Sinus help!

[UnhappySinuses]

Desperately posting for traffic - sorry!!

DD has had recurring sinus problems for the past 6 months - every 2/3 weeks she’s hit with severe pain and facial pressure, bad post nasal drip (she’s constantly having to clear her throat and swallowing so much mucous that she feels sick) and generally feeling really tired + run down. The GP gives her a course of antibiotics and nasal steroid spray, she’s sorted for a few weeks and then the cycle repeats. It’s really starting to bother her as she’s completely floored with it each time and missing work, social plans etc.

Has anyone experienced symptoms like this? Any tips/tricks to get a bit of relief? What cured it in the end? We’ve got a private ENT appointment booked but it isn’t for another month - DD is absolutely desperate to get things sorted but I have a feeling this is probably going to mean surgery..

I know that pain very well. Goes from a generalised 'I've been hit around the face with a baseball bat' to 'My face is exploding' to 'Kill me, pull all my teeth out with pliers, I don't care what you do, just make it stop now'.

Sudafed, ice packs and saline rinsing. With antihistamines, a shaped neck pillow and silk pillowcase if there's a possibility of allergies adding to it (and an air filter like the Philips one if that still doesn't give full relief).

Make sure she avoids dairy, where possible as that exacerbates it. You can also get small humidifiers for her bedroom. Hope it doesn't get as far as surgery.

When you see the ENT push for a CT not just a nasal endoscopy. If she is having such consistent problems it's possible there is a structural issue which will show up on a CT. I've recently been through this myself and know the hell she is currently going through so she has my deepest sympathies

Totally agree with this. Please try a dairy free diet before subjecting her to a nasal endoscopy or surgery. I used to suffer from reasonably bad sinus problems and cutting down dramatically on dairy has resolved it.

A possible cause of recurring sinusitis is chronic allergic rhinitis. That's what caused me to have a horrible period of it some years ago, so now I take anti allergy medication. I don't take it year round now, although I did to start with, but certainly through the summer.

I feel for her, it's miserable. The GP I had at the time decided that I was "chronically unwell" and offered anti depressants when several rounds of antibiotics hadn't solved it, but fortunately I saw a locum who referred me to ENT in the end.

I suffer terribly with post nasal drip - particularly after having covid, twice and the lingering stuck mucus in the throat. If I eat something like a twister ice lol, I know about it straight after. The constant clearing of your throat is a PITA.

An electric toothbrush pressed firmly against the sinuses vibrating helps to loosen the mucus and can relieve the pain.

I also agree with this, while dairy intolerance can be a major cause of sinus problems, other food intolerances can trigger problems too.

The tooth pain is the worst - took weeks (and an emergency dentist visit..) for it to actually be diagnosed as a sinus problem as she had such bad toothache!

GP told her off for taking Sudafed long term so now she’s just having to rely on the nasal rinses. She already has a good Dyson air filter in her room - running day and night at the moment but doesn’t seem to help

She’s already has a very low dairy diet - we’re oat milk drinkers, she doesn’t eat yoghurt and the only cheese she has regularly is Parmesan which contains very little lactose

Sinus rinses multiple times a day until it resolves.
Boil water thoroughly.
cool to 38c before use.
Use the steroid spray morning and night.

I use the Neil Med kit. I buy it at Costco for a good price, but you can get it on Amazon, too.
Stay well hydrated and use saline spray throughout the day.
Been doing this 10+ years.

Have a look on YouTube for sinus massage and do them several times a day. Also a bowl of hot water with vicks in several times a day will clear everything. Sleep sitting up as much as possible and plenty of fluids.

Hope things get better soon for her.

Has she tried a daily antihistamine, I take fexofenadine and use fluticasone furoate spray

GP can bugger off if they aren't going to provide a useful alternative.

Take the sudafed, hit it with all approaches at once. Eventually, the attacks get less frequent (assuming there's no deviated septum, etc) as everything's out.

Or go swimming once a week. That one always worked for me.

I have had sinus issues since I was 16, I’m 26 now.

I was at the doctors pretty much every month through winter for a good three years before I got my ent referral, I’m having surgery tomorrow to fix them. Keep pushing!

And yes, the GP is right - Sudafed won’t do much if it’s a structural issue. It won’t clear anything out

I feel her pain. Literally. Mine has been going on for years.
I've tried rinses, no dairy, filters, antihisthimines, no carpets, hot weather, cold weather, steroids, antibiotics. Not much makes a difference. I'm now waiting for an ENT appointment.
Sorry, not useful, but she has my sympathy. It is the most painful thing I have ever had.

Sudafed won’t do much if it’s a structural issue - my ent consultant told me not to use it regularly because it doesn’t do anything to help with thickening of the sinuses etc., it just treats the immediate congestion during an infection. Using it long term just means you become reliant on it and things get worse

She could try an anti histamine
have you had mould in your house? My daughter developed mould allergy from this. Mould is also in minor amounts in foods which are stored like grains.

Also she could go to a cranial oesto path they get ‘stuck’ bones in head moving

I find prevention is better than cure with my sinus issues! So I regularly steam my face to keep on top of it.

When you say structural issue, could you see this in a scan? I’ve always wondered why I have so many problems with my sinuses.

Yes. I have had sinus issues for a long, long time. Recurring infections all through winter and even in summer I’m regularly bunged up, in pain and unable to breath through my nose. I had a nasoendoscopy which showed clear sinuses, so he referred me for a CT scan. It came back with mild thickening of my sinuses, my left worse than my right. The consultant said that surgery was the only real fix x

Is she doing proper full nasal rinses several times a day using NeilMed or similar? If not do start doing that. You can also put fluticasone drops into the nasal rinse so if it starts feeling painful that's a good way to shorten how long it asks as it means the medicine actually gets everywhere it's needed

If she's having tooth pain then it could be tooth grinding or TMJ. My teeth grinding causes terrible sinus pain for me.