How I fixed my sinus problems.

No more chronic sinus infections!!!  After decades of swollen, stuffed-up
sinuses, thick yellow gunk, and miserable infections, I finally have the
condition under control. I feel great!

I have found a simple, inexpensive method of irrigation that effectively
treats my sinuses and either prevents or heals my sinus infections.

My sinuses first get stuffy, and then I feel like I am getting a cold. Over
the next few days my sinuses start closing up, and getting more congested. I
get a thick yellow discharge. This condition has either led to an infection,
or continued to give me misery for long periods of time, so I start a series
of 'upside down' irrigations.

I buy a plastic saline nasal spray, for about $2.50, and empty it. I then
fill the empty saline nasal sprayer with a pinch of baking soda, a pinch of
salt, 3ml to 5ml of 'common store bought' 3% hydrogen peroxide and 50ml
water. I never exceed 5ml of 3% peroxide to 50ml of filtered  water, or a
one to ten dilution of 3% peroxide to water AT MOST!

Mixture: 3ml to 5ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide
         Pinch of baking soda.
         Pinch of salt.
         50ml of filtered water.

Hydrogen peroxide can be very irritating to the sinuses, so I am very
careful with the mixture. When I first started experimenting with the sinus
irrigation, I used more than 15ml of 3% peroxide, to 50ml of water, and it
really burned my sinuses and made my sinuses close up much worse on both
sides, and the discomfort lasted for several days. So I never use more than
one part of peroxide to 10 parts of water.

To do the sinus irrigation, I kneel, and place the top of my head down onto
the floor of my shower and spray the contents firmly into my sinuses, which
are tilted upwards. It is really not as bad as it sounds. In fact, it beats
the HELL out of having closed sinuses and getting constant infections and
constantly taking antibiotics.

I place my head down on the shower floor so that my sinuses are facing
upwards, and so that I don't swallow any of the mixture and so that the
mixture soaks deep into my sinuses. The more clogged my sinuses, the longer
I keep my head down on the shower floor, letting the mixture seep deep into
my sinuses. I shake the mixture occasionally and make sure that I spray most
of it into my "upside down" sinuses. I spray it into both nostrils, and
after they fill up, when I spray into one nostril it comes out the other. I
keep my head upside down on the shower floor for a few minutes after the
irrigation in order for the mixture to get deep into my sinuses. I even
shake my head and contort my face in order to help work the mixture into the
sinuses. I don't know how much that helps, and it probably makes me look
like an idiot, but who cares-----, nobody is watching! <g> A lot of the
mixture usually foams out of my sinuses, down my forehead and onto the
shower floor. I keep my eyes closed so that it doesn't drain into my eyes. I
DON'T BREATH IN THROUGH MY NOSE DURING THE IRRIGATION, MOSTLY TO AVOID
SUCKING SOME OF THE MIXTURE INTO THE EUSTACHIAN TUBES OF MY EARS.

Even at 3ml peroxide to 50ml water, it burns, or stings, somewhat. Most of
the time it just burns a little. But sometimes it burns quite a bit
(depending upon how sensitive my sinuses are at the time). I just grit my
teeth and tolerate the stinging of my sinuses, and after a while the
stinging or burning starts getting better. I found that there is no
additional discomfort after the irrigation is over, unless I use too much
peroxide.

The irrigations usually produces a lot of foam, especially if I use 5ml of
Peroxide. Sometimes there is a mix of blood with the foam. Subsequent
irrigations might produce very little foam and a lot of bloodish water. I
guess it all depends upon the condition of my sinus at the time of the
irrigation.

The Irrigation is not the most pleasant experience, but it isn't too bad,
and it works for me. When I first started using this type of irrigation, I
gave myself several irrigations within a day, to treat a suspected
infection, or to treat very irritated, swollen, or closed sinuses. Then I
would repeat the irrigations over the next few days until my sinuses seemed
to be responding. Then I would skip a day or two and see if my sinuses
continued to do better. The number of irrigations I use is also based on the
amount of garbage that needs to be flushed from my sinuses and how my
sinuses feel. If the discharge is relatively clean, and my sinuses are not
too bad, I limit the number of irrigations. Relatively clean, to me, means
that some of the discharge is clear and some might be yellow, but it is not
too thick. If my sinuses aren't too bad, just a couple of irrigations for
one or two days seems to improve the functioning of my sinuses and takes
away that 'getting a cold' feeling.

Every time I get stuffiness that lasts for a couple of days, and if it seems
to be getting worse, I irrigate, and I've irrigated many times over the past
two years. The result-------- I have not had to use antibiotics in the past
two years, and I have not had an untreatable infection. Every time I feel
like my sinuses might be infecting, I treat myself. The irrigation takes 10
to 15 minutes depending upon how long I want the mixture to seep into my
sinuses. Not bad to ward off infections! Every time my sinuses start to
ache, I treat them. Junk comes out, and the ache goes away.

After a series of irrigations, it still can take a few days for the sinuses
to get better, but when they do, I feel great, with wide open and calm
sinuses. What a great relief to not have to use antibiotics several times a
year!

Before each irrigation, I place a towel and a tissue nearby. After the
irrigation I lift my head, while it's in the shower, and let my sinuses
drain into the shower. It can look pretty bloody, foamy and nasty. I then
stand up and use the tissue(s) to clean my forehead of the foam that seeped
out of my sinuses during the irrigation. (This is not something I do in
front of a girlfriend that I am trying to impress.) I don't blow my nose for
a few minutes in order to give the mixture a little longer to do its job.
After that, I blow my nose.

The first few times I did this irrigation, the discharge was real nasty, but
not any longer. I am guessing that a lot of junk gets stuck up into the
sinuses for a long time and that the "soaking, upside down" irrigation helps
to loosen most of the junk. Just recently my sinuses were aching. I did an
irrigation, and some weird junk came out and the aching went away. I used to
suffer with achy sinuses for days. Now the aching stops after only one
irrigation. The irrigation really works for me!

It is my understanding that some infections can stay dormant in the sinuses
for years, and only become 'active' infections when certain events activate
them. To me, that is why my infections kept returning several times a year.
I don't think that the antibiotics ever really got rid of my infections,
but I don't know for sure. I don't know if I get sinus infections anymore.
But, I don't worry about them. If I get stuffy for several days, I just
irrigate and forget about it. I feel much better!

I wanted to share my experiences with other sufferers. Does anyone do a
similar type of irrigation, or has anyone found a more effective and less
messy method? This seems safe and effective for me, but I have no idea if
this type of sinus irrigation would help others, or make their conditions
worse. Not being a doctor, I don't recommend this for anyone unless they
check with their doctor first.