How many of you have sinus infections

[quote="Trina"]I'm not really having a sinus infection per se, BUT I am having one devil of a time w/sinus (and nasal) irritation due to an xPAP humidifier blowing COLD air up my nose!!


I have major sinus problems, and the nasal mask just seemed to make it worse. I chose to use the full face mask and I love it. Those that have bad sinus problem might want to give the full face a try.

The only sinus infection I have had in almost 2 years of Cpap use was when I forgot to buy distilled water and used tap water instead. I woke up the next morning with a raw feeling in my sinuses that took several days to heal.

I used to get sinus infections until using cpap. I have never felt so clear and assume it is from the heated humidifier.

My sister who is a nurse told me a while back that if you periodically swab your nostrils with a topical antibiotic (I used fucidin but polysporin or one of those would probably be good enough) you won't get infections. Apparently a lot of bugs like that area.

allend wrote:or have had at least one since December? I've have one now, had one in June and had one on December 28th. Dr. wants to do an MRI on my sinuses. What a pain!

I haven't had a sinus infection since being on cpap (10 months)

Whatever you do, MAKE SURE those ear plugs are in tight when you get that MRI!
That noise is enough to drive you crazy......

Trina wrote:I'm not really having a sinus infection per se, BUT I am having one devil of a time w/sinus (and nasal) irritation due to an xPAP humidifier blowing COLD air up my nose!!

Have you tried ComfortSleeve or SnuggleHose? I've heard they do a good job insulating the hose so you don't get the cold air. I'm picking one up this week. The heated hoses, while expensive, are also supposed to be very good.

I've got a bunch of school-age kids at my house and for years, every time they came home with a cold (virus), I'd get it and, almost without fail, it would turn into a bacterial sinus infection. Yuck!

After several years of this cycle, one doctor gave me PanMist decongestant, explaining that if I could keep the sinus drained during the cold it would probably not turn into a sinus infection. He was right--haven't had a sinus infection for a whole year! Just a few colds. And for them, the decongestant plus ionizable zinc makes my colds much more bearable.

And now that I am basically 100% compliant (the last 10 months) I also think that my immune system is much stronger--I've only had one or two colds all year!

Sorry this is long winded,I'm hoping it will help someone.

SUFFERED from sinus infections (1 to 2) a year for several years,It came to a head 8 years ago with an infection that I could not shake.I was prescribed antibiotics and over the course of three months I was on them almost constantly with a brief break after each course only to find they had not worked.Visited an ENT ,his first thoughts before any surgery were to have a previous root canal checked as it was in the same area as the infected sinus,the Dentist verified that HIS work was up to par and to look elseware.The ENT decided the next step was to have a badly deviated septum(hockey stick) repaired as well as a procedure called a Caldwell Luc (DO NOT LET THEM DO THIS TO YOU)to clean out my sinus and reestablish the drain in to my nose.After surgery the infections reappeared as well as a new diagnosis of Allergies.Wasted 14 months being injected with snake oil serum to fix the allergies.My GP sent me to a dental specialist in another city,her take was that the root canal looked good but there was really no way of knowing for sure unless she repeated the procedure which I quickly gave my consent for.The root canal took over two hours to complete and the tooth was full of infection.All was well for almost a year and the infections started again with cold and flu season.I insisted that the tooth be removed,after which I had an infection that responded to treatment and I am now infection free for three and a half years.I think that almost everyone gets them,but when they do not respond to medication it can be a battle to get to the source of the problem.

Bill

Hello All,

This is not medical advice, just my personal treatment to keep my nose clear and help prevent sinus infections. I use a stainless steel neti pot with lukewarm normal saline. The stainless steel pot is virtually indestructable easy to clean, and kinda looks like a teapot with a johnson.

http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/product/neti.html

But I love using the neti pot and I haven't had sinus infections and have cut my common cold time by 75%, that's if I get one at all.

Kent

[quote="schaefage"]

This is not medical advice, just my personal treatment to keep my nose clear and help prevent sinus infections. I use a stainless steel neti pot with lukewarm normal saline. The stainless steel pot is virtually indestructable easy to clean, and kinda looks like a teapot with a johnson.



AND YOU WANT ME TO PUT THAT IN MY NOSE???????

LoL, you just put the tip in....and it works great...to completely flush out your nose....it is an ancient yoga method.

I know it doesn't look that attractive, but it works.

I was going for the laugh. I use a neti pot too, although mine does not look like the one you talked about. I am not sure how I will use it now without thinking about it differently!

Catnapper

Catnapper wrote:I was going for the laugh. I use a neti pot too, although mine does not look like the one you talked about. I am not sure how I will use it now without thinking about it differently!

Catnapper

u

LOL ...when I have guests ovr I give them an opportunity to guess what
"that thing is"...nobody ever gets' it...they say tea pot, watering thing, etc. its funny. But I like the stainless beause you can wash it easily...it does look like the tin man's lost johnson, lol....If I only had a...

allend wrote:

Offerocker wrote:I had my first sinus infection diagnosed about 10 days ago, after a week of non-stop sneezing and dripping. No coughing, not much pressure, just that darn sneezing/dripping, and of course blowing my nose too often.

---clip-----

It's a virus, but it seems that once you get something, it will be baaaack! Prior to that, the skin around my eyes itched (towards nose), and I had a very mild cold. I have no idea how or why I got this NOW. I had been 'run down' and not eating properly, but that's nothing new for me

(NOTE: Someone else told me it was a "virus", and not having had one before,....,well....)
---clip-----

Since this was "a new one" for me, and it REALLY threw me for a loop, I am anxious about being susceptible to them in the future. Anyone know if that's the case?

If you were given an antibiotic, then it's bacterial. You say you have no pressure? How do you know it's not just a miserable cold that's viral and you never needed the antibiotic at all. I have lots of pressure in my sinuses under my eyes but I also have pain in my teeth and gums.

I was given amoxicillin, which is an antiobiotic used to treat bacterial infections. I believed the nurse practitioner who told me it was a sinus infection and Rx.d the amoxy, which is working. You're right, it is NOT viral. The NP was correct.

allend wrote: Are we better off using our own filtered water? As far as mineral deposits ruining things, what can it ruin? The tank? The hose? The mask? Some water is loaded with minerals and maybe if you have that kind that cakes up if you let it go, you shouldn't use it. Another thought, bacteria in the Pur water filer attachment attached to the sink. I use it for sinus lavage or maybe I should be using distilled water for that.

allend: I would not use ANYTHING in my humidifier except distilled water!
Do a search on either distilled water here, or humidifier, and you'll find plenty of endorsements for distilled water, which is in accordance to manufacturer's recommendation.

LIMESTONE: Are you positive that's the name of that procedure? I'm asking because I had a "Caldwell-Luc" done after fracturing the orbital, which was replaced with a plastic one. The incision is made between upper gum and cheeks, in order to get at bottom of eye socket. SINCE then, I have had an extremely restristed nasal passageway on that side - either from my septum being 'deviated' via surgery, or it is a buildup of scar tissue. Odd that we both had same procedure; you say that yours was to correct a deviated septum, and I say that mine was a probable cause of mine...interesting, eh?
I'll research the procedure. This is the edited portion to this post:
The Caldwell-Luc procedure is a means of entering the Sinus cavity.

I hadn't used my Neti pot in awhile, and since I'd had the cold, I may have been run down, etc. I'm now using Neosporin, and will continue to periodically, after reading post re that being a good idea!

TO ALL: I recently read an article in "Readers' Digest" re "Winter" colds - it was very informative & interesting. Written by doctor. In short, the whole cycle begins when school starts in September, and the students pass around their colds like crazy...and eventually on to the parents...and by winter, it seems as if 'everyone' in the office has a cold! He said it was a studied, cyclic effect.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): humidifier, hose