Four Ways to Deal With Your Sinusitis

Sinusitis, is essentially the ingress of germs into our sinus spaces leading them to swell and produce inappropriate mucous discharge. It is perhaps one of the most common conditions faced in every facet of life, it presents with varying degrees of severity in people. In my experience it has ranged from a minor inconvenience to absolutely debilitating. Needless to say, depending on its severity there are a few key methods I have learned to cope with it over the years.

1. Basic Home Care

There are some basic home care tips it’s best to follow from the very start if you suspect you are suffering from sinusitis. These include getting plenty of rest, appropriate amount of hydration, staying in a nice non polluted area which is preferably at home to avoid any excess irritation of the sinuses, using a warm towel over affected areas on face, nasal irrigation and in my opinion, it is best to call in sick from work if possible. As you breathe in the vapour from a bowl of hot water, drape a towel over your head. Maintain a direct line of sight between the vapour and your face. Alternatively, take a hot shower and inhale the warm, wet air. This will assist in the relief of discomfort and the drainage of mucus.

To improve your health, fight illness and recover faster, get more than enough rest. Prop yourself up with a couple of pillows as you sleep. Staying elevated might make it easier to breathe.

While sleeping, use a humidifier or vaporizer to bring moisture to the air and assist relieve congestion. Dry air, cigarette smoke, and chlorinated water can irritate your nasal mucus membranes, making your sinuses more susceptible to infection.

2. Use Of Over-The-Counter Medications

This is a fairly simple recommendation, considering most of these medications are something most of us already have lying around at home, but it’s best to be vigilant and make sure you do stay stocked up on the essentials. These include ibuprofen and paracetamol for pain and any suitable nasal decongestants, using these has been the sole reason I have been able to be functional at all some days and their importance cannot be understated.

3. Educating Yourself On What Treatment Works For You

There are many different ways to manage and treat sinusitis, the success of many of these varies from person to person and in my opinion, it is important for us to understand what extremes of treatment will work for us and when we should just use home care. Take me for example, after chronic issues with sinusitis I realized just going to the doctor and getting prescribed the same decongestants over and over again was not working. So, after looking into it I found myself a balloon sinuplasty surgeon, who was able to provide me with a treatment perfect for my situation.

4. Seeking Professional Medical Assistance

If a person’s sinuses are infected with fungus, a doctor can prescribe antifungal medication. A doctor may give oral steroids if antifungal medications do not work or if a sinus infection is very severe. These are powerful medications, and patients should first address any potential adverse effects with their doctor.

If you’re like me you also swear by various home remedies as the best way to handle sinusitis, but after being plagued by sinus issues many times in my life, I have come to realize that seeing the appropriate doctor for a bad case of sinusitis is the best course of action. The first time I sought a professional’s help, I had been stubborn enough to stay home 3 days from work doing nothing and I was at the point where even just lying down in bed was making my headaches flair up, when I finally took a friend’s advice and called up a wonderful ENT doctor near Dallas, TX.

5. Surgery

Endoscopic sinus surgery may be an option in circumstances where therapy or medicine has failed. The doctor will use an endoscope to examine your sinus passages during this treatment.

The doctor may use various equipment to remove tissue or shave away a polyp that is creating nasal obstruction, depending on the origin of the problem. To enhance drainage, enlarging a limited sinus aperture may be an option.