Nose blowing

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loxaluck - 16 Feb 2007 17:51 GMT

From several posts i have been surprised at the advice to not blow your
nose. Or to do so at 5 PSI. Or to do so by not plugging up one nostril
while clearing another. I know that i am sinusly-challenged and wonder if
a lifetime of ear popping, shoulder-hunching, forceful blowing has helped
to make me such. But i cant imagine not forcefully blowing both with and
without my irrigation. stuff comes out that would not otherwise.

i have asked many nasally-normal folks how they blow their noses and they
pretty much are in agreement that they do use pressure that would quite
exceed the recommendation and all plug one nostril while clearing the
other. None of these folks have ever irrigated and seem somewhat appalled
by my descriptions of such. None have ever had any significant issues. a
few have had sinus infections (or at least been treated for such).

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Ghamph - 16 Feb 2007 23:27 GMT

Very true , but if one has nasal polyps like me then hard blowing only makes
them swell up and block openings more. I wish I never had sinus infections
that caused my polyps , but if I am careful they shrink down quite a bit so
I can breathe. No way do I want to have surgery unless it's a last resort.

> From several posts i have been surprised at the advice to not blow your
> nose. Or to do so at 5 PSI. Or to do so by not plugging up one nostril
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> by my descriptions of such. None have ever had any significant issues. a
> few have had sinus infections (or at least been treated for such).

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Johnny1000@webtv.net - 17 Feb 2007 01:34 GMT

ghamph@localnet.com (Ghamph) wrote:

>Very true , but if one has nasal polyps like me
> then hard blowing only makes them swell up
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> can breathe. No way do I want to have
> surgery unless it's a last resort.

I was slated back in 1999 (I believe), for an operation on my ethmoids,
frontals, and a polyp in my left maxillary. Whenever I talked to people
on the phone back then, they'd say "have you got a cold? -- It sure
sounds like you've got a cold." ...Then I discovered Dr. Grossan's
method. The first time I read about people putting water up their
noses, I thought: "Are these people out of your mind? ...My God, that's
gotta be the second worst pain known to man."

I remember preparing for the worst, when I brought the irrigator up to
my nose. I tell you... I felt like a God when I discovered I could
actually put water in there, and not only didn't it hurt, but it
actually felt quite pleasant.

I now irrigate once a day, at bed time. ...If I don't irrigate at all, I
find my sinuses slowly but surely, start to worsen. Right now, my
sinuses feel clear as a bell. And... As I've said before, the few times
in the past 7+ years that I've had my sinuses flair up, it is because I
resorted to clearing my nose by blowing. (I think the blowing is
probably worse for sinus sufferers, because it helps to spread the
infection.)

Bottom line: One does not have to blow the nose, to clear it. ...If you
irrigate, the liquid will clear the nose. And any excess water will
simply run out on its own, or flow down your throat.

Thanks to Dr. Grossan, and his device, I've not only avoided surgery for
7+ years, but during the last 4 or 5 flair-ups, I didn't even have to
resort to antibiotics. ...And, if I could only follow my own advice,
100% of the time (by not blowing), I probably wouldn't have even had
these 4 or 5 flair-ups. ...Jon

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loxaluck - 17 Feb 2007 17:58 GMT

---> Bottom line: One does not have to blow the nose, to clear it. ...If
you
irrigate, the liquid will clear the nose. And any excess water will
simply run out on its own, or flow down your throat.

not so for me. irrigating may help me but alone it is not enough.

and again, what about the vast majority of people who do blow with force
and never experience the problems that you and i do?

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neil0502@yahoo.com - 17 Feb 2007 18:02 GMT

> ---> Bottom line: One does not have to blow the nose, to clear it. ...If
> you
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> and again, what about the vast majority of people who do blow with force
> and never experience the problems that you and i do?

They're built differently. At what level, and in what way, may not
yet be known.

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Johnny1000@webtv.net - 17 Feb 2007 21:29 GMT

>not so for me. irrigating may help me but alone
> it is not enough.

Try lying across a bed after you irrigate, with your head hanging over
the side (first facing one way, then the other). ...You can actually
breathe out any trapped mucus, without having to forcefully exhale from
your toe-nails. ...Additionally, try pinching your nose (while in this
position), and swallow. Hold the pinch for about 10 seconds. ...This
seems to create a vacuum that permits the exhalation of more material
and liquid.

>and again, what about the vast majority of
> people who do blow with force and never
> experience the problems that you and i do?

I'm no medical expert, but I believe that people who suffer from chronic
sinusitis, either have an ongoing infection inside, or else they're more
prone to getting one.

I think in my case, the infection starts to flair up a bit, and my
resorting to blowing the nose with force, does nothing more than assists
the spread of the infection, which subsequently escalates the severity
of the flair-up.
...Jon

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MZB - 18 Feb 2007 05:00 GMT

Lox:

What about the majority of people who don't have sinus problems??

Or the majority of people who have successful sinus surgery that solves
their problems.

They probably don't post here!!!

Mel

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loxaluck - 19 Feb 2007 13:30 GMT

Thanks Mel, I'm sure they dont. I was questioning the advice as it reads
like a general guideline.

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