Guidelines from the Infectious Disease Journal for Acute Sinusitis

These guidelines tell you what not to take.
Chronic sinusitis effects 37 million. It is important to clear an acute sinus infection quickly and safely so you don’t join those millions.

I have been in ear nose and throat practice a few years and have written two books on this subjects. This is what I tell my patients to do for an acute sinus attack.

Drink tea, lemon and honey. Green or black tea contains L-theonine which stimulates cilia. Tea can be green or black, with or without caffeine. How much tea? Until urine turns light!

Cilia are the microscopic hairs that beat to remove bacteria, dust and virus out of the nose and sinuses. If you stimulate that cilia movement you will have fewer invading organisms. With fewer infectious organisms, the better the natural immunity of the body can handle the infection.

Lemon and lime added to tea or taken with water. These are best for thinning the mucus. The thinner the mucus, the better the cilia can work to move out the bad guys. Yes, it is better than the pills.

Honey. Honey is bactericidal. Also helps thin the mucus.

Good sleep. When you sleep, your immune system is much more effective. Go to bed. Even just bed rest is therapeutic. You can unclog your stuffy nose with an inhaler such as Benzedrex. Over a short time you can use OTC afrin for sleeping. Melatonin helps some persons to get good sleep.
Benadryl, usually 50 mg is a good choice for sleep. It is an antihistamine that opens the nose with a side effect of drowsiness. If you have used this before and know how it works on you, you may want to take one 50 mg at bedtime and another after an hour or two to help you sleep. However you may be drowsy next day. Patients vary on these effects.

Chicken soup. There is a reason why persons heal with chicken soup. There are chemicals there that speed nasal cilia. For many persons, the fact that they are getting soup that got them well before, helps them to relax and relaxation speeds healing. With chicken soup the brain remembers getting healed before and replicates that healing.
Relaxing during an illness where your nose is clogged and your face hurts is not easy. Many of my patients have practiced the relaxation actions in my book, Stressed? Anxiety? Your Cure is in the Mirror. That relaxation speeds healing.

Avoid anxiety. Relax. Acute sinusitis is essentially a bad cold, maybe a real bad cold, but it’s not cancer or heart attack and with proper treatment will not cause permanent damage. The more you relax, the better your immune system works. Remember, people who smile recover faster!

Sudafed and antihistamines: these often give good results. Unfortunately what works great with Bill, may not work well with Joe. So you do have to try various Sudafed and antihistamine combinations to see if one works for you.

If sinus pain is severe, I recommend OTC Aleve. The OTC dose is quite small, and taking two Aleve for relief works well.

Cortisone spray–Flonase, Nasonex, etc are recommended in the official guidelines. Personally I don’t recommend them in the acute stage of a sinus infection. My patients have done better with the antihistamine type nasal sprays such as Astepro and Pantanase. Theese may work faster. They have an unpleasant taste, so try to keep them from running down your throat. With these you avoid the cortisone nasal spray.

Carry a Benzedrex inhaler with you. Use it if your nose clogs. This will help prevent sinus blockage.

After several days, if drainage turns yellow/green and doesn’t seem to be clearing, I have my patients use the Hydro Pulse Nasal/Sinus irrigator. This pulsatile stream massages the nasal tissues. Massage reduces inflammation. The pulse wave of the irrigation is designed to help restore good nasal cilia function. The pulsatile irrigation removes stale mucus and helps sinus drainage. By restoring nasal cilia function you avoid chronic sinusitis.

In summary, if you get an acute sinus infection, DO NOT run to the drug store. Rest, sleep, tea, chicken soup –that is the cure.