After two painful sinus operations, I was still coming down with
infections. I had to find some real remedy to my sinusitis
problem, as I was tired of taking antibiotics and especially
tired of the dull, deep headaches every time I had an attack.
Sinus Operations- Try to Avoid The operations were no
fun. After the first one my nose was "packed". This means that
in order to stop the bleeding, the ENT specialist/surgeon put a
large amount of gauze in my nose, which means that one can only
breathe through the mouth for the week or so of recovery time.
In other words, swallowing and breathing cannot occur at the
same time. This is a good way to lose weight, as one cannot eat
much, but it is not a great way to live. At the end of this
period, before pulling out the gauze, the doctor said "this will
feel like I'm pulling your brains out through your nose". This
was the most accurate statement he ever made to me. Pulling what
seemed like 6 feet of moist, sticky gauze out of my nose was an
almost surrealistically painful sensation. But I thought, "if my
deviated septum is now fixed, at least I can look forward to no
sinus infections in the future, or at least a lot fewer of them.
I was wrong again, as they started coming back after a few
months. I changed ENT specialists since the first one put me
through tons of pain for no gain. After a couple of years of
treatment with this new doctor, I decided to take his advice and
try another operation. Among other therapies, I had allergy
shots during that time, even though I only tested positive for
minor allergies to a couple of things. My nose was not "packed"
this time, but there was still plenty of pain. Again my hopes
for an infection-free future were dashed when they started up
again after a few months. So after two operations by two
different ENT specialists, I said "enough is enough". For those
considering sinus operations to fix things like a deviated
septum, here's my considered advice: don't do it. At least try
the nasal irrigation recommended by Dr. Murray Grossan which is
explained below before you do. One hears about people who have
had 5 or 6 sinus operations, and these either don't work, or if
they do cause improvement, it doesn't last very long. Some
people have told me that a sinus operation "fixed" their
problems, but I am skeptical.
Tried Various Approaches for Years Throughout my years
with significant sinus problems, I had read a number of books
and tried different products and approaches. One author I read
early-on was not very encouraging. He said that certain things
aggravated sinus problems, and one should simply stop eating
chocolate, cheese and other dairy products. Also, he said that
in order to be cured there could simply be no drinking of
alcoholic beverages either. Sorry, he said, but that's the way
it has to be. For a person who lived in France and who has come
to enjoy the excellent wine and numerous cheese varieties, this
was awful. What kind of a life would I have without drinking
wine and eating cheese? At that point I did have to stop
drinking, as even one glass of wine could be enough to trigger
an infection almost every time. After six months of this I got
sick of drinking soda and non-alcoholic beer, which tastes
pretty bad. In fact I was ridiculed in a restaurant in France
when I ordered a Buckler's , which is Heineken's nonalcoholic
beer. The French owner asked my why I would order such a
ridiculous beverage with his excellent meal, and I explained I
had sinus problems. He replied that he bad sinus problems too,
and he got headaches every day, but nothing would stop him from
drinking red wine! I actually admired his attitude, but the
headaches were too painful, and I felt like I was on the search
for "Lorenzo's oil", like the father in the movie of the same
title that needed a certain rare oil to cure his son. It was
also through this author, an ENT specialist, that I first heard
about nasal irrigation, but the system suggested did not work
well. He sold a saline solution, but it was too strong and
caused a burning sensation in my nose. He suggested a sort of
long-nosed pot called a Neti pot to use to pour the solution
into each nostril. This approach did not work nearly as well as
the system suggested by Dr. Grossan (see below), and I was
wrongly convinced that nasal irrigation was not effective. It
makes a big difference how the irrigation is done and with what
kind of equipment and saline solution.
Dr. Murray Grossan to the Rescue I thus started doing
more research on other books and approaches, and in the course
of this I came across a book by Dr. Murray Grossan called "The
Sinus Cure- 7 Simple Steps". In a nutshell, Dr. Grossan's system
worked. His book contains many technical explanations about
sinusitis and how to deal with it. He clearly explains the
reasons for the problem and suggests numerous remedies including
diet considerations, home environmental improvements like duct
cleaning and humidity control, and the most important aspect
of the program: pulsating nasal irrigation with a saline
solution.
Use a WaterPik and Adaptor When I first started following
Dr. Grossan's advice he suggested using a WaterPik machine, and
these have been sold for years as devices to improve gum and
dental health. Dr. Grossan simply sold an adaptor and a saline
solution, although one can use table salt. Although much more
expensive than salt, I find that this saline solution is
convenient, works well, and has no preservatives. I usually
purchase a dozen containers at a time, and these will last up to
a year with one application per day. One simply puts a spoonful
of saline solution into the WaterPik tank and then about 16 oz.
of warm water to dissolve the powder. Then the nasal adaptor is
put into one nostril and the machine will gently propel half the
liquid through one's nasal canal, and it will drain out the
other side. One then puts the adaptor in the other nostril and
repeats the procedure on that side. This procedure is done while
leaning over a sink. I then normally put more water into the
tank and use the WaterPik on my teeth as it was originally
intended, and I've helped my gum and dental health as well. My
dental hygienist has made several comments about how much better
my gums and teeth are when I go in for cleanings. The whole
effort only takes about 5 minutes or so, including wiping
everything dry. I normally do the irrigation once a day about an
hour before bed, but if I happen to wake up with more than the
usual congestion in the morning, I'll do it then as well.
The Easiest Way to Start In the past couple of years Dr.
Grossan has come up with his own machine for nasal irrigation.
It is called the Hydro Pulse® Nasal Irrigation System. For about
$89 plus shipping one receives the Hydro Pulse Nasal/Sinus
Irrigator®, 2 Original Sinus Irrigator Tips ®, 2 Original Throat
Irrigator Tips®, Breathe-ease® XL Nasal Moisturizer (this is the
saline solution), and excerpts from,"The Sinus Cure" by Dr.
Grossan.
This is the easiest way to start, as you have everything needed.
If the system works well and you want to continue to do nasal
irrigation on a daily basis, I would suggest purchase of a pack
of one dozen saline solution boxes, as the price is lower per
box and there is only one shipping charge to pay. Of course one
could still purchase a WaterPik at a retail store and buy the
Dr. Grossan's adaptor and saline solution to work with it. For
information about how to purchase these items, and also how to
download a free ebook written by Dr. Grossan, follow the links
at the end of this article..
Other Medications For many people the nasal irrigation
system will be enough to control your sinus problems. Those of
us with particularly significant sinusitis may need to
supplement this with medications, and I use Flonase before going
to bed each night as well. If I feel like I'm on the verge of a
sinus infection I might take some zyrtec (an antihistimine) or
if an infection seems imminent, I have my silver bullet, which
is prednisone. I don't use much of the latter, however, as there
can be side affects with this steroid. My doctor usually
prescribes 10 pills of 20 mg each, and these last for about a
year. I never take a whole pill and usually take 5 mg or 10 mg
maximum at a time for a day or two. I'm told this is a
reasonable amount and nothing to worry about. Speaking of bad
side effects, prior to discovering Dr. Grossan's system,
sometimes desperate for relief, I used an over-the-counter spray
called afrin. The warnings on the label say to use this product
for only 4 days or less. This medication can damage the cilia in
one's sinuses and cause permanent damage if used too much. As
frequent users know, there is also an effect called rebound
congestion, so after using it you might end up just as congested
as when you started. Thus, people are tempted to continue using
it, and it is said to become addictive. Dr. Grossan simply
recommends that you throw your afrin into the garbage and stay
away from it. I have not used it for years now and am glad to be
rid of it.
I haven't eliminated sinus infections entirely, and I might come
down with perhaps one per year. I'm more susceptible when very
tired, or after long flights, as we often go back and forth to
Europe for our tour business. When flying anywhere I make sure
to take some kind of decongestant, normally the Flonase. I can
enjoy wine, cheese, chocolate, and I really don't need to avoid
any particular foods. Dr. Grossan's system has worked for me,
and I certainly don't miss the deep, painful sinus infection
headaches that used to be all too familiar. Dr. Grossan has lots
of other advice in his book as well, and I definitely recommend
that anyone with sinusitis read it.
Best of luck to all sinusitis sufferers. I hope this information
will help improve your lives as much as it has helped me. Please
don't hesitate to forward this article to friends and family who
suffer from sinusitis.
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