Okay, last week I experienced my yearly sinus infection. Usually it gets really bad around Christmas time, and although I had, had the normal sniffles, I had not had my major sinus attack where all your teeth feel like they are about to fall out, your ears stay plugged up no matter how hard you yawn to try to get them to pop, your eyes feel like they are going to pop out of your head, and the pressure in your face makes you think your head might just explode. I hoped that with the removal of my wisdom teeth last spring all that normal sinus pain would just go away, never to appear again.
However...
A little over a week ago it began. First it was just the ears. I took Sudafed and drank more water. Then the pressure and the pain began to kick in. I really hoped that I could tough it out. I wanted it to just run its course. In fact the strange thing was that it was just on one side of my face, and it never did totally stuff up my nose so I couldn't breath. But there was more pain than I've ever experienced before in my life from sinus stuff. Jude, our British teacher, had it even 10 times worse than I did and finally went to the doctor. One of the main things that the doctor recommended was snorting a solution of salt water with a pinch of baking powder twice a day. I laughed about it too soon. A couple of days later, I was in so much pain that I was willing to try anything. So I mixed up the crazy solution and proceeded to inhale the salt water (which goes against all the natural responses of a human body), choke a little, blow my nose A LOT, and convince myself that this would make all the difference in a sleepless night and a miserable day at school. Well, come to find out... It works!!! About 2 hours later the pain was subsiding and the pressure was much less. The next day I felt 110% better. There's nothing like feeling horrible to realize just what a wonderful gift it is to be healthy.
So if you are struggling with the whole sinus thing with the changes of the seasons... This is what I prescribe for no charge. :-)
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4 comments:
That's great! I think I'm often too quick to laugh off anything that seems strange to me ... I commend you for trying something new and strange!
kt Dr. Lytle used to prescribe salt solutions for all kinds of things - gargle, snort, etc. Maybe even enemas? It's very active osmotically and probably reduces the swelling in your nasal cavities. This allows the eustachian tube (which drains into the nasal cavity) to decompress, and, voila!!
This is amazing to me! And I love that Doc shared the explanation for why this works. I just hope I can remember this when I need it.
You understood what he was saying, Elizabeth? Wow. I didn't. I guess I needed to see the diagram on the napkin (a very common occurrence at Doc's dinner table). :)
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