A friend of mine has suffer headaches regularly. She was convinced she has a tumor somewhere in there until a scan proved her wrong. Doctor told her it's her sinus.

I want to get her a Navage type device to try since it's easier than a Neti Pot. Anyone of you tried nasal irrigation? Did it felt like you were drowning when you use it?

quote:

Doctor told her it's her sinus.

And, what exactly is the problem with the sinuses? And, recommended therapeutic intervention? Does she have chronic sinus infection? Chronic sinus allergy?

Having had sinus problems for years and finally having surgery to get it fixed, yes sinus rinses can help depending on the issue. Before you spend a bunch of money on the Lavage system try something like Dr. Neil’s. That’s what I was given after surgery. Just saline and a squeeze bottle but it works well. Around $15-$20 if you get it from Walmart or Costco. Just clears all the junk out of your sinuses. After surgery it felt wonderful and a bunch of nasty looking stuff came out.

I use NeilMed Rinse exclusively. I had severe case of nasal polyps with surgery, and the NeilMed is the bomb. Cheap, simple, and clean. Just use Distilled water, NOT tap water. Just buy gallon jugs of cheap distilled water from Walmart, food lion etc. After using, rinse the OUTSIDE of the bottle, then shoot the outside of the bottle with 70% isopropyl alcohol from the drugstore. DO NOT open the bottle to "clean" it, it's already sterile to begin with, and opening it will allow contaminants to enter the bottle. That will keep it clean and disinfected till next use. Buy the kit in big bulk packs at Amazon. When your bottles get old (it will take a while), just buy new kit with extra salt packets, etc.

My polyps were pretty bad. If you have a serious case ask your doctor about using a Biologic to prevent them from returning after surgery to remove them, like Dupixent, and one or two steroid nasal sprays.

Those things combined will make life better, including your ability to sleep.

The surgery is important particularly for severe cases. A scan may not find everything. When my surgeon did mine he found a completely enclosed pocket of infection next to my blood-brain barrier, and mentioned that it could have killed me if it hadn't been found in time.

I have had sinus issues pretty much my entire life. It has never required surgery, but has resulted in what used to be frequent infections. The eventual diagnosis was vasomotor rhinitis, which the doctor explained as a "sensitive nose" that became blocked and led to the sinus infections.

I started irrigating with a Neti pot, then went to the squeeze bottle with little result. I have used the Navage system for eight years and it has been more effective for me. There is a learning curve, but there are online tutorials that are helpful.

I'm having sinus surgery 9/2 for polyps and a deviated septum. My ENT had me doing the Nielmed rinses twice daily starting almost a year ago. This, after an eighteen month recurring infection that never got fully knocked out after nine different courses of antibiotics. I had a pan-sinus infection when they did a CT scan before he met with me. I'm sitting there and he's got this camera up my nose and he deadpans "so I looked at your CT scan. Your sinuses are terrible." Despite myself, I cracked up and snarfled "I'm glad we agree on that!" Anyways, the punchline is I have sinus problems, and yes, headaches are a result. I basically never got headaches until recent years.

The Neilmed bottle stuff and mixing my own saline helped a lot. After searching Sigforum, I found a post where someone said they got serious relief with a SinuPulse Elite, I figured I'd give one a try. I go through a lot of distilled water making my own saline, but when I use it at least twice a day, it works miracles for me. Basically like a water flosser, but with a nose bulb attachment. I give it the Tim Allen treatment.

Does it feel like drowning? No, but it's unpleasant until you get used to it, there's no two ways about it. Yes, there's a technique to it and you kinda figure it out. I call it nose-douching, because it makes me laugh and takes a little bit of the awkwardness out of it.

I've used a nedibulb (not the pot) often with the salt packet,

mostly in the fall or spring when my sinuses act up,

helps, it does

FWIW I’ve been using AstePro, an antihistamine, not a steroid, you squirt up your nose like Flonase.

Astepro link here
.

Nasal irrigation definitely helped me when I was trying to figure out what was causing the headaches. Once I knew it was maple tree pollen, Flonase stepped in and took care of it.

Navage is the best $100 I ever spent.

Just try it and work at being proficient with it.
In 3 days you feel like a new person.

The only thing that worked for me was to see an allergist and go through the shots to de-sensitize me to what I was allergic to. Took two series, but now normal OTC meds keep the headaches at bay.

Neil med works for me.
For my minor problems.

I know people who use chiro manipulation, massage and accu pressure or accu puncture to relieve sinus related issues.

I see there is even a motorized neck massager available that aleages relief

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
And, what exactly is the problem with the sinuses? And, recommended therapeutic intervention? Does she have chronic sinus infection? Chronic sinus allergy?

She was paraphrasing her doctor, and I was paraphrasing her. What I stated here has been watered down twice. I can ask for more details. She had a CT scan that showed something in the left side, but was not conclusive. A later MRI scan concluded it was not cancerous. She said her doctor said her sinus just needs to be cleared. No medication was prescribed, so I figure a irrigation device would help alleviate her discomfort.

Now I'm reading there's a risk of amoeba swimming into the brain and cause encephalitis.

A pal has the Navage and complains about the cost of the single use saline cartridges. I looked into it and chose to go with a Sinupulse. It works for me and the packets are much more reasonably priced. It does not vacuum like the Navavage but as the name suggests pulses the saline solution through the nasal cavities. I do understand there is a hack on You Tube to allow multiple recharge and reuse of the Navage cartridges but chose not to mess with that procedure. For me the pulsing action seems to be adequate to clear my sinuses and you can clean in both directions.

NeilMed worked great for me for years. I would boil a gallon of water for 5 min every other week. I'm on city water. Distilled water works great too. Not sure about using well water. I have bad allergies and deviated septum. I kept my sinus infections under control. I had to stop because of bad nose bleeds from nasal steroid use and high dose blood thinner for 20+ years (aortic valve). So bad I had to have them cauterized. I got rid of the old valve last summer and replace with bovine valve. No more blood thinner. Doc cleared me to NeilMed again.

I have always had problems with my sinuses. I had surgery to correct a badly deviated septum and then more surgery about 15 years later just to clear junk out. I was originally diagnosed with vasomotor rhinitus and have tried various meds to keep the swelling down but I have always been susceptible to infections when I get a cold. After my last surgery to clear out my sinuses, the ENT told me to start rinsing every day if I wanted to keep everything clear going forward. Rinsing flushes out the irritants that cause polyps to develop. He told me to use whatever I wanted, just make sure to rinse every day. I've personally never understood the attraction of all of these OTC gadgets and products that are so expensive.

My regimen is quite simple. I use purified or distilled water, 1/2 cup. Heat it in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir in about a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and about half as much of baking soda for pH purposes. Let cool for a bit, to about body temperature. I then use an infant aspirator to suck up some of the saline mix. I have been using these: https://www.amazon.com/Reusabl...s=hpc&sr=1-1-catcorr. They also have a new design that has removable tips for easy cleaning. Anyway, I tilt my head back, squeeze about half in each nostril, wait several seconds, and then drain. I repeat until the saline mix runs out. One day a week, I add in a tablespoon of a product called Alkalol to get a deeper clean: https://www.amazon.com/Alkalol...p?rdc=1&s=hpc&sr=1-4. This stuff also really helps to open things up when you have a cold.

Neti Pot, inexpensive, you can buy the salt packs to mix in it, or make your own.

It's easy once you get the hang of how to hold your head for the best flush.

I do mine while in the shower, after mowing the lawn or working outside it really cleans stuff out.

“Now I'm reading there's a risk of amoeba swimming into the brain and cause encephalitis”

That’s why you use distilled water, not tap water.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
“Now I'm reading there's a risk of amoeba swimming into the brain and cause encephalitis”

That’s why you use distilled water, not tap water.

^^ THIS ^^

A navage and a netipot both use 8 ounces of distilled water. It's $1.34 for a gallon of distilled water at the grocery store which breaks down to 16 uses per gallon and it's $0.08 per use. Walmart is $1.23 per gallon.

In other words, the solution to preventing amoebas in the brain is easy to acquire and cheap.

I believe it is possible that over intake of sugar can mess up your sinus with a face ache