I’ve had sinus congestion for a few months now. I don’t have allergies and the only time I ever have sinus congestion is when I have a cold, so it’s a bit unusual. My wellness doctor recommended using a navage, neti pot or saline spray. I started off with the easy option of saline spray. The ingredients were water, salt and baking soda, no strange chemicals. It seemed to help the first few days I used it, but by the fourth day, my sinuses seemed to be worse and have been since even though I stopped using it. I finally did some research and discovered I’ve probably been blowing my nose too much and the wrong way. Instead of breathing easier after blowing, it was harder to breathe. Apparently, the stuffiness I was still feeling could be due to swelling and inflammation of the nasal passages, not clogged mucous that wouldn’t come out like I had thought. This may especially be true when blowing and nothing comes out. I worked through the anxiety of not blowing my nose and was actually able to breathe easier.
The correct way to blow your nose is very gently, one nostril at a time.
Some of the things recommended to loosen up the mucous include:
– Use a vaporizer with a drop of eucalyptus oil.
– Take a hot shower or boil water, put a towel over your head while you lean over it and breathe in the steam. This was helpful in draining the mucous.
– Breathe in eucalyptus oil in a diffuser, vaporizer or on a paper towel set close to you. It could also be added to a bowl of water.
– Eat spicy foods and cayenne pepper.
– Take a walk. While you are walking breathe in through the nose as best you can for a count of 10, hold it for a count of 10 and exhale through the mouth for a count of 10. Start with a lower number and work up to 10. I take a 5 minute walk and have worked my way up to 10 counts. It takes a little time to get to, but it is effective. The effect doesn’t last all day, but provides some relief for a bit. Now I do it every day. It gets the lymphatic system moving which helps drain the sinuses.
– Flush the nasal passages with saline spray, a neti pot or a navage. This is supposed to flush out allergens in the sinuses. Neti pots come in pot form or a bottle that you fill with salt water and pour in the nose. A navage is a saline nasal irrigation machine that pushes salt water through the nasal passages and sucks out the mucous. They are about $100. I haven’t used one, but may at some point. For both of those, use distilled water, so additional bacteria/contaminants aren’t added to the sinuses.
The nasal sprays I’ve been using are these:
UPDATE: I ended up buying a neti pot. It’s pretty easy to use. It comes with saline packets. Add 1 packet to the neti pot. Then add the water. I use boiled distilled water just to be safe. Let the water cool a little bit before using. It seems to be more effective when the water is a little warm. The neti pot I use is: SinuCleanse Soft Tip Neti-Pot Nasal Wash Irrigation System . If I’m really congested, nothing or a trickle will flow out. You just have to keep trying or wait until the congestion is less. It seems to be helping some, but I have to use it every day. If I skip a day, the congestion seems to get worse. I’ve only used it for 2 weeks, so it’s still a little early to tell if it’s really helping.
This video shows how to use a neti pot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TfRxcI7aMc
– Drink lots of water. That is supposed to help keep the mucous thinned out.
– Load up on Vitamin C, which helps the immune system and healing.
– Raw, local honey. Hasn’t really helped, but is always good for the immune system.
– Magnesium. It probably won’t help clear the sinuses, but it will help you relax.
– Try massaging the areas of the forehead and face where the sinuses are located. There are videos on YouTube demonstrating how to massage areas of the face where the sinuses are located.
– Reflexology uses massage and pressure points on areas of the body, such as the foot, to drain the sinuses.
– Sound therapy. I’ve been using a couple of YouTube videos that play sound at different frequencies to unblock the sinuses. Surprisingly, this has been one of the most effective things I’ve tried. Here are links to a couple of the videos I’ve been using:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsrlJY4ZBF8&list=PLhixqzuNeZTWpTk0cF4QhLff1rwoj4xOR&index=1&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB – I like this one, but it has a couple of ads that are annoying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqaoeQZEixI&list=PLhixqzuNeZTWpTk0cF4QhLff1rwoj4xOR&index=3&t=628s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9gtJwEDxcc&list=PLhixqzuNeZTWpTk0cF4QhLff1rwoj4xOR&index=4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YFgAkyAWjY&t=20683s
– Clean the home to remove any potential allergens like dust, pet dander and mold. Make sure your mattress has an allergen cover like this one on it to protect yourself from dust mites.
– Try gargling with salt water. Seems a little odd, but this actually helped move out some mucus that wasn’t blowing out.
– Dab a little vapo rub under your nose. I use Maty’s All Natural Vapor Rub. It has eucalyptus and peppermint oils and is petroleum free. There’s also a baby version that works well.
– Try making this switchel drink recipe:
1 cup water
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs raw honey
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch black pepper
Mix all ingredients in a glass jar and refrigerate for 2 hours. Drink 3 – 4 tbs several times throughout the day. After a few days, my sinuses started clearing. I had to keep drinking this for a good week or two. Otherwise, the congestion would start coming back.
Challenge:
Try the sound frequency videos. They have really helped me. There are also sound frequency videos for other ailments that could be helpful with other issues.
Resources:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19547951/stuffy-nose/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321322#saline-irrigation
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