sinus infection

[n0hardmask]

Go to your pharmacy and get a NeilMed sinus wash. Use it every night before masking uo. Then set your humiditu to med/high. You will be surprised how much better you will sleep.

Hi, I'd be very cautious about the sinus wash, and not do it within a few hours of trying to go to bed. I have quite similar afflictions and do sinus riinse, but my blockages mean it takes hours to drain all out.. not a great way to try to sleep with or without a mask on. The Mucinex is a good idea; if it works, order generic Guai-aid online. Good luck.. get hold of the Dr office soon.

[Java Time]

Hi, I'd be very cautious about the sinus wash, and not do it within a few hours of trying to go to bed. I have quite similar afflictions and do sinus riinse, but my blockages mean it takes hours to drain all out.. not a great way to try to sleep with or without a mask on.

Definitely could be different for different people on how long to drain. I try to do my night sinus rinse 45 minutes to 2 hours before I'm going to sleep. I do find that since the Alkalol dissolves the mucous so well, the sinus rinse comes out MUCH faster than when I was using the NeilMed sinus packets alone. When I started getting a cold and was just using the NeilMed, my nose would drip saline for hours; that doesn't happen with the Alkalol added. But important to note, I had my sinus cavity opened up with sinus surgery in January, so maybe I clear out a lot faster than other people.

I just spoke to my sleep doc, and she said I should suspend CPAP until I resolve my sinus issues. I wouldn't be surprised if I, too, end up having surgery. Did you have FESS? Are you happy you did?

I just ordered some Alkalol. Let's hope for the best...

Let me know if the Alkalol helps. I am curious to see if it helps others.

A friend and I have both been using it and are very happy. I'm going through a bottle every 10 days, so my friend and I actually just ordered 30 bottles of the stuff to split between the two of us.

Frankly, I was surprised Alkalol isn't sold more widely, since it seemed so effective and the Amazon reviews are SO positive. I mentioned this to my dear wife and she seems to think it's because "normal" people don't want to squirt 8oz of sinus rinse up their nose! As you might guess, she has not tried the Alkalol yet. I guess she's probably correct about "normal" people and I no longer plan to sell everything and buy stock in the Alkalol company...

As to the sinus surgery, I don't remember what it was called specifically. I didn't have a deviated septum, so they mainly just went up and opened my main sinus cavity up. He said it was to help everything drain better.

11 months post-surgery, my sinuses do seem better and I have been able to avoid any sinus cold / sinus pressure / sinus infection until about 11 months after the surgery. As mentioned above, the Alkalol seems to have stopped whatever sinus event was developing within a couple of days and it seems to have went away now. I do use NeilMed sinus rinse 2 times per day everyday, so I'm doing my part to stay healthy.

A couple of things that did happen after the sinus surgery:
-At first, air felt really cold coming through my nose, but that went away fairly quickly.
-My nose gets dried out faster and more frequently than before the surgery. Apparently when the air has to pass by all the natural folds in the sinuses, it picks up humidity and warms to body temperature. Of course, those same folds held onto my sinus infections, so it is a worthwhile trade to me to have them removed. Since the air blows through much faster post-surgery, it tends to dry me out more. This also means that I have my CPAP humidifier turned up a little higher than most people to compensate for my new "dry" condition. By the way, the Alkalol has also helped decrease the drying that I've had since the sinus surgery. I do occasionally use Ayr gel to moisturize inside the nose; Ayr is okay to use with CPAP equipment.
-My voice dropped a little lower into the deep baritone range, something about opening up the sinus cavity larger. Several people have mentioned this and the deeper voice seems to be a permanent change.
-I suffered from hay fever for a few days longer than normal the first grass season after the surgery, before I realized I needed to go on my seasonal allergy meds. Since my sinus air flow was different and better, at first I didn't realize I was having an allergy problem as the symptoms hit me in a little different way. My first allergy symptoms were more eyes and throat, there were nose issues as well, but they were a little different and it took a couple of days and looking at the calendar to figure out what was going on.

[szygy]

Thanks for your reply again. Don't have time to post, but wanted to let you know that I unfortunately led you astray with the name of the book. "Sinus Survival" is a good book, but it's not the name of the book I was thinking of. Apologies for this; next time, I'll be more careful. Google CAID if you want the book I was thinking of. I'm not at home and don't have time to look it up.


I ordered "Sinus Survival" from the library per your recomendation. The author was Robert S. Ivker

[Java Time]

If you'd like a recommendation on how to use the Alkalol you ordered...

I'd try 1 tablespoon (0.5oz) in 8oz NeilMed Sinus Rinse squeeze bottle or neti-pot, 1/16 solution (or equivalent strength solution) the first time, just to make sure it isn't too strong your first time.

Every day I use 1 tablespoon (0.5oz) in 8oz NeilMed Sinus Rinse squeeze bottle, 1/16 solution in the morning and a stronger 2 tablespoons (1oz), 1/8 solution in the evening an hour or two before bed. I do this every day even when I am not congested to stay clear and to open my sinuses up prior to going on CPAP for the evening. (Remember to allow time for the solution to drain out before bed.) The menthol or something else in Alkalol helps keep my sinuses open MUCH longer than NeilMed sinus wash without the Alkalol.

If you have bad congestion, and it doesn't hurt or sting FOR YOU and you can take it without discomfort, I go 1/4 or even a 50% (1/2) solution in an 8oz NeilMed Sinus Rinse squeeze bottle or neti-pot to break up bad congestion. It says on the bottle you can go 100% (full strength), but in my opinion that would be REALLY strong. This stuff really does a good job dissolving the nasal gunk, but it is quite strong and most people will have to work their way up to the stronger solutions.

Make sure you warm the nasal solution to body temperature for comfort and because a warm solution will dissolve the gunk better.

Also, I try to put it through my sinuses as SLOWLY as I can. Alkalol seems to loosen and dissolve mucus and congestion ON CONTACT, so I think it works well to put it through nice and slow to loosen and dissolve the nasal yuck.

For me personally I am doing the twice a day sinus wash per specific instruction from my doctor. But no doubt, my situation may be different than other people. I started the nasal rinse per my Ear, Nose, Throat doctor after sinus surgery. I was specifically directed to the NeilMed sinus rinse morning and evening, twice per day. I even told my sinus surgeon I'd grown to like the clean feeling from the daily sinus wash and I planned to keep using it for the rest of my life and he said "Good, keep doing that". My ENT told me he uses the NeilMed sinus rinse every day for daily sinus cleansing. So at least in my situation, I think twice per day sinus wash is prescribed as the correct thing to do.

[archangle]

The story about Naegleria deaths associate with neti has got me thinking. The mucous in your nose is there in part as a defense against infection. There might be some disadvantage to nasal irrigation.

I'm not saying to use it if you need it, but don't think of it as being something that's always good like brushing your teeth. Don't become fanatical or over do it. It would seem logical that washing out the protective mucous from your nose could make you more susceptible to infection.

[Java Time]

(Removed comments and combined in post above for clarification)

[mathman]

The oil in our skin helps protect it, so should you wash your face? How often? For some people very seldom, for others with very oily skin, frequently. Some nights I can't breath through my nasal-aire but after a neti session I can. Some days I wake up very dry or irritated from the air flow, a soothing wash helps. Some days I don't need to. Listen to your body and see what you need.

[osmium sleeper]

syzygy.
First, I love your username. Regarding continuing cpap in light of a sinus infection, I'd say no. My understanding is that a sinus infection...or a predisposition to sinus infections is a contraindication to cpap. Get your infection treated and then, only with ENT approval, resume cpap.

Sometimes a sinus that tends to get infected repeatedly needs surgical intervention to enlarge the opening to facilitate drainage. I have had this done. Now, no problems and no difficulties with cpap.
Jamis

Hmmm, perhaps I should ask an ENT about this. I usually endure anywhere between 1 and 4 sinus infections per year. Although this year I've been lucky enough to only have 2.