am on mumsnet trying to find some answers too 😭

I think I might have Sjorgens but don't want to have the biopsy to check as as far as I can see diagnosis makes no difference as they just treat the symptoms anyway and I've heard horror stories about people's lips being numb forever (they do a biopsy of the inside lip). I also have normal saliva levels which is confusing as that is one of the symptoms of Sjorgens so I really don't know what is going on with me.

I now have pressure along my eyebrow and along my cheek line in addition to the sinus pressure so pretty sure I'm dying of a tumour. Anxiety doesn't help!!

You tried everything that I would have suggested. I toolk a break for 2 days of my Dymista allergy spray. I turn on a cool mist humidifier in the bedroom, with the door shut for an hour before going to bed. Sometimes I leave it on all night if I need to, I have one in the livingroom on low most of the winter.
I asked my doc about the nasal gel Neilmed makes and she said to just put a dab of vaseline around my nosyrils. It helps a bit, and so does Vicks. Good luck.

PS. Try using your nasal spray on just one side, then next time, the other. I also do that when my nasal passages are dry.

I read that it's bad to put baseline in your nostrils as small particles of it can get in your lungs and damage them 😬 Apparently it's OK to use water based Moisturiser but nothing oil based.

*vaseline

Yikes! In that case, don't try it. What you say makes sense. Maybe it is good my doc retired. My friend told me that her dd's doctor told her to put a bit of vaseline on a tissue to stick in her nose due to nosebleeds. He said the vaseline is so the tissue doesn't stick.

I had this for years and was then diagnosed with migraine by a neurologist after operations and so many things . Try a sumitriptan from the chemist and see if works. Feel for you - it’s horrific.

I do think I have that too! Omg the biopsy side effect sounds scary 😭 it’s a no win situation really. And same here! I’ve had my tongue checked by many doctors as well as the dentist who have said everything looks fine and it doesn’t look dehydrated so I’m really confused. My tongue has felt so dry and sore all day today, I just want to find something that will help

I read this too about the Vaseline being harmful. However I was advised by 3 different doctors to apply it in my nose and I’ve been desperate for some form of relief 😭 but instead of Vaseline I use olive oil or Lansinoh Nipple cream which help to an extent, I have to use it daily because it’s been painfully dry.