I would like to relate my experience with xylitol because I hope it can
help others in this group who suffer from sinusitis.
I have had 2 sinus operations and initially found them to be of some
benefit, because I did get fewer sinus infections.  Last March I got a
sinus infection.  I tried biaxin, which had always worked in the past,
and avelox.  Both had no effect.  The third antibiotic, ketek was
effective and the infection cleared.  In May, I got another sinus
infection and my doctor suggested tetracycline, which I tried but to no
effect.  Once again, I tried ketek which now had no effect.  Over the
years I have used all the standard antibiotics and my sinus flora are
resistent to all of them.  Back in 2003, I started using nasal
irrigation with isotonic saline which seemed to reduce the number of
infections but not to zero.  In May of this year when I realized that
antibiotics would be of no benefit to treat my sinus infections, I came
across the xylitol threads on this group and decided to try it.  Here
is my personal xylitol protocol:
I use about 8-9% xylitol solution.  I use a 250 ml measuring cup to
which I add 250 ml of isotonic saline and approximately 8-9 teaspoons
(20-22.5 ml) of xylitol.  I boil the solution to sterilize it.  When I
'irrigate'  with this solution, I tilt my head to the right so the
right side of my head in up and squirt some of the xylitol mixture into
my right nostril (the upper) enough so that the sinuses get completely
filled and try to hold this position for about one minute so the  the
liquid doesn't dribble out..  I then right my head and gently blow my
nose out. I then do the same to the other nostril.   What is surprising
is the amount of mucus that comes out  using this xylitol mixture.  I
have tried this procedure using the saline and very little comes out.
The xylitol seems to really loosen the mucus.  I always empty my
sinuses into a clear plastic container because it  gives me a rough
idea of how much mucus is coming out because the clear container makes
it very visible.  This also allows me to make day to day comparisons.
I do this modification of irrigation, I'll call it sinus steeping,
about every 2 hours.  It seems to have greatly improved my symptoms,
which are extreme fatigue and some stuffiness.  I have been doing the
sinus steeping  every hour or two for the last 10 days.  Even when I
get up in the middle of the night, I do it!  The result is that I have
been slowly feeling better day by day and the amount of mucus has been
decreasing.  Sometimes I breathe steam and then do the seeping
procedure and the steaming seems to help even more.  Let me know your
experiences  with this.  I felt that I was at the end of the line
knowing that all conventional antibiotics were ineffective while in the
middle of a full-blown sinus infection.  I hope this procedure benefits
others, Geoff