Sinus pain- what eases yours?

[LittenTree]

My frontal sinuses are so congested right now I feel a bit sick with the headache.

What do you do to ease that pain?

Anti inflammatory tablets and anti biotics

A hot shower to steam them open

Olbas on every available surface

You see, I'm loath to call it 'sinusitis' because I believe my sinuses are congested, not infected as such. I get PND pretty much the whole time but about 3 to 4 times a year, they 'block'!

I have a net-pot thing like this where you rinse your sinuses through with salty water. Not pleasant, but it really does help.

Bramshott How exactly do you use it? I have no idea!

You half-fill it with body temperature water, with a little salt in, and then turn your head to one side (over the basin) and pour the water into the upper nostril, and it (unless they are badly blocked) comes out of the lower one. Then you do the same the other way round.

Do you have a facial sauna? I used to use mine all the time when I suffered. It's great.
Also alternate ice and a wheat bag on your forehead.
I never found Sudafed in any way useful, but paracetamol and ibuprofen together or alternated every two hours was very helpful.

Saggy do you just you plain water in your face sauna or any additives?

Thanks for the advice re drugs, too. I've never had much luck with sudafed- apart from feeling spaced out!

Sudafed is shite! You can put some olbas in the sauna, or some menthol.
I suffered from sinusitis for years. Having Grommits put in stopped it dead!

I find steaming is very good if congested. When I feel sinus headache coming on (when I lean forward all the pressure moves forward) I take Nuerofen cold and flu.

I've never found sudafed any good either, but Sinutab is very good (you have to ask for it at the pharmacy, you can't just get it off the shelf.) Word of warning thou, don't let the tablets touch your tongue on the way down, as they taste foul

I prefer Karvol to olbas, I have one of those plugin vapour things which I have in all night at the first sign of a cold, and I also put it in a steam cup

Is it OK to alternate paracetamol and ibuprofen like that, Saggy?

Menthol crystals in a bowl of hot water with a towel over your head will help.
I have a recurring problem with congestion so got an inhalor from betterware which I would recommend if you will use it often enough. www.betterware.co.uk/breathe-easy-inhaler.html

I read that as 'crystal meth' at first! I thought 'That'd do it'!

You can take paracetamol and ibuProfen together, they don't. Obtain anything the same. You must make sure that you don't take more than the daily dose or take them for longer than recommended, but they are quite safe mixed.
You also need to ensure you have them in their single forms. Don't buy the specialist ones, like cold remedy, with other things mixed in.

So you could take the max dose of paracetamol (I think 4 doses in 24 hrs) interleaved with the max dose of ibuprofen (presumably similarly 4 doses in 24 hours?

Yes. I take one, then take the other two hours later.

Thanks.

I also do steaming, Neti pot, hot flannels on the face, massage of face...you name it...

Up until 8 months ago my routine was antihistamine to reduce any swelling, sudafed and solpadeine if required for pain. Along side this I would sit over a bowl of water with olbas oil, put olbas oil on hankies and pillows, and have a humidifier in my room over night.

My sinus problems were constant and were driving me mad. Then I developed problems with my left ear, it kept clouding over, I got dizzy and sick. This made it impossible to deal with getting the kids to school; I couldn't function.

I got a referral to a ENT consultant and went through tests for the vertigo, after hearing about my sinus troubles they put me on Nasonex. Since starting on this I have been free of the sinus problems, the tinnitus, vertigo and so on. I feel like a new person.

Look up Neilmed sinus rinse on YouTube - I had tried literally everything else but this was a revelation. I now start rinsing at the first sign of a cold and it doesn't develop into sinusitis any more. Probably one of the most bleugh things you will ever do but it does work

The sinus rinse things are very good. You can get the saline sprays in the chemists. To get good flow around lie on the bed and lower your head so it gets all around the sinuses. Then I take ibuprofen 3 times a day for a week or so until the inflammation has gone.

Be careful with decongestants as if you use them for too long my doctor told me they rebound on you and can give you permanent congestion. I agree with the nasal wash but I think the squeezy bottle douche that neilmed do is less scary than the neti pot. Steaming over a bowl of water is good too. I found no painkiller touched my pain at all, I just drank gin...

I use a neti pot with sea salt solution and lie down a hot wheatpack over eyes when it gets bad.

at gin.

I don't find the neti pot particularly bleurgh. It's just like blowing your nose or other utilitarian functions.

Alberts, how does the lying down thing work? Should I buy a saline spray thing to complement the neti pot?