I think I first remember noticing symptoms of a sinus infection in January and probably let it go for a month or maybe even 6 weeks without significant improvement before heading into the doctor. I waited so long because I was hoping it would run the course without needing antibiotics, which I don’t really like to take.

The doc at my first appointment did the exam and agreed that I had something up with my sinuses and prescribed Augmentin 875 for 10 days. I took took every pill as prescribed but after maybe a week from the last pill the symptoms returned.

I went back to the doc office and was then prescribed 5 days of Levaquin, which I was compliant with. However, maybe a week or so after I finished that course the symptoms returned again.

I immediately called the doc office again and the call taker took detailed notes and said she’d get a message to my doctor. Now, this call occurred about 2 weeks ago, roughly, and after all this COVID stuff really kicked off here in CA. Late in the day a nurse called back and told me the doctor has reviewed the info and they had called in an Rx for 21 days of Augmentin plus some daily Flonase.

I was hoping to get swabbed or something and not just do another round of AB, but they didn’t even want me to come in. I don’t know if that’s because of COVID or not.

Reluctantly I filled the prescription and an probably about 14 days into the course. The symptoms return every 6 days and that’s been the pattern since roughly the end of the first round of AB. I’ll finish out this course before calling back but what the heck is going on? Especially with the weird 6ish day cycle. Friday morning I felt a faint jaw pain and that’s when I know it’s coming. Sure enough the pain intensified to the point where it woke me up at about 3:30 this morning (Saturday). I’ll medicate with significant doses of Motrin and that’ll help and probably by Monday morning symptoms will go away and I’ll be good all week until Friday when it’ll start to ramp up.

Any ideas what’s going on?

Have you tried a neti pot? The first time I used one, a huge glob of bloody, black goo came out. I stopped getting so many sinus infections after that.


I use the Neilmed packets, Alkalol and sometimes a drop or two of baby shampoo.

Also, do you have any other health issues?

I’ll echo Mark on the question regarding other health issues.
Also, are you supplementing with good probiotics to take the place of the ones you’re wiping out with the antibiotics? Yogurt, anything? It
Almost sounds like you’ve got a resistant bug up there, and while a nasal swab would suck, I think you’re right to request it to find out exactly what this bug is resistant to (and not).

Hope you resolve your issue soon. It made me go back 50 years. Hope this gives you a couple minutes of relief.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AYnz86FK8c

How old are you and do you have inside pets?

I realize you live in a relatively warm part of the U.S. but for some people spending more time indoors in the winter months with their pets triggers pet allergies and they can intensify as you get older.

Definitely try the neti pot or a sinus rinse like NeilMed. When the mucus gets trapped in your sinuses, antibiotics cannot be effective. You might also supplement with Mucinex to help thin the mucus to get it out.

The number one priority for kicking a sinus infection is to keep everything moving.

I have had 3 sinus surgeries and still have chronic sinus issues. If I get a sinus infection if they don't give me a dose of prednisone the same thing happens to me as you are describing.

Another vote for Neilmed rinse. Works quite well at washing out your passages.

quote:

Originally posted by Kraquin:
How old are you and do you have inside pets?

I realize you live in a relatively warm part of the U.S. but for some people spending more time indoors in the winter months with their pets triggers pet allergies and they can intensify as you get older.

No pets in our household. No real interaction with animals at this stage in our life.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Have you tried a neti pot? The first time I used one, a huge glob of bloody, black goo came out. I stopped getting so many sinus infections after that.


I use the Neilmed packets, Alkalol and sometimes a drop or two of baby shampoo.

Also, do you have any other health issues?

Oh good point I neglected. I have the Neilmed flush thing and do a daily flush through both nostrils with a packet (1 packet shared).

No underlying health issues besides obesity.

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
I’ll echo Mark on the question regarding other health issues.
Also, are you supplementing with good probiotics to take the place of the ones you’re wiping out with the antibiotics? Yogurt, anything? It
Almost sounds like you’ve got a resistant bug up there, and while a nasal swab would suck, I think you’re right to request it to find out exactly what this bug is resistant to (and not).

Yes, I take daily probiotics from a good maker (Garden of Life) plus cultures yogurt and cultures sour cream are regular parts of my diet

Are you seeing your primary care physician or an ENT?

The reason I ask is that I used to be a chronic sinus suffer. Sinus headaches that would last three weeks, one sinus infection would barely clear up and I will get a second sinus infection, etc. Then, I went and saw an ENT and they diagnosed me with having a deviated septum. It was so deviated that one side didn’t stand a chance of draining so it was always plugged. Additionally, the other side tried to make up for it so the turbinates grew to huge proportions to try to moisturize the air going in my nose. Therefore, I had to have a Deviated septum surgery and turbinate reduction surgery or I would’ve just been plugged up due to my turbinates. It’s been more than a dozen years and only once or twice had a sinus infection since then which is a huge improvement.

Currently, my ENT is also an allergist. That combination might be something the OP should look for so they could get Checked for a deviated septum and get tested for allergies.

In the meantime, I echo the comments on the Netty pot. However, it can be combined with other things to be more effective when you're really plugged:

steam inhaler before the Netty pot. Might even need to do steam inhaler, Netty pot, steam inhaler, Netty pot.

use a handheld vibrating back massager on your sinuses to mechanically vibrate free a mucous plug. It works great right before using a Netty pot.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tatortodd,

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

Are you a CPAP user?

This is what I use to keep the funk rinsed out. I tried the small mist squeeze bottles without success, and the Neti pot was a no go for some reason. The hi volume flush from this one does the job very well. Has keep me out of oak pollen infections twice a yr to zip. Every time I start to get stuffy I reach for it.

Mucinex, has always worked for me.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
downtown (Tommy has a good suggestion there).

Last summer I got really sick while on a cruise to Spain, France, and Italy. Worst sinus infection I had in a while. When I came home I went to Urgent Care and they gave me the typical antibiotics you mentioned. Week later, went back, still sick, ran a course of both Augmentin then Levaquin.
Next week I went to an Ear, Nose, and Throat Dr. He gave me antibiotics, Flonase. He was sure I had contacted Legionnaires and sent me for a CAT scan and X-Rays. He said the antibiotics would clear it up.
Next, I went to my Pulmonologist who though it was possible I had Legionnaires but by that time my lungs were just in bad shape from having an infection so long. He though Asthma was making the condition worse. A longer dose of Levaquin, prednisone, two inhalers, one for Asthma and the other a steroid that I take morning and night. He told me expect a cough for up to six months. I still have a cough, but nothing like it was earlier on.
On the ship I didn't have distilled water for my CPAP, so I used the tap water. After research on the ship, they had cases of Legionnaires from their water system. I can't prove that and I don't know if I could I would have gone after them.

My ENT showed me a Mayo Clinic study finding 70% of sinus infections to be viral or fungal, so antibiotics frequently don't help unless there's a secondary infection. Next, he showed me another study discussing how drugs taken orally frequently never reach the infection in the sinuses. The solution he recommended?

Prevention: Use a netipot frequently, especially after outdoor activities. Also look at powered netipots such as SinuPulse on Amazon. For the netipot mixture, heat some distilled water so it's as hot as you can tolerate in your sinuses and add 1/2 tsp canning salt and 1/2 tsp xylitol to 1.5 cups of distilled water.

Treating a sinus infection: Using the netipot or SinuPulse, prepare some heated water and add 1 tsp Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo instead of the salt and xylitol mix. Note it must be that specific brand of baby shampoo. Use this repeatedly every couple hours during the day. Toward the end of the day, use the salt and xylitol mix. For extreme congestion, using Alkalol Nasal Wash instead of the salt and xylitol mix can help.

Following these instructions from my ENT has worked very well for me, so hopefully it does for you as well.

I had something similar from late December. It would get a little better, then worse. It cleared up a couple weeks ago, after I started a daily dose of vitamin D.

The best way to beat sinus infections is to avoid letting your sinuses get bad enough that infection sets in, to begin with. I've had, at different times over the last twenty five years, sinus, ear and upper respiratory infections.

My sinus issues have grown progressively worse in that time. Used to be just spring and fall--during the big temperature and humidity changes. Now it's pretty much year-round.

I take Claritin, Allegra or Zyrtec (Costco generic brands) daily--escalating from the first to the last if the condition worsens.

I spray my nose with NasalCrom, Nasacort or Flonase daily. Again: Escalating from the first to the last as the condition warrants.

I rinse with a home-made saltwater solution up to twice a day if I have to go further than Claritin + Nasacort.

If I start feeling actual congestion that lasts more than a day or two, or it's really bad all-of-a-sudden - particularly if I start feeling it in my ears, I switch to Zyrtec-D.

If the Zyrtec-D isn't sufficiently effective at relieving congestion, I use Vicks Sinex nasal spray. (That's rarely necessary. I regard it as the Nuclear Option.)

I'm always pushing to ramp down the list as quickly as possible, so as to maintain the effectiveness of the more powerful solutions.

This spring has been a challenge. Weather has been all over the map. Extreme swings even for this area of Michigan

I would really look at outside things effecting your sinuses. Allergies is one area I'd really look at. I'd really deep clean your home, have the carpets professionally cleaned if you have any, things of that nature. Check your A/C ducts for any mold, things of that nature. Also how are your teeth and when was the last time you've been to the dentist? If you have decay or a root dieing in a tooth, that can also really effect your sinuses. Think really hard if anything has changed in your routine since January such as diet, laundry soap, etc. Taking a good multivitamin is a good recommendation also.

Here's another little trick, an ENT doc told me. in an Afrin type bottle 1/3 Hydrogen peroxide 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda the fill the rest up with water. Shake and spray. It will kill the infection in the sinus cavities clean and rise them. All natural solution vs big pharma's chemicals.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
Here's another little trick, an ENT doc told me. in an Afrin type bottle 1/3 Hydrogen peroxide 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda the fill the rest up with water. Shake and spray. It will kill the infection in the sinus cavities clean and rise them. All natural solution vs big pharma's chemicals.

The ENT who did my deviated septum surgery recommended a similar concoction except:

use a netipot or netispray

work your way up via trail and error with hydrogen peroxide using an eye dropper. I worked my way up to 10 drops of h202 in 8 oz of distilled water, but that 11th drop was too much.

use distilled water.

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.