It’s Spring, But if You Live in Florida…

Why does Florida have the highest number of sinus patients? It’s the humidity. When the humidity goes above 50% molds prosper and produce sinus disease. Plus liquid doesn’t evaporate from your nasal tissues well, causing the mucus to thicken.

But this form of sinus infection is preventable. All you need to do is get a dehumidifier and reduce the humidity to 45% This will prevent sinusitis, postnasal drainage, cough, etc . It will also reduce snoring and improve sleep.

I have picked on Florida because when I lectured there, I was astounded by the number of M.D.’s, physicians, who asked me about their own chronic sinusitis. Usually doctors do a fair job of curing themselves.

The deal about humidity, of course, applies to any area with high humidity, including Louisiana and Alabama.

Tea, lemon and honey is another sinus preventer. Black or green tea contain products that stimulate nasal cilia movement. These are the tiny hairs that act in unison to sweep bacteria out of the nose and sinuses.

Humming is also great for preventing a sinus condition. Put your fingers on your cheeks. Now hum, “ooommmm.’ Note how you can feel the vibration. If you have a history of sinus problem, try humming all day long.

For preventing sinus disease that comes in the spring, you can get those cilia sweeping effectively by irrigating with a pulse wave irrigator that pulses at a rate “tuned” to the normal speed of the healthy cilia brooms. The Hydro Pulse® Nasal and Throat Irrigator is matched to the best speed of the healthy nasal cilia.

It is important to understand that spring allergy does not cause sinus disease, at least not directly. Sinusitis may follow spring allergy because the nasal cilia become exhausted by weeks of sneezing and dripping. Then the exhausted cilia may not be able to remove mucus/bacteria and the bacteria remain in place and multiply. That is how a sinus infection can follow a bad allergy season. More important, keeping those cilia moving, for example by Hydro Pulse® Nasal pulse wave irrigation can restore the cilia and the restored cilia can sweep the bacteria away.

Recall too that these broom sweepers are exhausted. Good sleep is especially important to restore the nasal cilia.

One of the problems with dehumidifiers in the past has been how noisy they are. Fortunately the newer gadgets are fairly quiet. Or, worst case, let it run all day when you aren’t home and turn it off for sleep. But if you find that clothes and linens remain damp, your humidity needs to be adjusted.