Severe Sinus Infection Question !! Help Needed !

[ala5081]

I have had a severe Sinus Infection for the past 14 days. 3 Urgent Care trips with 6 shots and 3 different Antibiotics and nothing so far touching it. I have just realized that I have not considered my CPAP usage into this problem. Could anyone suggest what I might do as far as cutting back or stopping until I get over this. I did not remember to tell the Dr. that I was on CPAP blame it on not being myself. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated and very much welcomed. Very Sick Puppy Here. Thanks in advance. Let me add that I have been wiping my Mask and Hose etc etc down with Disposable Disinfectant Wipes during this time trying to keep all germs away. Also I use a Forma Full Face Mask and a Humidifier set to Medium.

[nanwilson]

I have had a severe Sinus Infection for the past 14 days. 3 Urgent Care trips with 6 shots and 3 different Antibiotics and nothing so far touching it. I have just realized that I have not considered my CPAP usage into this problem. Could anyone suggest what I might do as far as cutting back or stopping until I get over this. I did not remember to tell the Dr. that I was on CPAP blame it on not being myself. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated and very much welcomed. Very Sick Puppy Here. Thanks in advance. Let me add that I have been wiping my Mask and Hose etc etc down with Disposable Disinfectant Wipes during this time trying to keep all germs away. Also I use a Forma Full Face Mask and a Humidifier set to Medium.

That is exactly what you need to do. Hope you are better SOON!

[jen4700]

So sorry - my heart goes out to you! If you've taken 3 diff antibiotics maybe it's a viral infection of some kind. I just started antibiotics for a sinus infection and doc knows I'm on CPAP. She didn't say anything about staying off CPAP. But if that's the only way you can breathe... I'm on a 10 day course of meds. Have you taken the prescriptions all the way to the end?

[ala5081]

Yes Jen, Thanks so much. The first two rounds were 5 days but this one is 10 days so maybe something will break on it. Thought the shots would give it a boost but not !! Don't know why I failed to discuss CPAP with him. Hopefully some answers will come along later today. Thanks again !!!!! & good luck with yours.

[KSMike]

Before CPAP I reliably got a sinus infection every early winter for 15 years; you could almost set your watch by it, but a round of antibiotics always took care of it. When I went on CPAP, they nearly stopped - I believe because of the benefit of humidification when the rest of the house is becoming so dry (Midwest winters). However, I've found that when I do get the occasional infection now, it's much harder to get rid of. I had one two months ago that took two long rounds of antibiotics to shake, and even then I had a terrible cough and plugged up ears for another several weeks. I'm still not 100% free of it.

[-tim]

Sinus infections are often fungal. They don't care about alcohol wipes. Alcohol kills 99.9% of germs... so does soap and water. Alcohol kills 90% of fungus (they were happy living in my wine until it hit 12% alcohol). Soap and water kill 99.9%.

Use soap and water on stuff. I use polmolive dish soap.
Also vinegar from time to time helps too. Just remember that early vinegar was bad wine which was produce by fungus.

Get the hypoallergenic air filters. They can cut out other crud so your immunity system has 8 hours to work on the real problem without being distracted by other stuff.

Good luck.

[Maxie]

I found that being on CPAP has nearly cured my tendency to sinus infections. BUT since you have one my suggestion would be to try more or less humidity based on what gives you relief. Just an aside, the 5 day "cure" never worked for me as I used to always have to go for the 10 day and sometimes 20 day so hang in there, it should start to get better soon. Olbas oil on a cotton ball next to the machine air intake seems to help some people with sinus problems.

[locust78]

There's no getting around that the moist environment of the reservoir, hose, and mask, can be a breeding ground for bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Thorough cleaning is a must, especially if you're prone to sinus conditions like myself. I've tried a number of different approaches, and so far the one I've stuck with is the SoClean system. This device uses activated oxygen to kill off any organic matter in my CPAP equipment. Since I've been using it, my sinus problems have gone way down, and as an added bonus, my stuff never gets stinky anymore. I still use the traditional soap & water method, but this goes the extra mile.