MithraPride

Does anyone have some home remedies for sinus infections? I'll be going on antibiotics on Friday whether I like it or not... I have access to lots of teas and natural remedies like burning brown sugar and inhaling the fumes (clears the sinuses, but smells really bad).

Any ideas? I can't breath. /cry

-- Sarah

Mullien (sp?) tea seems to work wonders for me.

But then again, how bad is the infection?

ewww I hate those! I just took lots of pain killer and it eventually went away. Drink lots of tea too, that helped me.

It hasn't gotten to the point where it's really bad since I'm actually nipping it in the bud this year now that I know what symptoms to look for.

Last year it got really bad -- wound up letting it stew for about two weeks since I thought it was a cold, and then got a full blown respiratory infection which had to be treated with hardcore antibiotics. That was not fun.

I try to stay away from antibiotics as much as possible. I'll try the mullein tea -- possibly some lavender tea and eat more garlic for the next week or so. The allicin in garlic (which gives raw garlic that nasty smell when you mash it) kills germs. You just have to eat it raw. Doesn't work when it's cooked down.

-- Sarah

Hmmm...an old trick is to buy approx. 100 g of mint/menthol -candy and dissolve them into 1.5-2 litres of boiling water. Then you just wait for it to cool down a bit -so the skin on your face won't burn - but it still needs to be as hot as you can bare. Then you breathe the mintfresh steam with your head under a towel and over the boiler for about as long as you can. You might not feel very good immediately after this, but you should find it at least a little easier to breathe after awhile.


Gaah...I'm having a sinus infection too right now. We Finns never learn that it really gets this cold *every* winter...

Hmmm . . . home remedies? Well, sort of, I do have some ideas for you.

(1) You need to do what you can to get drainage going. This means drinking lots of water and hot teas. Another answer may be inhaling steam several times a day. Like lean over a bowl of boiling water; but not over the stove, okay? Or you could use a steam vaporizer, or taking hot showers. Somebody mentioned Mentholated preparations (like that Vicks Vapor Rub stuff).

(2) Got to thin the mucus out and get rid of it. Best way to do this is by use of Expectorants. Expectorants will help kick out the mucus from the places like the lungs and nasal passages. They will also thin the mucus, which should help it drain. The most commonly used Expectorant is Guaifenesin (Dextromethorphan (like Vicks) and Benzonatate are others). Guaifenesin is found in most liquid OTC cough medications like Robitussin. Most of them may also have Pseudoephedrine (like Sudafed), which should also help.

(3) Relieve the pain. This one is easy. The basic pain meds are: Ibuprofen (like Advil), Aspirin, and Acetaminophen (Tylenol). They should help reduce the pain and the inflammation. Any of these Meds should help to open the airways by reducing swelling. Also, just take one type of pain killer, unless told otherwise, not a good idea to take a few of each.


As with all things, please talk to your Pharmacist and Doctor before taking anything.

Hope this helps! Get better soon.


*Please note, I am not a doctor, nor am I yet a licensed Pharmacist. The above post is my opinion and should not be viewed as professional medical advice.

I've been using NyQuil Cold and Flu....

if the medicine part of it doesnt help you, the 10% alcohol per dose will knock you right out... or at least leave you dazed for a while.

I used to get sinus infections and ear infections all the time. At least twice during the winter season. Then I started using saline nasal spray that you can buy at most major pharmacies. Use it when you start to get stuffy, or your sinuses feel like they are starting to dry out.

I got to the point where I would use it almost every morning and night in the winter (and mid-day too if the temperature is extremely cold and the air is very dry).

I haven't had a sinus infection or ear infection in 3 years. ^^

Edit: Sorry, this was more of a prevention post then a remedy post.

im sorry i dont have any remedies but im posting to at least tell u to get better an as for the infections...
BEGONE U DEMONS CURSING OUR FRIEND!!!
...hopefully theyll listen...they never do...i tried...
well i hope something works for u. iget nasty stuff too (just recently too bleh) but i doubt its the same thing ur suffering from. but my stuff does get worse if left untreated but i cant remember what i took at the moment but...ya...so get better so i dont have to come with the holy water and the purging tools

(if u find this post...upsetting for some reason i dont intend it...i believe keeping ur spirits up and keeping ur sense of humor can speed up recovery .)

Yukira: You know, I never thought of that. I have been using this pine-menthol highly concentrated oil a friend of mine sent from Germany every night -- I take a bath in it...and then go around smelling like menthol for 3 days afterwards. LOL But it works. I'll give the cough drop thing a go, though.

Dukuji: I'm on the OTC version of Guafed right now (Mucinex). I have to make sure I drink about a gallon or so of water a day, or else it doesn't work. As it is, my nose feels like it's running like a faucet. >< They put me on Guafed the last time I got this before they put me on antibiotics just to relieve the sinus pressure. I hate using Vicks, but I'll probably put some of that on or get a mustard (rub? salve?) at the drug store later.

Sirc: Gotta love saline spray. It's all natural and works wonders.

Ephi: I already have all the gods laughing at me for one reason or another.

*goes back to drinking tea*

Thanks for all the suggestions!

-- Sarah

if i may add Mucinex is gross *bleh*
that was part of my recovery
stupid non-coated expectorants

btw the gods laugh at all of us

I've got mucus coming out everywhere. But at least it works.

-- Sarah

Yeah, well...I've been doing lots of the stuff suggested here + I've watched incredible amounts of anime (comedy for psychological healing, although laughing hurts )...seems to be working well enough in either case. ^^

Yuki -- forgot to mention that I'm working with a guy completely obsessed with Finland and Norway. His whole family is Scandinavian, and he spends his time at work listening to live feeds of Finnish radio because he likes how the language sounds.

I used some of that menthol/pine oil that my friend in Germany sent me since I couldn't get a hold of a bag of cough drops. That stuff worked just as well. Man, is it potent! But it cleared out my sinuses really fast. I'm going to use it again tonight before I go to bed.

-- Sarah

Sarah, bust out teh orange juice. Make sure it's the pulpy stuff and NOT that chemical Tropicana crap.

I'd drink OJ if I didn't always get really bad canker sores when I was sick. >< Can't drink OJ or anything else acidic because it screws with my body's pH levels and winds up giving me more canker sores. I've noticed I have to cut down on my intake of acids and such when I'm ill, so I have to find other ways of getting vitamin C. But I went to the doctor this morning and he said that whatever it is that I had (sinus infection) looks like it's pretty much going away right now.

He did give me a prescription (if I needed it) for some sort of antibiotic, but told me I was not to fill it under any circumstances unless I started getting sicker. He said I'm very healthy, and that my body seems to be taking care of itself very well. This guy knows that I don't like drinking a whole lot of water or keeping myself hydrated, so...he kept reminding me to drink stuff. God, I've been going through AT LEAST a litre or two of water, tea, and gatorade EVERYDAY for the last week. But I guess it's paying off.

Oh, and Yuki, he also suggested the menthol thing you did, which I thought was pretty cool. This guy is the kind of doctor who will first give you holistic remedies like that rather than synthetic ones like drugs because as he puts it, "Nature knows best." He rocks.

-- Sarah

mozyr wrote:I'd drink OJ if I didn't always get really bad canker sores when I was sick. >< Can't drink OJ or anything else acidic because it screws with my body's pH levels and winds up giving me more canker sores. I've noticed I have to cut down on my intake of acids and such when I'm ill, so I have to find other ways of getting vitamin C.

Same thing happens to me. Actually, vitamin C IS an acid. Ascorbic acid - it is what makes citrus friuts acidic. My theory is that when you drink orange juice the acid comes directly in contact with your lips and mouth and causes more irritation to an already irritated area. If you take a vitamin C tablet (not the chewable kind!) then the irritation is avoided and you still get all the benifits.

Heheh. Those kind of remedies - people invent them naturally here because in Finland you can't get any kinds of antibiotics without a legitimate prescription.

Oh, and Mozyr - does your fellow worker understand Finnish or does he really like the way it sounds? I mean...even I think it's a bit crude sounding language with our strong 'R's and stuff.

Hmm...I need more tea now.

Yukira wrote:Heheh. Those kind of remedies - people invent them naturally here because in Finland you can't get any kinds of antibiotics without a legitimate prescription.

Hmm, you can't get antibiotics in the US without a prescription either. Are there countries that sell them over the counter?

Sirc wrote:

Yukira wrote:Heheh. Those kind of remedies - people invent them naturally here because in Finland you can't get any kinds of antibiotics without a legitimate prescription.

Hmm, you can't get antibiotics in the US without a prescription either. Are there countries that sell them over the counter?

....Canada?

Neoshinobi wrote:

Sirc wrote:

Yukira wrote:Heheh. Those kind of remedies - people invent them naturally here because in Finland you can't get any kinds of antibiotics without a legitimate prescription.

Hmm, you can't get antibiotics in the US without a prescription either. Are there countries that sell them over the counter?

....Canada?

I doubt it. Mexico maybe....

Sirc wrote:

Neoshinobi wrote:

Sirc wrote: Hmm, you can't get antibiotics in the US without a prescription either. Are there countries that sell them over the counter?

....Canada?

I doubt it. Mexico maybe....

ya...id say Mexico

Ephi wrote:

Sirc wrote:

Neoshinobi wrote: ....Canada?

I doubt it. Mexico maybe....

ya...id say Mexico

Go Mexico.

I live 140 miles from the Mexican border.

Sirc: It's better for your body to get vitamins and whatnot from food, because it absorbs it more efficiently/differently than if you just use supplements. I've got vitamin C supplements in the house somewhere -- better a little than none at all.

Yuki: He understands a little Finnish and some Norwegian. I don't know which radio station we were listening to (it was just a talk radio station) and I thought it sounded pretty cool.

I live...well, when I'm in Tucson, I live about 90 miles from Mexico.

-- Sarah

Kopopo wrote:I live 140 miles from the Mexican border.

I got you beat! I live 11 miles from the Mexican border!

o/~ in sweet home San Diego o/~